Mondeo / Caravan matching

[Pablo1]

A friend of mine had the misfortune to have his caravan written off in an accident during the summer. All is now sorted out, and he is looking for a replacement. He tows with an 09 reg Mondeo 2 ltr TCDI automatic hatchback. The caravans he is looking at are 1500 kg MTPLM. He seems happy that his car will be ok to tow at this weight, but I'm not too happy, max towing weight and stability not being the same thing. What do others think, and what are your experiences?
I was happy towing 1470kg MTPLM van with my Freelander (1640KG), but think that was appreciably heavier than the Mondeo. Hate for him to make a mistake.
Paul

 

[Martin24]

Despite having quite a few years under my belt towing I still stick to the 85% guide. However also factored into this is carefull loading and weight distribution which is equally important. Many will say that you can go on up to 100% provided this is not in excess of the max weight for the tow car but I personally wouldn't do this, over cautious maybe but if I had to downsize the car for any reason I would downsize the van too!

 

[ProfJohnL]

There is no way on a forum to gurantee that any outfit will be a good tow, but having made that point, the Mondeo has earned a reputation as a competent tow car, with a wide range of caravans and other trailers with due regard for its mechanical and legal limits.
Martin is correct to point out that good towing is down to a lot more than just the weight ratio. Its got to be a sensible balance between many factors that include, weight ratio, nose weight, load distribution within the car and trailer, mechanical condition of car and trailer, road conditions and probably the most important factor is driver skill and habits.
There is an absolute duty on the driver to ensure their outfit is safe and complies with all road vehicle and driving regulations.
It is a matter of personal choice whether or not to believe the 85% recommendation is the right figure to choose for reasons widely discussed in other posts I can't accept it as best figure as it is an arbitary choice made many years ago. So until it has been technical verified by proper scientific testing I will not compound an un validated tradition. It may be that a lower percentage figure is the best for some outfits.
What I have no doubt about and personnaly recommend is that it is good sence to keep the caravan as light as possible compared to the. though legally a car can tow any trailer up to the maximum limit set by the car manufacturer. thoughthe driver may be limited to a lower weight by their licence categories.

 

[Surfer]

A friend of mine had the misfortune to have his caravan written off in an accident during the summer. All is now sorted out, and he is looking for a replacement. He tows with an 09 reg Mondeo 2 ltr TCDI automatic hatchback. The caravans he is looking at are 1500 kg MTPLM. He seems happy that his car will be ok to tow at this weight, but I'm not too happy, max towing weight and stability not being the same thing. What do others think, and what are your experiences?
I was happy towing 1470kg MTPLM van with my Freelander (1640KG), but think that was appreciably heavier than the Mondeo. Hate for him to make a mistake.
Paul

We towed a caravan MTPLM 1600kg with our 2010 Mondeo 2L auto and found it to be a bit hairy on motorways even though the outfit was perfectly balanced. The car is very capable, but at 1500kg I would say he has to drive very carefully even if very experienced. At 1450kg I think he would feel more confident about towing at that weight.

 

[Lutz]

We towed a caravan MTPLM 1600kg with our 2010 Mondeo 2L auto and found it to be a bit hairy on motorways even though the outfit was perfectly balanced. The car is very capable, but at 1500kg I would say he has to drive very carefully even if very experienced. At 1450kg I think he would feel more confident about towing at that weight.

Perhaps you could elaborate on what you mean by "even though the outfit was perfectly balanced". Surely, if it was "a bit hairy on motorways" it couldn't have been "perfectly balanced"?
Strictly speaking, "perfectly balanced" means zero noseweight, but somehow I doubt whether that is what you were trying to say.

 

[joeby]

we have 2 cars a Mondeo Estate 130 Tdci , and a Nissan Terrano , towing a 1600 kg Twin axle Lunar Lexon 640 , allthogh its not loaded to that weight with the mondeo , when we use the Mondeo we load heavy gear in the capaciouse rear boot , and i cant feel any difference in stability , i am confident in using both , it all depends on the circumstances you are towing in ,

 

[Surfer]

We towed a caravan MTPLM 1600kg with our 2010 Mondeo 2L auto and found it to be a bit hairy on motorways even though the outfit was perfectly balanced. The car is very capable, but at 1500kg I would say he has to drive very carefully even if very experienced. At 1450kg I think he would feel more confident about towing at that weight.

Perhaps you could elaborate on what you mean by "even though the outfit was perfectly balanced". Surely, if it was "a bit hairy on motorways" it couldn't have been "perfectly balanced"?
Strictly speaking, "perfectly balanced" means zero noseweight, but somehow I doubt whether that is what you were trying to say.

Being pedantic again so you must be bored. In the UK we have motorways that actually do allow HGVs onto them and believe it or not sometimes we have ruts in our motorways casued by HGVs from overseas EU countries. You cna now go back to digesting your weekly technical book written by a 12 year old student!

 

[Lutz]

Surfer, that's hardly a reply to my question. What ruts on motorways have to do with outfits being "balanced" or not, whatever that means, beats me.

 

[JonnyG]

Never had a problem towing with our mondeo at 1500kg,and motorway ruts have never ever been a problem,but then we have a burstner with continental A frame which are longer than uk build van A frames,so the van simply doesnt move around as much.Maybe uk builders should use longar A frames,cuzz motorway ruts will aalways be there regardless of which country the hgv's are from!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pablo1]

Thanks everyone for your input. My friend has done the deed, new van being delivered today. Seems from your replies that all will be well. Time will tell.
Thanks,
Paul