New to caravanning- need help to choose tow car

[ali bray]

We've decided to join all you fellow caravanners. We're in a catch 22- Don't know what caravan to buy yet(will need to be 4 berth as have 2 young children and all that goes with them!) and also need to change our car. We're looking at renault scenic, citroen picasso and seat alhambra. Any opinions or recommendations about their suitability would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

 

[Garfield]

The Alhambra, being the biggest, is the most capable of the cars you mention, the tdi130 manual being the best, we towed a 20' 6 berth twin axle with a 110hp Sharan (sister to the Alhambra)stability was excellent but the 110hp engine could only be described as adequate

 

[Fubar]

be careful with a Renault Scenic, the weights quoted by Renault include "Driver Only", i.e. no passengers or luggage.

having had experience of towing with a Scenic, albeit only a 1.4 petrol I would say that they are fairly limited and only capable of towing the smaller caravans.

hope this helps. Mark (",)

 

[wombat1]

Phil

I have the equivalent to the Alhambra, the VW Sharan with the 115bhp diesel. I tow a Coachman Amara 550/5, a heavy van, 21 ft long, with all the usuals for a family of 4: awning, groundsheet, garden chair and table, microwave, water stuff, clothes food etc.

I haven't been touring for long, since Feb 07 actually, but recently I went all the way down to Pembroke, 200 miles, mway, a roads, b roads, steep hills, etc - absolutley no problem what so-ever. I would be surprsed if you had a problem with the 110bhp version also.

I spoke to a friend who works for Ford, his job is to test engines to determine the best map, when I spoke to him about changing my engine map to increase the hp, he couldn't see the point considering what I already had.

Stability, excellent, I was overtaking HGVs on the mway, up to 65mph - no problem. I was overtaken by coaches - no problem.

Load space - cavernous. We take out the rear 2 two seats when we go away, and all of the awning including poles, groundsheet chairs, table, supplies, all fit without any probs.

 

[G_374304003]

You have some dilemma!

You need a car for a growing family and at the same time you will want comfort and economy.

I have been here too , I now have five children and you may appreciate that I have been where you are, before all of mine were born.

It worth thinking way ahead. You may only want 'this ' size carvan now but will you want a 'that size ' one in 2-3 years time. Step one then is to chose the caravan you need now and the one you will want in three years time. I keep meeting folk who have had early changes of tow cars because they have moved up a size of caravan.

Caravans of the same length are not of the same weight - they vary tremendously- by as much as a tonne. Lighter caravans are not so luxurious but these days even the 'light weights' have all the creature comforts. I have been carvanning for 7 years and we made a decision early on that 1300 kg max permissible loaded weight would be the most we would need. Today I am on my second caravan - a single axle six berth at 1300kg, - just be careful , many four berth vans weigh more than our 6 berth!.

Once you have the caravan weight, select the tow car. Nose weight of the van needs to be checked but you can get most cars to offer a reasonable nose weight carrying capability.

The caravan club will generally expect you to tow no more than 85% of the car's weight and its a good benchmark for safety.

Bear in mind if you want to become a member the Club will check this before accepting your application to join.

I have alsways towed with People Carriers - to date a Peugeot 806's and now the 807 2 litre diesel. These cars are remarkably ecomonical and stable. I cannot comment on any others but I am now looking at a Chrysler Grand Voyager as my 5 children need more space.

Generally I say to all people - buy the biggest car you can run at acceptable fuel economy, the bigger the car in comparison to the caravan the less likely the 'tail will wag the dog'.

You will hear Towbar Stabilisers are good at reducing the movement of the caravan but bear in mind I have never found the need for one in all of my towing. Other people swear by stabilisers.

and finallly - buy a Brand new carvan- they do not depreciate like new cars and if you knew of the problems I had with a used van you will understand why my new one (now 4 years old) is loved so much- I even wrote to the manufacturer this year to thank them for its reliability.

best regards

 

[Garfield]

Dadio / Phil

There is quite a big difference between the old 110hp VW diesel and the newer 115/130/150hp pd engines, the old 110 hp engine had only 175lbft of torque @2000rpm but it carried on producing near enough this amount of torque up to 4000 rpm to give its 110 hp. The 115hp pd engine has a much greater 229lbft of torque at 2000 rpm but this torque falls away rapidly above 2000rpm to give a maximum power that is little better than the old engine but the mid range power is a good 30% better, interestingly Ford quoted the same max torque of 229lbft for the 115, 130 and the 150 hp Galaxy engines with the more powerful engines being able to produce greater torque above 2000 rpm to give the higher powers.

 

[Angus1]

The 115bhp Passat diesel doesn`t have 229lb ft of torque and never has had.

It had a still not insubstantial 210lb ft, as do the vast majority of the 130 models. It was only the Sport model of the 130 which had 229lb ft, and was equipped with a far nicer six-speed box. The line from my VW dealer workshop was the differing state of tune was as a result of the extra torque being too much for the old gearbox to handle reliably over an extended period.

 

[Steve L]

I have to say that the Alphamera is by far the best option from your list Phil, it is able to handle vans upto 1900Kgs gross weight. But you'll struggle to find a good second hand one at sensible money as they are so popular.

Brave-fart is quite right Renault do have a funny way of quoting tow limits in their hand books, but by using the figures on the vin plate which on most models is located on the right hand side "B post". This is the seat belt top mounting and door closure post for the drivers door. You will get a true figure for the actual car.

I have a 1998 Laguna estate 2 litre 8 valve which is rated to tow 1350Kgs. I tow behind it a 20ft twin axle Link 575 van which has a total gross weight of 1365Kgs. By leaving out a few bottles of vino and some XXXX we are able to easily maintain 1350Kgs to tow with. Performance wise, the outfit tows very well and apart from the steepest of hills (steeper than 1 in 6 or 16% ), we can go up them in one gear lower than we would solo.

Braking is very good. Our only other precaution is that we always weigh the nose weight and maintain it at 75Kgs which is the max recommended for the car.

Of coarse how much you spend will depend on you. We got our car with full service history including a factory replaced engine at 33K miles and an actual mileage of 97K for a mere

 

[ali bray]

I have to say that the Alphamera is by far the best option from your list Phil, it is able to handle vans upto 1900Kgs gross weight. But you'll struggle to find a good second hand one at sensible money as they are so popular.

Brave-fart is quite right Renault do have a funny way of quoting tow limits in their hand books, but by using the figures on the vin plate which on most models is located on the right hand side "B post". This is the seat belt top mounting and door closure post for the drivers door. You will get a true figure for the actual car.

I have a 1998 Laguna estate 2 litre 8 valve which is rated to tow 1350Kgs. I tow behind it a 20ft twin axle Link 575 van which has a total gross weight of 1365Kgs. By leaving out a few bottles of vino and some XXXX we are able to easily maintain 1350Kgs to tow with. Performance wise, the outfit tows very well and apart from the steepest of hills (steeper than 1 in 6 or 16% ), we can go up them in one gear lower than we would solo.

Braking is very good. Our only other precaution is that we always weigh the nose weight and maintain it at 75Kgs which is the max recommended for the car.

Of coarse how much you spend will depend on you. We got our car with full service history including a factory replaced engine at 33K miles and an actual mileage of 97K for a mere