Towing Limits

[keith_374571704]

Hi All!

I'm new here as I'm in the process of buying our first caravan but I have a question regarding towing limits. My preferred option is a Swift Conqueror with with MIR 1358kg and MTPLM of 1600kg. As I currently drive a Toyota Avensis Tourer 2l petrol I realise that a heavier car is also required. Kerb weight of the Avensis is only about 1350kg.

One option is a big heavy 4x4 and we've looked at the Kia Sorento auto diesel which would easily cope. However it's huge and guzzles fuel so we're also looking at 2l TDI Mondeos and similar. Kerb weight of around 1500kg is better than the Avensis but can anyone tell me whether I'm still barking up the wrong tree?

Many Thanks

Keith

 

[Bri2]

Keith, if your looking to buy a caravan that has a MTPLM of 1600kg, then you need the heavest car you can afford to tow it with safety. Most will say the caravan should not be more than 85% of the towing cars kerb weight, so thats in the region of 1840kg kerb weight for the car but this is not a legal requirement. You also need to consider if your chosen car can tow 1600kg? Quite a lot of cars have a limit around 1500kg and also a tow ball weight of 70 - 85kg. I would also go for a Diesel engine with around 130bhp but again, the more power the better. Im not sure if you can tow a 1600kg van with a Mondeo, it may have a limit of around the 1500kg area.

Im sure there are others on here that can add a lot more to this.

Happy hunting, Bri

 

[marlot]

The mondeo isn't really heavy enough.

When did you pass your driving test. If after 1 jan 1997 you have some additional rules to obey - happy to advise if appropriate.

 

[drsorento]

Hi kieth, the sorento (2002~2010) is for its capabilites an economical car I have a manual xe and return 30~35 to the gallon solo so they are not the gas guzzlers people think, the auto are not as good on fuel and those with the "TOD" (xs & xt) system are even more thirsty.

All of these cars are exceptional tow cars with massive towing capacity.

 

[Garfield]

We tow a 1600kg T/a with an S-max which along with other mpvs such as the Alhambra or Sharan has suspension better designed for towing than an offroader and gives very good stability but with a caravan of that weight with just 2wd, traction is an issue, if we did not need something as big as an mpv, an Audi A6 quattro would be high on the list or the Volvo V70AWD (not the XC70 as this has offroadish suspension and, according to some posts in the past is not so stable)

 

[JeffandDi]

A BMW 5 series saloon is a smidgen under 1700KG unladen and we tow a 1500KG van with one. The manufacturers limit is 2000KG so with the estate version which is about 100kg heavier I would have thought you would be fine. Used examples are surprisingly good value and whilst ours is now 6 years old we get 40mpg out of its 218bhp 3 litre diesel engine. 370 lb/ft torque for towing and it supposedly tops out at 150mph on the autobahn. That's not bad for a 6 year old car. It also has a particle filter so no black muck on the van. Newer ones are more powerful and even more economical but sadly out of my price range.

 

[xtrailman]

keith

As its your first caravan why not go for a lighter caravan, say the 1450kg to 1500kg range?

Most things are a compromise, with a lighter van your tow car options are far greater, a mondeo or the like would certainly be a possibly, with out going for the people carriers or the 4x4.

You need to ask yourself do you want to drive a heavy car around, at 120p a litre diesel is not cheap, ok i can get 40mpg with a xtrail, but a mondeo type vehicle can return near 50mpg, and with a lower VED group.

Lunar make light caravans if you must have such a large caravan.

 

[keith_374571704]

Thanks everyone for the replies. We're still looking at both caravans and towcars. Looked at Lunar and Bailey caravans as they're light weight but prfer the Swift / Sterling ranges so the end result will quite likely be heavy, especially as the better half wants a fixed bed. Kia Sorento is looking like the favourite car but don't want to spend more than