Hi,
I have a Mercedes C-class and drive Arctic lorries for a living so I’m all good there 👍🏼
Ollie
Hi,
I have a Mercedes C-class and drive Arctic lorries for a living so I’m all good there 👍🏼
Ollie
I've heard it said before that cars are/were getting lighter but I've never noticed it - each new model of car seems to be slightly bigger than it's predecessor and slightly better equipped, both giving an increase in weight - the use of thinner high-strength steel has helped to limit the weight increases but the number of cars to actually lose weight has been minimal.
Agreed. From 1998 to 2018 I had a new company car every three years and always looked at weights and capacities when renewing and even for the same model, there was a weight increase each time. As an example my very first company car was a Peugeot 406 1.9TD (now THAT was slow!) which weight 1350kgs, a similar sized car today would be nudging 1600kgs. I also had a 1996 Volvo 940 estate from 96 to 98, the kerbweight of that was 1420kgs, my current V90 weighs a hefty 1850kgs!
The shear volume of gadgets, accessories and wiring have added more weight over the years.
Hi Ollie
If you are looking at getting a caravan the main thing is use your common sense do bit of research and think positive about what you want, there are lot of quite negative answers/replies etc on here from quite negative people ! If you followed their advice you might as well give up , im sure if you drive an hgv you will have plenty of common and a good idea of what you want and need , good luck with what ever you decide 👍
Thanks for putting me right regarding licenses folk.
I suppose I spend less time than I should "Googling" matters that don't impact upon me personally. Often amazed at the details others have researched and retained in the grey matter.
As it happens "Ollie" is better qualified than most forum members I imagine so all it's left for me to say is "good luck with whatever caravan you buy Ollie!"
Judging by the depth of snow in my neck of the woods this morning I'd be amazed if anyone moves on the minor roads. Estimate maybe 9 or 10 inches or thereabouts.
I suppose I spend less time than I should "Googling" matters that don't impact upon me personally. Often amazed at the details others have researched and retained in the grey matter.
As it happens "Ollie" is better qualified than most forum members I imagine so all it's left for me to say is "good luck with whatever caravan you buy Ollie!"
Judging by the depth of snow in my neck of the woods this morning I'd be amazed if anyone moves on the minor roads. Estimate maybe 9 or 10 inches or thereabouts.
Why should bigger and better equipment necessarily mean heavier. You must have been aware of numerous threads bemoaning the fact that Caravan MTPLMs and. payloads were being reduced in order to make them attractive to would be caravanners given that car weights were reducing.
Eu laws came in which limited the overall fleet emissions and if they were exceeded every vehicle sold above the limit would have a fine levied. VW took out large amount of weight in mainstream models like Golf, Ford and Vauxhall did likewise. I’m sure others did the same. Figures of 150-200 kg weight reduction were quoted. This enabled car makers to avoid fines and to continue to market larger higher emissions vehicles.
Even a. Touareg lost weight despite being bigger and bettter equipped as year went by.
[2002 - 2024] Volkswagen Touareg Weight – Get Quick Data | Weigh
Looking for Volkswagen Touareg weight or curb weight? Weightle provides easy-to-access data on 2019 Touareg III, 2014 Touareg II (facelift 2014), 2010 Touareg II (7P5) and other models. Choose the generation produced between 2002 and 2024 and find its weight starting from 1955 kg
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But between the years you quote for Volvo the world did not really give a fig for emissions. The real push for emissions reductions occurred once climate change and global warming started to be taken seriously which was beyond 96-98.
I hate to say this as don't want to upset you, but I would think that driving an artic and towing a caravan are two totally diferent kettles of fish. Highly unlikely you will experience snaking with an artic vehicle, but it happens with caravans for a variety of reasons.
From 1998 to 2018 I chose a new car every 3 years and the weights definitely shifted upwards. A good example was the Mondeo and Passat, both models gained a fair few kgs each time I looked at their specs. The original Mondeo was around 1300kgs, the 2002 model I had was around 1425kgs and the latest ones are hovering around 1600kgs.
Remember Buckman , some HGV drivers also drive a Wagon and drag unit. Reversing those takes skill
Very true, but then you also have a banksman. It is not the reversing skills but rather the actual towing. The car is very capable and more than likely the driver, but can still end up with the caravan snaking although with ATC this is rare.
That is indeed true and could result in some very unstable outfits in theory. It was however the situation when I assed my test way back in the dark ages but drivers tended to be sensible in the main and there was very little trouble. Having looked at the test we had I am very doubtful the test made any difference, you could not even take it with a caravan on tow, so a lot of what might have been needed was lost before they even started.
Agreed but you don't say which years the real pressure to cut emissions started to be applied to vehicle makers. There came period when caravan MTPLM and payload were becoming incompatible with the kerbweights of new cars. Even some behemoths like Sorento were being criticised for their kerb weight and towing specification wrt hauling larger caravans. Smaller cars like Golf, Astra, etc had a spell of significant weight reductions as new models came out. This was to ensure Fleet averages for each maker were below the legal limits. Otherwise there would be a fine levied on each vehicle produced not just the "offending " ones. Of course not all makers reduced weight in every model across the range. The Mondeo grew from 1479kg (av) in 1993 to 1580kg (av) by 2022. That is now being discontinued. Similarly MB E class kept putting on weight until quite recently, but again MB produce a range of smaller cars which allowed them to keep the Fleet emissions within legal limits.
Accompanying the drive for reduced emissions was the drive for improved NCAP performance, which even with high strength steels can lead to larger vehicles. The introduction of SC/PHEV and EV has led to an unavoidable weight increase but Fleet emissions are within limits.
I remember BMW swapping the 5 series to all aluminium construction in 2017, I had a 2016 520D with a kerbweight of around 1725kgs, the replacement (from memory) dropped to just under 1600kgs which is why I switched to Volvo.
Back to the OP, I also had a couple of C Class Mercedes estates (2010 and 2013 220CDi models) and both were excellent tow cars. I don't know about now but those models required a Mercedes cooling upgrade if it wasn't fitted with a factory tow bar, personally I didn't bother and suffered no ill-effects but worth bearing in mind.
Back to the OP, I also had a couple of C Class Mercedes estates (2010 and 2013 220CDi models) and both were excellent tow cars. I don't know about now but those models required a Mercedes cooling upgrade if it wasn't fitted with a factory tow bar, personally I didn't bother and suffered no ill-effects but worth bearing in mind.
Buckman , have you ever driven an artic lorry ? Well I have and I have towed caravans and trailers and believe me towing a caravan is much easier than driving an artic hgv ! A bit different than a jeep !
Parksy
Moderator
Driving an articulated lorry and towing a caravan involves different techniques, especially when it comes to loading the caravan.
It's not a question of the difficulties involved, because road conditions constantly change no matter which vehicle is being driven.
Articulated lorries can jacknife, often due to poor driving technique or poor maintenance.
A caravan could enter into a snake for a number of reasons, poor loading, bad driving and unsuitable speeds and car / caravan weight ratios being among them.
Driving any vehicle can be as easy or as difficult as we make it, so a stringent regime of checks before a journey begins and conscientious driving techniques are imperative when operating any towing vehicle.
Haha yep a “little” caravan shouldn’t be a problem for me personally 🤣 I do appreciate the advise still though, I imagine quite a lot of people don’t realise you’d need a trailer licence (pre grandad licence) 👍🏼
Ollie
TBH mate it is a little different.. I used to have a tiny 7ft box trailer for motorbike racing and that was hard and “sensitive“ to reverse because of how small it was… I find a 40ft trailer far easier to reverse etc! 😂👍🏼
Ollie
I towed a friend's "short" caravan for him, what a pain in the bum reversing it, Compared to my long Coachman.
I agree with some of what you say Parksy but not all of it , can I ask if you have driven an artic ?fully loaded? Towing a caravan and driving an artic is poles apart , I bet there are more caravan accidents than hgv accidents on the roads , as for snaking most times like you say is down to poor driving poor loading and inexperience
Exactly that mate, so much more sensitive with a slight turn of the wheel when reserving the shorter they are, aren’t they 👎🏼
I am used to towing , big helicopters and aircraft with tugs and tractors, using front steering , rear hitched to front steering aircraft, basically an artic and drag with the drag having a steered link. All good fun.
Parksy
Moderator
If you had read my post you'd see that I wrote:
'Driving an articulated lorry and towing a caravan involves different techniques, especially when it comes to loading the caravan.'
I'm happily retired now, but during my working life I graduated from driving a Luton bodied Ford Transit, then a D series Ford 7.5 tonner, through to TK Bedford 16 tonners on multi drop and finally fully freighted 38 tonne artic on UK long distance work, carrying steel coils, oiled bright bar and often with various back loads of timber, pallets, farm tractors etc.
The loaded flat bed trailers had to be chained, roped and sheeted.
I know what I'm talking about.
To me, towing or reversing our t/a caravan with my Kia Sorento isn't difficult, neither was driving my old DAF F241 for a living.
A lack of due care and attention when driving any vehicle could make it difficult.
Good for you Parksy at least we are “singing from the same hymn sheet as they say” and I take on board all your comments , quite a career ,
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