hi, i have just brought a mardon supreme 460/4. the manual gives an EX WKS WT of 850kg. can anybody suggest a suitable tow car with a budget of £1250? at the moment i have a vectra 1.8ls, it will pull the van but i have problems with wheelspin on a dry day without the van, nevermind a wet day while towing!thanks.
suitable car?
- Thread starter arakassi_5089009
- Start date
i tow with a 2.0dti est vectra, my caravan is about the same weight, have no problems with wheelspin. maybe the diesel engine
extra weight helps? if u like the vectra, then why not look
for the dti, it has more torque and i'm sure there will be plenty of choice in the autotrader....
extra weight helps? if u like the vectra, then why not look
for the dti, it has more torque and i'm sure there will be plenty of choice in the autotrader....
Damian
Moderator
- Mar 14, 2005
- 7,510
- 936
- 30,935
Arkassi, its not the ex works weight which is important, as such.
You NEED to know how much it weighs WITH ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT in it, in other words, its MTPLM, which should be in the handbook.
Looking at the vecra data, depending which model you have, specifically, the towing limits are quite low, and your van is getting on towards the max recommended limit.
However, you must have NO more than 75kilos on the towball, and it sounds like you may well be having too much weight there, to lift the front end to allow wheelspin on a dry surface, OR you have a lead right foot!!.
You NEED to know how much it weighs WITH ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT in it, in other words, its MTPLM, which should be in the handbook.
Looking at the vecra data, depending which model you have, specifically, the towing limits are quite low, and your van is getting on towards the max recommended limit.
However, you must have NO more than 75kilos on the towball, and it sounds like you may well be having too much weight there, to lift the front end to allow wheelspin on a dry surface, OR you have a lead right foot!!.
- Mar 14, 2005
- 10,031
- 860
- 40,935
Damian is right about the all up weight of the caravan being more important than its ex-works weight but with a 850kg ex-works weight you are very unlikely to get anywhere near the maximum permissible towload of 1300kg for a 1.8 Vectra. I towed a caravan almost on that limit for several years behind a 1.8 Vectra and while I must admit it was not an ideal combination, I got everywhere I wanted to go and never felt unsafe with it. Wheel spin is, of course, more likely with a front wheel drive car and to avoid it you have to learn to dose the throttle very carefully when moving off.
thanks for your replies, much appreciated.
i have taken the weight of all my extras into consideration and only add a further 200kg's max to the van, so i should be ok with the 85% ratio for the outfit.when i said i had trouble with wheelspin, i was purely talking about the car on it's own and not with the van attached, thus i don't get filled with much hope for when i am towing. i would be very grateful if someone could explain about noseweight to me though and how to measure it. again many thanks odes!
i have taken the weight of all my extras into consideration and only add a further 200kg's max to the van, so i should be ok with the 85% ratio for the outfit.when i said i had trouble with wheelspin, i was purely talking about the car on it's own and not with the van attached, thus i don't get filled with much hope for when i am towing. i would be very grateful if someone could explain about noseweight to me though and how to measure it. again many thanks odes!
- Mar 14, 2005
- 10,031
- 860
- 40,935
If you are already getting exceessive wheelspin when not towing I would say that you've got either a very heavy right foot or poor tyres.
Nose weight is relatively easily measured with a bathroom scale and a suitable piece of wood to support the coupling when the jockey wheel is raised. Cut the piece of wood to the length that, when placed on the scales, holds the caravan at the same height as when it's hitched up to the car.
Nose weight is relatively easily measured with a bathroom scale and a suitable piece of wood to support the coupling when the jockey wheel is raised. Cut the piece of wood to the length that, when placed on the scales, holds the caravan at the same height as when it's hitched up to the car.
It might sound wierd, but I had a simlar problem with my Renault 25. That was down to using "budget" tyres. Try changing to a mid range tyre, I use "Goodyear NCT" on my current car (Laguna estate 1998) and find them very good in the wet or dry conditions.
Gentle use of the throttle also helps as you should not forget that when towing you are nearly doubling the weight your car has to cope with.
Also check your nose weight on the caravan, you should not be over 75Kgs. This too will have the effect of lightening grip it too much down force is applied to the hitch.
Gentle use of the throttle also helps as you should not forget that when towing you are nearly doubling the weight your car has to cope with.
Also check your nose weight on the caravan, you should not be over 75Kgs. This too will have the effect of lightening grip it too much down force is applied to the hitch.
hi again.
my right foot works as well as my left one, no problem there. (ha)
but......oops! i did fit all new tyres about a year ago and yes they were budget. only
my right foot works as well as my left one, no problem there. (ha)
but......oops! i did fit all new tyres about a year ago and yes they were budget. only
I had some cheap tyres on an Audi (bought from a garage and I stupidly negotiated with them for two new front tyres in the price WITHOUT specifying tyre type.) They were Polish "foto" I think and they were absolutley shocking!
Not good in the dry and ruddy dangereous in the wet.
So cannot agree more wit the comments re a good quality brand of tyre.
As for a good tow car - I read a report in the CC mag last year on the Ford Scorpio (The wide mouth frog car!) The write up they gave it was nothing short of brilliant saying that for the money there is basically none better for a budget tow car.
Because of the looks and the relatively large engine size, there are a lot of them about and you can pick up a good one fairly easily.
Also they are so simple to work on that any mechanic can service them.
Have fun looking!
Not good in the dry and ruddy dangereous in the wet.
So cannot agree more wit the comments re a good quality brand of tyre.
As for a good tow car - I read a report in the CC mag last year on the Ford Scorpio (The wide mouth frog car!) The write up they gave it was nothing short of brilliant saying that for the money there is basically none better for a budget tow car.
Because of the looks and the relatively large engine size, there are a lot of them about and you can pick up a good one fairly easily.
Also they are so simple to work on that any mechanic can service them.
Have fun looking!
Hi arakassi,
I don't think many people on this forum will have experience buying a car with a budget of
I don't think many people on this forum will have experience buying a car with a budget of
good positive comments. thanks.
my father in law had a scorpio with his caravan and he too reccommends it. but as the vectra is overall a nice car maybe a good idea is to spend on some good tyres and save the extra cost of a new car.
(you think i'd have thought of that wouldn't you? DAMN!)
thanks all!
my father in law had a scorpio with his caravan and he too reccommends it. but as the vectra is overall a nice car maybe a good idea is to spend on some good tyres and save the extra cost of a new car.
(you think i'd have thought of that wouldn't you? DAMN!)
thanks all!
TRENDING THREADS
-
-
What is it really going top cost, starting with a modest, but new, caravan?
- Started by Eldorado
- Replies: 12
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter