Towing a buccaneer with a rear drive car

Dec 1, 2017
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Hi All, i am looking for a good car to tow a buccaneer up to 2000kg, mptl loaded.
i am used to driving BMWs 3 series, but they don't have enough tow capacity.
The 5 series seem ok though extra capacity, and i am looking to upgrade like a 520 or 530. diesel maybe

The specs look great on std BMWs 5 series
something like this
BMW 5 Series 520d SE 4dr Step Auto
2000kg MTPL max, so that matches
923 miles on a tank of fuel
up to 60 mpg far better than my 3 series
so whats not to like about a std 5 series second hand car

Anyone towing 2kg vans with std BMWs 5 series cars
I only tow every 2 or 3 weeks, so most to the time i won't be towing, i don't really want an expensive 4x4.
when i mostly use the car on its own.

Any thoughts or issues welcome
 
Sep 29, 2016
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Mercedes E-Class E220E250 perhaps worthy of comparison?

The estate version being my preference (huge load space). B)

And yes I like the 5 series, fine car.
 
May 7, 2012
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What is the kerb weight of the BMW and MTPLM of the caravan as even if it the car has a towing capacity of 2,000 kg I doubt it is heavy enough to be a good match, but will wait for your answer on that.
There is no real problem with towing with a rear wheel drive though as opposed to front wheel drive. They are a bit lighter at the front end though so do not overload the rear.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Given a 2wd Car I’d prefer the rear wheel drive as better traction when pulling away especially in hills or sharp corners.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi

I cannot offer any advice regards the vehicle you are considering except it is unlikely to meet the industries guidance on towing ratio's

For a 2 Tonne MTPLM caravan you should be looking at a tow vehicle with an unladen weight in excess of 2 Tonne's. I doubt if either the vehicles you have short listed meet that criteria.

Even if the vehicles are specified as being able to tow a trailer of 2 Tonnes, the cars Maximum Authorised Mass will almost certainly be in excess of 1500kg meaning the combined MAM of the car and your caravan will be at least 3500kg which requires the driver to have a licence with entitlement Be or B+E.

Whilst car manufactures may state high values for maximum towed weights often in excess of the cars unladen weight, this specification is for an 'ideal' (Small, low vertical height for the centre of gravity and no windage) trailer. Caravans are not small, they have a relatively high centre of gravity and big wall areas that are susceptible to the effects of windage. In recognition of this the caravan industry recommends the ratio of the trailers MTPLM should not exceed the tow vehicles unladen or Kerb weight, and especially for new tower's the ratio should not exceed 85% At no time should the trailers axle weight exceed the tow vehicles stated maximum towed weight.
 
Mar 8, 2017
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Whilst probably too light for your caravan I recently changed from a two wheel front drive VW Passat to an AWD Volvo XC70.
The poor traction offered by the VW meant that I had to be very gentle on the throttle on anything other than level dry roads. I haven't had a hint of wheel slippage with the Volvo.

It also happens to be a much more comfortable car to ride in.
 
Dec 1, 2017
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The caravan unladen weight is 1764 with a max of 1900kg
i do not intend to put much in as it already has everything as std
if i add cloths and food and my laptop thats all i need but i can carry all that in the car boot. its a big car
i have a BE rating on my licence i had it for a long time
the car min kerb weight is 1625 with a gross weight of 2235

im looking for a car if possible,
 
Jun 20, 2017
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I can’t comment on weight suitability for your outfit but I have had both the 520 and 530 Touring, got a new one being delivered on Monday (530 Touring auto).
Superb car both with and without the van.
Get the 530 if your pocket allows as the engine is superb.

Kevin
 
Dec 1, 2017
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Yeah, i am looking at any models 530 has a lot more torque lower mpg.
i can spend between 7 to 12k maybe more, if i need to but id like to try to keep cost down
as i spent more on the caravan than original plan, but its so nice,
 
Dec 1, 2017
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this model in budget around 11k
2010 (10) - BMW 5 Series 3.0 530d SE 5dr Auto
a bit less 45 mpg but lots pulling power torque 245 bhp
looks less estate but wheels are closer to rear

has min kerb weight 1960
and mtpl 2100
 
Nov 11, 2009
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logik said:
The caravan unladen weight is 1764 with a max of 1900kg
i do not intend to put much in as it already has everything as std
if i add cloths and food and my laptop thats all i need but i can carry all that in the car boot. its a big car
i have a BE rating on my licence i had it for a long time
the car min kerb weight is 1625 with a gross weight of 2235

im looking for a car if possible,

Can't see your figures holding credibility. You say your van has a payload of 136kg and you don't plan to put much in it. But have you allowed for a battery, gas bottles, is a mover included in the unladen weight of the caravan? Aqua roll, waste containers, wheel locks, hitch lock, step, and the many other items that tend to be required for a caravan trip. I doubt it will all go in the cars boot and back seats. Something seems to me that you should look in detail at the caravans MRO, MTPLM and the cars MIS, MAM, GTW and then you should be clearer in what the outfit should be. I've no doubt a 2 or 3 litre 5 Series will tow a heavy caravan, but will the outfit be legal or safe. The outfit matching services would help clarify the decision.
 
Jul 22, 2014
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Raywood said:
There is no real problem with towing with a rear wheel drive though as opposed to front wheel drive. They are a bit lighter at the front end though so do not overload the rear.
I don't know why anyone should think that rear wheel drive cars might present a problem as such. I'd be more worried about front wheel drive. The extra weight on the towbar of adds to the traction of RWD and subtracts from the traction of FWD. Sorry, I don't understand the second sentence at all; can you clarify it?
 
Nov 11, 2009
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DrZhivago said:
Raywood said:
There is no real problem with towing with a rear wheel drive though as opposed to front wheel drive. They are a bit lighter at the front end though so do not overload the rear.
I don't know why anyone should think that rear wheel drive cars might present a problem as such. I'd be more worried about front wheel drive. The extra weight on the towbar of adds to the traction of RWD and subtracts from the traction of FWD. Sorry, I don't understand the second sentence at all; can you clarify it?

FWD cars aren't normally lighter at the front as the gearbox drive shafts and diff are all up front. Think what Raywood means is that they can go "light" on the front as weight comes into the back. With FWD this can affect traction and steering. But RWD can also go "light " on the front as weight goes into the boot and tow bar. But traction is still okay and the front wheels won't scrabble for grip.
 
Nov 6, 2006
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I think the 520 might struggle a bit. I had the 3.0l diesel in my old X5 which had a kerb weight of 2180 towing a 1900Kg van.

I have switched to a 5GT also with a 30l diesel, and kerb weight about 100 Kg less, but this model is somewhat heavier than the saloon style 5 series - with a hatch too, its more convenient IMHO for caravanning than a saloon.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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logik said:
Thanks i will rejoin up is that the best one i here there s two min ones i used to be part of caravan club

Be wary of all matching services, as the databases they use do contain errors and several omissions. Their output are only usable if they hold the correct EXACT details of the car and the caravan you have in mind. You are likely to get a wrong answer if you try using data for similar models.

Legally it is the drivers responsibility to check the weights ect. are all in order, simply relying on an matching service would not hold up if challenged in court. The necessary calculations are not difficult, and the required data should be available form the cars and caravans data plate.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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There is one matching website that allows the user to input the specific details of their outfit. It is a Dutch one which holds a lot of data re UK caravans and cars but then allows the user to adjust the data to suit their own proposed outfit. For example on my previous two caravans the website quoted accurate makers MTPLM but I have had both weights upgraded so I could adjust the MTPLM to reflect the upgraded MTPLM. It also allows you to vary the payload in the van and car and adjust noseweight too. It is "towcar.info" My last car was a 2014 Forester petrol 2.0 litre 150bhp towing 1300kg. It was very stable but the engine just revved too high for relaxed towing despite it having max towed load of 2000kg, which goes to show that the maker's max towed weight is not something that can be guaranteed to provide much help as its really a measure of the cars ability to start on a hill. I knew the Subaru would be a revvy engine but it wasn't bought as a tow car as I bought it when I sold my last caravan and 2010 XC70 as we were giving up caravanning. So given that we bought another caravan earlier this year I gave the Subaru a go, but decided it had to be changed. However the "towcar.info" site was pretty accurate for both the XC70 with a Bailey Pageant and the Subaru with a Sprite. But I did have to adjust things to suit my own car and caravan. So you will need to know the car's MAM, MIS, Makers max towed weight, and caravan MTPLM, MRO and payload to make any sense of a matching website output. But even then some are very black and white. For example my current outfit comes out on CMHC matching as Amber for noseweight suitability as it can only meet 6.1% off MTPLM not 7%. The legal minimum is 4% of towed weight or not less than 25kg. But for caravans given their shape and size etc the norm is between 5% and 7%. So by being 0.9% less then 7% I got an Amber. Yet I don't tow at the car's max nose weigh so I am at 75kg or 5.8% ratio. Yet it is "supremely stable". This is for a Towcar of the Year towing at 72% Kerbweight to MTPLM, nicely below the 85% guidance. Matching websites cannot guarantee a safe outfit but they can help in informing a decision, as can (some) Q&A's on Forums, talking to (some) dealers and looking at the two Clubs' technical information sheets. But as said by Prof the legal responsibly for a safe outfit belongs to the driver.
 
Aug 11, 2010
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whatotowcar ,i believe is the name of that dutch site ..bare in mind its weights for models are going to be based on European spec cars , towing limits should j be the same though ,sbut is a few kilos here and there going to make much difference when using the site is merely as guide ,i say not
 
Nov 11, 2009
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JonnyG said:
whatotowcar ,i believe is the name of that dutch site ..bare in mind its weights for models are going to be based on European spec cars , towing limits should j be the same though ,sbut is a few kilos here and there going to make much difference when using the site is merely as guide ,i say not

The one I quoted is Dutch and is "towcar.info". The name given in your post can't be found on a Bing/Google search but they do eventually lead you to 'towcar.info" by giving suggestions for other websites. The car details that I checked out were both the same as for my UK spec Volvo, Subaru and Superb. But as I mentioned in my post you do have to use your own vehicle's details, or your proposed vehicle's details, and these come from the V5, and vehicle build tally plates. But obviously these may not be readily available at the beginning of a search for an outfit, so the caravaner has to elicit information from a wide variety of sources and then start to make a value judgement.
 
Aug 11, 2010
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otherclive said:
JonnyG said:
whatotowcar ,i believe is the name of that dutch site ..bare in mind its weights for models are going to be based on European spec cars , towing limits should j be the same though ,sbut is a few kilos here and there going to make much difference when using the site is merely as guide ,i say not

The one I quoted is Dutch and is "towcar.info". The name given in your post can't be found on a Bing/Google search but they do eventually lead you to 'towcar.info" by giving suggestions for other websites. The car details that I checked out were both the same as for my UK spec Volvo, Subaru and Superb. But as I mentioned in my post you do have to use your own vehicle's details, or your proposed vehicle's details, and these come from the V5, and vehicle build tally plates. But obviously these may not be readily available at the beginning of a search for an outfit, so the caravaner has to elicit information from a wide variety of sources and then start to make a value judgement.
i use to buy a magazine called what diesel car then it was called which dieselcar and i believe its now called dieselcar ..yep that's the site excellent site as you can play around with specs including bhp torwue ,or you could . although i still recall it having a long name ie whattotowcar back in the last decade
 
Dec 1, 2017
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I think i need to look at 4 wheel drive then,
maybe an x5, or some other value 4x4, i think range rover are too big i don't need to carry more than 2 people for now
as that works on the
https://towcar.info/GB/outfitmatch.php
tow site i found it in the suggestions it seems to be all green for that X5
car
 
Aug 11, 2010
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logik said:
I think i need to look at 4 wheel drive then,
maybe an x5, or some other value 4x4, i think range rover are too big i don't need to carry more than 2 people for now
as that works on the
https://towcar.info/GB/outfitmatch.php
tow site i found it in the suggestions it seems to be all green for that X5
car
or maybe merely a heavier car? which as i dont follow car trends these days might mean looking at 4x4 as you state .
 
Nov 11, 2009
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There are a lot of larger 4x4 to choose from and you don't need to pay the earth to buy one. It all depends on your usage towing and solo or whether you have a second car too. Good luck.
 

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