Hi.just starting caravaning.ive got a 2007 Bailey discovery 5 neptune.can i tow it with a vauxhall zafira 2.0 dti 04.05 reg.most outings will have 4 adults and 2 kids in the car.your help would be great.its driving me mad.
Towing
- Thread starter Blades1976
- Start date
You need to spell out the kerbweight of the car, it’s max towing load, it’s Gross Vehicle Weight, engine power, The caravan MTPLM also what licence do you hold B or B/E.
Without such information it’s neigh on impossible to advice.
The CMHC have very good information sheets on their website which cover all aspects of caravanning. As a newby it would be worth your while reading through them especially those covering weights, loading and tyres.
Without such information it’s neigh on impossible to advice.
The CMHC have very good information sheets on their website which cover all aspects of caravanning. As a newby it would be worth your while reading through them especially those covering weights, loading and tyres.
Mel
Moderator
Hi Blades. Welcome to the forum. This weight business is very daunting when you are a newbie. But worry ye not. Get all the numbers that other Clive lists from the weight plate on the car, the car handbook and the weight plate on the van or van handbook. Put them in a list here and someone will do the maths with you.
It is generally a good plan to the maths before you buy the caravan, because then you don't end up having to change your tow car, but fingers crossed it will work out for you.
Keep posting
Mel
It is generally a good plan to the maths before you buy the caravan, because then you don't end up having to change your tow car, but fingers crossed it will work out for you.
Keep posting
Mel
Just googled Zafira towing limits on your behalf. UKCampsite.com (also on gocaravanning.com) lists a 2.0DTi 2005 with a kerbweight of 1448 BUT a max towing limit of 1050kg, so that would rule out most caravans from being a legal and safe tow.
:silly: Iif you are looking for a car to tow the caravan you will need to upgrade to a bigger model. With the number of adults and children a bigger people carrier like the Sharan will be needed, the caravan is far too heavy given the towing limit of the Vauxhall.
You will also need to check your licence for BE if the combination will have a weight over 3,500 kg which I think will be the case. If you passed your test after 1997 you need to take an additional test. The Caravan and Motorhome club site will explain this in more detail.
Do make sure that the tow cars kerb weight exceeds the caravans MTPLM by a decent margin, an 85 % ratio is ideal but with the numbers you will have on board a higher figure could be used but I would post your intended tow car on here and its weights for more advice.
You will also need to check your licence for BE if the combination will have a weight over 3,500 kg which I think will be the case. If you passed your test after 1997 you need to take an additional test. The Caravan and Motorhome club site will explain this in more detail.
Do make sure that the tow cars kerb weight exceeds the caravans MTPLM by a decent margin, an 85 % ratio is ideal but with the numbers you will have on board a higher figure could be used but I would post your intended tow car on here and its weights for more advice.
.Thingy said:
Thingy, which model X Trail do you tow with,I tow with the Quashqai thinking of a X Trail next year if I don' get stung for road tax, only paying £30.00
Dont have an XTrail now, but had two, a 54 plate Sport and a 57 plate Aventura, both 2.2 manuals. Found them excellent towcars, following from those had a Volvo XC70 and then two Shoguns, latter of which is my current tug.
Only issues I had with the Xtrails was that they went through front tyres fairly quickly and the laquer peeled off the alloys on both cars. One of them, cant remember which now had the famous turbo failure at three weeks old. Nissan admitted they should have sent us a recall so we had no problems with the warranty side of it. Once that was fixed, it was a fine and relaible car.
Only issues I had with the Xtrails was that they went through front tyres fairly quickly and the laquer peeled off the alloys on both cars. One of them, cant remember which now had the famous turbo failure at three weeks old. Nissan admitted they should have sent us a recall so we had no problems with the warranty side of it. Once that was fixed, it was a fine and relaible car.
Thingy said:
Same here we got rid of our Toyota 2.2 ( roughly the same size and shape of your Zafira ) for the same reason , good tow car but terrible for what it was allowed to pull legally
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