towing weights

Sep 20, 2007
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Iread in Nov mag a letter form Mr and Mrs Doyle saying you do not need a large diesel 4x4 or heavy saloon for towing as they tow a two berth Compass with its MTPLM of 1100kg with a BMW 320C1 M with a (2.2petrol) engine. Has she forgotton lots of people have children were do we put them (in the car to sleep)

We went away in a 2 berth caravan but the avarage weight of them is 1400kg mtplm. If you look in the back of the book at weights of new caravan there is not many vans that the average car can now pull. We have a 2 litre diesel Freelander not a massive 4x4 smaller in size than the average saloon but a bit heavier. We bought if a few years ago and it matched quite alot of the average van for towing but now it dos not. If we wanted to buy a new challenger from swift we could only tow the 480 as the rest are heavier than the car even smost of the lunars are to heavey, Elddis Odyssey range 4 berth upwards are too heavy etc. Which explains why ther are a lot of unsafe towning matches on the road. We were on a site in Norfolk and saw a 6 berth twin axel Swift been towed by a 1.8 two door Freelander. They had full awning, bikes etc how he managed hills i donot know the caravan will of been 200kg heavier than the car. I like the plush seats and furniture in new vans but would do without the heavy shower unit,microwave, oven, have a smaller fridge,flyscreens are a must but I have curtains and do not need blinds. If everyone thought about what they really need we could have a nice looking interior without the heavy items we do not use and thus have a lighter car.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Just like firearms where it's not the gun that's unsafe, it's the person that's holding it, the same applies to towing a caravan. It's not the outfit that's unsafe, it's the person that's driving it without due care for the prevailing conditions. So long as there's enough power to keep up with the flow of traffic and the driver is capable of handling the weight safely at that speed, there's no reason not to make use whatever weight is legally allowed. It is therefore less a question of weight (because that's influenced as much by the driver as the car) as a question of power. There's little point in having a favourable weight ratio if the car hasn't got the guts OR if the driver isn't doing his job properly.
 

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