Preferred Towing Vehicle

[michael_5130795]

HI ALL

I'm after a bit of information really......iv'e recently got into caravaning, and have brought a 18 month old 21'caravan.

Being ' New 'to the fold I'm not really sure of what to pull it along with.

I've had recommendations from so many people about what is the best vehicle for the job.....such as Disco's, Range Rover Diesel,

Nissan Patrol, B.M.W 530d, Volvo s60 diesel, Mercedes c270 CDi

etc.

Also what would be the best Auto or Manual.

I have about £7000...to play with. Any advise from you seasoned towers would be greatly appreciated.

Mike.

 

[Tony A.]

michael,

before anyone can advise you they need the weights of your van, the make and model might help as there are some very knowledgable people on this forum, (I`m not one of them)

Tony A.

 

[michael_5130795]

michael,

before anyone can advise you they need the weights of your van, the make and model might help as there are some very knowledgable people on this forum, (I`m not one of them)

Tony A.

Thanks Tony...will pop up storage tomorrow and get the weight, modelmake etc.

Mike

 

[michael_5130795]

Hi Tony....many thanks, I will pop up to the storage tomorrow and get the weight, model/make.

Thanks

Mike.

 

[coljac]

Hi ,as has been said the weight of the caravan is important when selecting a tow car . The recomendation for novice towers is the caravan to be 85% 0f the weight of the tow car .

However i have found the Cytroen C5 2ltr diesel to be the best towcar i have had in 22years experience. I get 33MPG when towing and it always has some reseve pull in the engine .They are not a car which jermy clarkson would endorse but as a no nonsense tow car they take a bit of beating Coljac

 

[michael_5130795]

Hi.....it's me again-(the guy who posted the original thread.

Have taken tony's advice and obtained the following important info...(what a thicko to forget it in the first place !!!!)

The van is : Abbey

model is : Expression 500L

Berth : 5

ULW : 1116 KG

MGW : 1350 KG

Would appreciate any help in the right direction.

Mike.

 

[alan_5039782]

Hi.....it's me again-(the guy who posted the original thread.

Have taken tony's advice and obtained the following important info...(what a thicko to forget it in the first place !!!!)

The van is : Abbey

model is : Expression 500L

Berth : 5

ULW : 1116 KG

MGW : 1350 KG

Would appreciate any help in the right direction.

Mike.

for that weight you dont need a 4 x 4....i tow same weight with a modeo hatch 130 bhp superb and it doesnt bust the bank,for that money you could get a 3 year old model no problem,check it out youll love it

 

[michael_5130795]

Could still do wiv a bita help....not sure of which way to go.

 

[parker1158]

Hi Michael

Your van is about average weight and there are dozens and dozens of vehicles more than capable of towing it. You will only end up with lots of people telling you to buy what they drive which is frankly of little help as we all have different tastes.

Lets try a different approach. Have you a preference for hatch, estate, 4 x 4, saloon, or any particular make? What does it need to do when you are not towing?

 

[Steve L]

With 1350Kgs as a current max weight to tow Mike, you have a vast choice of possabilities.

Now before I get stomped on just because I prefer Renault for value for money and reliability, there are several amnufcturers worhty of a look. Skoda octavia, VW passat, Saab, Vauxhall Vectra etc.

If you realy think you might need 4 wheel drive, try a car derivative such as the Octavia 4x4 estate. My father-in-law hada Misibushi MPV in 4 wheel drive format and that was plenty for pulling his 1500Kg van off wet grassy slopes.

I do have a negative bias towards Ford and Rover as they are both pretenders running out dated running gear on a stylish skin. As anyone will tell you, dependability and reliability are on the top end of anyone list.

Now for the trumpet fan fare.

I bought my 1998 Laguna estate with 106k on the clock but a 72K engine and gearbox with full history for a mere

 

[CliveV]

Good grief Steve!!!!

Have you got shares in some company that has to shift aging Renault Lagunas?

 

[CliveV]

Michael

As a self confessed Land Rover "Nut" - I think they are the best all-round vehicle FOR WHAT I WANT TO DO! (Not "shouting" - just emphasising a point. But they are not for everyone.

The most sensible comment on here is Martyns:-

"What does it need to do when you are not towing?"

Beware of people who swear by their particular brands of car. Just because car "A" is good for them - what guarantee have you got that car "B", even if it is same model same year same colour etc etc is going to be any good at all?

I suggest you do not be influenced by such nonsense rather than doing all the checks and buying the very best for YOUR needs/budget etc.

It seems a bit like kids who feel all must have the same type of Trainers/Jeans or whatever.

Don't know about you Michael but I left all that behind a long long time ago.

 

[Guest]

We have been on the road most of the summer travelling with our Besscarr to Italy from home in France and back and then up through France to England and now to Cork.

We've met quite a few Caravannners with a variety of cars of FWD, RWD and 4 X 4, most seem to be happy with their choices. The main complaint I would say has been about 4 x 4's from fuel consumption to ride quality and We have 4x4's which we are very happy with.

A family we met is on there 3rd generation Espace that is his companies choice of car for the man. Latest generation Espace has been fine but previous ones described as "crap". All though towing a very large Abbey they have visited many sites around Europe and descriped all the thier Espace as good tow cars.

You may have to Adapt in certain sittuations to the capability of you chosen vehicle but providing you have reasonable power and stick to a reasonable weight you make your own choice.

A good well maintained 5 series touring diesel should be a good choice, one we owned has now done 250k trouble free and a lot of that with a caravan.

 

[AndyR]

Be very careful if you are looking at Renaults, particularly the Scenic range - to be honest, avoid the Scenics all together.

There's a problem with the way Renault quote their tow weights, which (like me) you may not realise until it's too late! I have a Grand Scenic and it quotes "maximum tow weight 1300Kg". This looks fine until you discover that the Gross Train Weight (total weight of car + caravan + all contents including passengers and luggage) is on 3050 Kg.

What this means is that the maximum tow weight figure only applies if you have an empty car with no luggage or passengers! So with 4 people and luggage in the car, I can really only tow about 800Kg!

I'm now having to save up to replace our second car, which I use just for driving to work.

I don't want a huge 4x4 but can see the benefits of 4wd for getting off wet grass etc. So far, I'm considering Honda CRV and Kia Sportage. Both are part time 4wd - and amazingly their economy and CO2 emissions are better than a Mini Cooper!

Good luck. Andy.

 

[Rod_5128213]

Be very careful if you are looking at Renaults, particularly the Scenic range - to be honest, avoid the Scenics all together.

There's a problem with the way Renault quote their tow weights, which (like me) you may not realise until it's too late! I have a Grand Scenic and it quotes "maximum tow weight 1300Kg". This looks fine until you discover that the Gross Train Weight (total weight of car + caravan + all contents including passengers and luggage) is on 3050 Kg.

What this means is that the maximum tow weight figure only applies if you have an empty car with no luggage or passengers! So with 4 people and luggage in the car, I can really only tow about 800Kg!

I'm now having to save up to replace our second car, which I use just for driving to work.

I don't want a huge 4x4 but can see the benefits of 4wd for getting off wet grass etc. So far, I'm considering Honda CRV and Kia Sportage. Both are part time 4wd - and amazingly their economy and CO2 emissions are better than a Mini Cooper!

Good luck. Andy.

Defender 110; 5 door, 300 TDI; 28mpg (ish); pull, and more importantly, stop anything anywhere. What more do you want?

Rod.

 

[Rod_5128213]

Defender 110; 5 door, 300 TDI; 28mpg (ish); pull, and more importantly, stop anything anywhere. What more do you want?

Rod.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Same message in comments was put in wrong place, just me having a senior moment.