10 of the best cars for towing caravans in 2023 | Motorpoint
Planning your summer staycation trip? These are the best used cars to hook a caravan up to
Interesting take on tow cars currently available
- Thread starter Dustydog
- Start date
Interesting as most of thsoe cars while capable of towing 2000 or more kg, would be a bit unsafe on motorways at 60mph especially those cars with nose weights below 100kg. One of the cars mentioned has a poor track record and is consistently at the bottom of the reliability list. Strangely they omitted more capable cars that have higher nose weights and a higher towing capacity.10 of the best cars for towing caravans in 2023 | Motorpoint
Planning your summer staycation trip? These are the best used cars to hook a caravan up towww.motorpoint.co.uk
10 of the best cars for towing caravans in 2023 | Motorpoint
Planning your summer staycation trip? These are the best used cars to hook a caravan up to
There wasn't a mention of the UK industries guidance on caravan towed weight ratios, so I suspect it was written by journalist, rather than caravanner!
All of the cars mentioned confirm to the EU and UK's requirements for nose load 'S" values of 4% or more of towed weight. So I'm not sure why you think their inadequate in that respect.
Whilst certain characteristics of each vehicle will have a part to play in how in control it is whilst towing. The major factor by a large margin to safety of any outfit is the driver and the way the outfit is loaded.
I don't see that any of the featured vehicles are inherently less safe than many other tow vehicles providing they are loaded and driven sensibly.
I am of the opinion that it is not safe for a car with a low nose weight of under 100kg to tow a caravan like a 2000kg Buccaneer which has a maximum nose weight of 150kgs especially if they are new to caravan towing?
There are other caravans where the recommended nose weight of 5% of the MTPLM is actually over 100kg the maximum allowed by the hitch.
However if they want to endanger the lives of others it seems that is their prerogative?
However, this is "par for the course" with many larger Continental European manufactured caravans, twins and even single axles.
Maybe they ensure the fundamental other design features are "right"?
I have been gobsmacked at towing combinations and the towing speeds undertaken, often way above what there is legal, without mishaps.
Although I agree that noseweight does affect handling characteristics what evidence can you provide that there is actually a direct correlation between it and safe towing? Although most hitches are rated at 150kg, few single axle caravans, and there are plenty with a 2000kg MTPLM, have a noseweight limit of over 100kg.
My previous towcar hat an 80kg noseweight limit and was rated to tow 2000kg. It felt very comfortable towing an 1800kg caravan, which I did for over 7 years.
Last edited:
Fifteen years towing the present 1900 kg SA using sub 100kg noseweight with an impeccable towing stability, but then was not a UK built product.
If designing for towing stability is a consideration there is a lot an engineering designer can address to get things right. It's evident to me some caravans have and others have not received such directed attention.
If designing for towing stability is a consideration there is a lot an engineering designer can address to get things right. It's evident to me some caravans have and others have not received such directed attention.
I DID state in my opinion and never said I was right or wrong, but I would not like to be on the same motorway with someone that did not take into account the nose weight of the caravan and its weight.
By the way most ALKO hitches in the UK are rated at 100kg and not 150kg. Also you mention experienced towers and not newbies to the game.
I would be pretty certain you are in as much if not more danger from outfits that are by your opinion are wisely matched as you are from those whom you would consider to be unwise.
Most AlKo hitches except older AKS 1300 and 2004 are rated at 150kg but the chassis to which they are fitted are limited to 100kg. As the lower of the two values applies, 100kg is the usual limit. Some of the bigger caravans with BPW or Knott chassis have a 150kg limit.
Thanks Guys. Just the replies I hoped this thread would encourage debate. Motorpoint is the author. What they know about tow cars I have no idea. But clearly they have a number of cars that , on paper , should be capable of being a reasonable tug. Plus these are the cars that they want to sell asap for turnover!
I‘d say some would suit me but others I may have reservations.I think we have all done nose load to death, please no more🤪🤪.
My TA is 1700 kgs , not far off 2 tons. I feel like Buckman that the heavier NL the better. But there are a number of limiting factors so 100 kgs NL is good for me.
So where does this tow car recommendation leave Motorpoint😁😁.Would you follow their advice? Not me🤪🤪
I‘d say some would suit me but others I may have reservations.I think we have all done nose load to death, please no more🤪🤪.
My TA is 1700 kgs , not far off 2 tons. I feel like Buckman that the heavier NL the better. But there are a number of limiting factors so 100 kgs NL is good for me.
So where does this tow car recommendation leave Motorpoint😁😁.Would you follow their advice? Not me🤪🤪
A study carried out by Delphi in the USA included investigation as to why European noseweights are 4%+ while North America noseweights were 10-15% - they concluded that the greater the noseweight the greater the speed before instability set in - they also concluded the reason for the difference between USA and Europe is that towing speeds are much lower here, below 62 mph, whereas in USA 80 mph is normal.
So while there is merit in the approach of "heaviest noseweight within ALL limits" as this increases the margin between typical speeds and instability threshold - it's also true that low noseweight limits are acceptable at the legal towing speeds in Europe.
I have the unusual issue of low noseweight on my 1500 kg Lunar - last year I was using our bulk food in a box at the front of the caravan to achieve 100 kg - but this year I couldn't be bothered so the noseweight dropped to around 75kg - at the lower level the caravan is less stable with obvious pitching up/down.
"I think, therefore I am " an engineer and I believe that people are forgetting the distance of where the axle / axles are behind the tow ball.this makes an enormous amount of difference in the stability of the towed trailer, or in our case, the caravan.
A plain stated weight on the tow hitch is not enough, the total balance of the trailer is the most important part. Positive and Negative "G " forces as the trailer traverses road will affect the towing stability.
A plain stated weight on the tow hitch is not enough, the total balance of the trailer is the most important part. Positive and Negative "G " forces as the trailer traverses road will affect the towing stability.
I quite agree with the two previous replies. However, when I picked up my 1800kg caravan new from the dealer without anything in the front locker I estimated the noseweight to be no more than 25kg. I towed it home like that about 150 miles. Obviously I noticed a difference in the way the outfit handled compared with what it's like now with two 11kg gas bottles, the spare wheel and various other items in the locker, but I wouldn't say that it was unmanageable. It just needed to exercise a bit more care and I did have to keep the speed down a little, as RogerL mentioned in his post, but so long as those measures were observed, it wasn't any less safe.
I have the misfortune to tow a Unicorn S4 Seville which towed home from the dealer had 31kg on the nose. Now, even fully and correctly loaded it is only 53kg and cannot be increased (believe me we have tried and tried) but it tows perfectly well.
When reversing it on the drive at home and I release the mover buttons it stops and the jockey bounces just off the ground - which might be alarming to some but not to us - now - anyway!
When reversing it on the drive at home and I release the mover buttons it stops and the jockey bounces just off the ground - which might be alarming to some but not to us - now - anyway!
It all very well making such an impassioned plea, but you are preaching to the converted. But the reality is the there are new readers who may not have read all the past history on this forum, and they have as much right and indeed need to have information about it.
If they ask, they need a balanced response.
It noticeable how when the subject is raised, how some comments keep being brought to the table, which are contentious and not necessarily right or logical, yet when the balancing arguments are made we get the moans of "oh not again."
Is it right that a polarised (and potentially inaccurate or even dangerous response ) is allowed to remain on the thread unchallenged - which new readers might take as being correct?
I'm surprised that you are having so much difficulty in getting adequate noseweight. As I said, when I picked up my caravan from the dealer its noseweight was no more than 25kg, but now I have no difficulty in getting it over 80kg. With two 11kg gas bottles, the spare wheel and sundry items in the front locker, a table, a couple of chairs, the satellite dish together with its mast and a couple of other items in the front floor lockers within the caravan, the noseweight goes up to about 70 to75kg. If I put the awning on the floor in the front of the caravan too, the noseweight jumps over the 80kg limit for the towbar, so it has to go inside the car
But Lutz the van you had probably had a user considered payload that enabled adding weight, whereas here the user payloads are way too low, often solely determined to shift the product, not to be user focused.
Last edited:
It was tic Prof. In fact only a very short while ago I said the same thing as you just have, about repetitions being an important part of this forum and PCv! On the same hymn sheet👍
And i guess with a lot of these examples, we're back to the arguments about towing
limits being way over the kerb weight of the car.
Some of the arguments on Facebook groups about it is entertaining. Inexperienced caravanners being advised that their Kuga is suitable to tow a caravan that weighs over 300Kg more than their kerb weight simply because it is legal.
limits being way over the kerb weight of the car.
Some of the arguments on Facebook groups about it is entertaining. Inexperienced caravanners being advised that their Kuga is suitable to tow a caravan that weighs over 300Kg more than their kerb weight simply because it is legal.
It's not strictly about towing weights being over kerb weight, as for some towing duties that is entirely possible and can be managed quite safely within the specifications of the vehicles. The debate arrises with towing caravans becasue of their size and sensitivity to aerodynamic loads.
I think the report that Dusty Dog put in his opening post shows that, the journalist is not really on the ball with his texts about the towing weights of the different cars, This could really confuse a person buying a car thinking that it could tow a certain weight, only to find that, say and Automatic gearbox will only tow 2000 kg where as the same car but manual will tug 2500 kg. A nice quick report but not really factual. For many seasoned towers.
Facebook
Twitter