Peugot 2008

[dilby]

Hi all -

I'm currently a campevan user, but am going to be selling it this Spring and am keen to restore a little 2 berth vintage caravan for my wife and I to take about.

We're looking at getting a Peugeot 2008, and were really close to buying one today, but got caught out by the fact that it's essentially a 208 in disguise, and now I'm concerned about the towing capacity.

As I said, we won't be towing anything huge, but I don't want to be unsafe!

The model we were looking at was a 2016 puretech 1.2 (80 bhp) but there's also a 1.6 diesel but still only 96 bhp.
I know there's other better towers, but the fact is my wife has her heart set on this one!

Any help appreciated!

 

[Woodentop]

The 1.6HDi 120 looks a good bet EXCEPT that the noseweight limit (i.e. the maximum weight on the towball) is only 53Kg which for many caravans will be near impossible to achieve and retain stability. The maximum caravan weight it can tow is 1300Kg which by modern standards is also on the light side.

No matter what SWMBO thinks I would suggest the you would do better looking for something bigger. The 5008 2L HDI 150 would be a good buy although that is also a bit shallow on the noseweight at 70Kg.

Also look at VAG - Golf, Passat, Seat Leon, Skoda Yeti or Octavia. Don't knock Skoda - they are brilliant cars, very reliable and economical to run, with good dealers.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dilby
The first point I'd like to make is that safety is not guaranteed by any tow vehicle, it's almost always the driver rather than the car that makes mistakes. But of course you must first choose a good towing match to begin with - which is of course one of the drivers choices.

Now to the dilemma you face and what you must explain to your wife. if she is insistent on a particular car, there is a legal maximum weight of trailer it can tow, and it is illegal to exceed it. In the case of caravans which are difficult trailers, the guidance suggests keeping the trailers MAM as small as possible for example as low as 85% of the cars unladen weight. Provided it does not exceed the car stated maximum towed weight limit.

Until you know the MAM or the MTPLM of the caravan you are unable to do the necessary calculations to know if the 2008 will do the job or not.

 

[Raywood]

It does look an unlikely tow car unless you are looking at a very light caravan like the Lunar Ariva. The nose weight could be very difficult to achieve and may not be heavy enough for stable towing so is a serious risk although it might work out. The difficulty there is you would never know unless you tried it and if it is a problem then it is probably too late then. The bigger engine would be the better tow car, but neither are likely to be strong as towcars. I am afraid that unless they get a bigger engine and a higher noseweight I would not consider it, as there are far better towcars out there for the same price.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Contrary to both Ray and Woodentop I disagree about the 53kg nose load being difficult to achieve. Its all about how you distribute the items you put into the caravan, and having towed many different caravans with different cars professionally I have never had a problem with achieving an appropriate nose load for each outfit.

The nose load a car has to withstand is set out by EU regs and is a minimum of 25kg or 4% of the maximum permitted towed weight for the vehicle, whichever is bigger.

But as I hinted before you need to know for definate the car or the caravan you are interested in and then base your choice of the other on the what's already fixed.

 

[Hutch]

Diby, lots of info here , BUT, do you have a particular caravan, that you are looking at, that way people can help you a bit more, rather than put you off your , mrs Dilbs perfect car.
Hutch

 

[Raywood]

Contrary to both Ray and Woodentop I disagree about the 53kg nose load being difficult to achieve. Its all about how you distribute the items you put into the caravan, and having towed many different caravans with different cars professionally I have never had a problem with achieving an appropriate nose load for each outfit.

The nose load a car has to withstand is set out by EU regs and is a minimum of 25kg or 4% of the maximum permitted towed weight for the vehicle, whichever is bigger.

But as I hinted before you need to know for definate the car or the caravan you are interested in and then base your choice of the other on the what's already fixed.

I do accept that it could be achieved in some cases, which is why I said might. Many caravans are nose heavy and with those I would be wary about having to put too much weight behind the axle. I agree though that to give more specific advice we do need to know the caravan they have in mind, but the low power of the engines does make a good match difficult. On reflection a folding caravan like the Gobur or a pop top might be a better bet, given it would at least reduce the wind resistance.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I do accept that it could be achieved in some cases, which is why I said might. Many caravans are nose heavy and with those I would be wary about having to put too much weight behind the axle......

This old chestnut again.

I do agree that if you can avoid it it is usually better, but its not instant doom. Every caravan already has some rear loading, It has to, becasue thats the way they are made. Its a question of being sensible, and not overdoing it, but some end loading is almost always possible without upsetting the handling.

If twenty of thirty kilos of end load causes a caravan to be unstable, then I'd strongly suspect that even without that amount of end loading its going to be unstable, and the way the caravan is loaded needs to be carefully checked.

 

[otherclive]

I agree with the advice about being careful to match the tow car and caravan with weights, power/torque etc but I have towed a 1300kg MTPLM caravan with a Mondeo TDDI estate with only 1.8litre and 89bhp and it towed very well. Not once did I feel it lacked pulling or cruising power, and all other things being match it certainly had the power to tow a heavier caravan. We used it extensively in UK and France.

Neither is 1300kg a limit that restricts you to small pop tops or folders. After years with big vans and cars we sold our caravan and tow car nearly three years ago and bought a car not so well suited to towing. However, last Autumn we decided to start again but go lightweight in order not to have etc change the car, although the XT version is still on the wish list! We bought a Trigano Silver (excellent build quality and great to tow) but it lacked roominess inside for two dogs and a tweenie. So we have just now bought a 5 berth Sprite Musketeer TD 2013, which has a max MTPLM of 1300kg, good payload, light ex works nose weight and oodles of interior space in a caravan only 6.4 overall length.

So you do need to decide what are your key criteria and then see how best to meet them with minimum constraints. There are several website which can provide guidance on outfit matching. I tend to use Dutch one (in English) "towcar.info" as it allows for different noseweights, changes to load and distribution of load between car and caravan. But like all such sources of information and guidance they aren't guaranteed 100%, but can aid decision-making.. But you are doing the right thing by reaching out for advice to other caravan users and forums.
Good luck