Twin axle tow cars

[lishka]

At the moment I have a 2005 Kia sedona and find it the perfect tow car for our van, however 90% of its use is used solo and is very exspensive to run round town :-(
I have been wondering if a 2.5 shogun 2.7 terrano or even a 2.5 transit crew bus would be a better all round option?
Our van max weight is 1600 so our current car has no problems at all at 2200kgs, apart from the 2.9 diesel lump.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Lishka
A 2.5 litre Shogun would struggle up hills, I had the 2.5 swb TD Pajero and replaced it with the 2.8 TD lwb model which tows without any problems.
The only thing is that at over 2 tonnes the 2.8 Paj is a thirsty beast, (so was the 2.5 which if anything was worse) and we are fortunate to acheive 24mpg on motorways when towing, and less on trunk roads and it's not an economical solo runabout either.

We use the Pajero for the 'big shop' with heavy items but are lucky to have good frequent bus services and free oap bus passes which cuts down on the fuel bills for short trips.
I might consider getting an economical runabout one day when fuel prices are continuing to rise to astronomical levels but at the moment we manage to strike a balance to keep our heads above water with the t/a and large towcar.

 

[otherclive]

Lishka,

both the cars you have proposed are hardly likely to be any more economical than the Sedona. Perhaps another MPV such as Galaxy, BMax, VW or a large estate such as Mondeo, V70 or Skoda Superb would be a better option, but when you look at the cost to change then the Sedona might still be the best overall option. Much depends on your annual mileage, and how long you are likely to keep any replacement car. Depreciation is the most likely cost driver.

 

[Martin24]

I would agree with Parksy that Shogun wise you're better off with the 2.8 Other clive has a good point about the depreciation on the Sedona as well. On the whole a large and heavy twin axle needs a hefty vehicle to tow it with and with that goes the ownership cost!! Not for a minute would I recommend what we use because you just can't even think about the pennies in the tank, but of course it was our choice and we need to live with it. For better (slightly) economy than our old 2.8 Pajero (Shogun) we did find the Ssangyong Rexton pretty good on a solo run, no worse than anything similar when towing. They are pretty reasonabl;e on the used market and we didn't have any major problems with her in the three years we had her.

 

[ProfJohnL]

At the moment I have a 2005 Kia sedona and find it the perfect tow car for our van, however 90% of its use is used solo and is very exspensive to run round town :-(
I have been wondering if a 2.5 shogun 2.7 terrano or even a 2.5 transit crew bus would be a better all round option?
Our van max weight is 1600 so our current car has no problems at all at 2200kgs, apart from the 2.9 diesel lump.

Hello Iisika,

Others have beaten me to it, all the vehiclew you mention are quite thirsty.How the compare to teh Sedoma depends on which model you have.
Is it the V6 petrol or the Diesel.
If you currently have the Petrol version, then yes it is quite thirsty, but if you would consider the diesel, then its at least 20% better on fuel consumption, and still a very capable tow vehicle.

 

[topshelf]

If you look at a Terrano dont discount the 3L model, cheaper road tax than your sedona, = if not better than the 2.7 terrano for fuel,
I get about 21 mpg round town, 33gpm @ 60mph and about 25 to 30 mpg towing my twin axle on a motorway,
Down side is they arnt as plush as other cars inside, and the 3L suffers from a oil light problem some times.

 

[topshelf]

Duplicate Post

 

[nor]

At the moment I have a 2005 Kia sedona and find it the perfect tow car for our van, however 90% of its use is used solo and is very exspensive to run round town :-(
I have been wondering if a 2.5 shogun 2.7 terrano or even a 2.5 transit crew bus would be a better all round option?
Our van max weight is 1600 so our current car has no problems at all at 2200kgs, apart from the 2.9 diesel lump.

My brother has just bought his second Sedona . He said the first one was excellent . Very good on fuel when towing.etc. also I have read reviews on this car they are very good.

 

[Sedo]

Lishka
We tow with a 2.9 Sedona TS auto on 56 plate and yes it can be thirsty.
Find it great for towing and really like but as you say it's thirsty round town
What we did was buy an older Fiat Panda 1.3 diesel to run round in as an experiment.
We are getting around 60m.p.g. and that's round local roads and it's £30 a year tax.
Only problem we've experienced is with it being an older Fiat it's cost a little too much on servicing when parts require changing, but we've found it so useful running a small car as in parking, nippiness, saving on expensive tyres and fuel etc. that we're looking into investing in a slightly newer Hyundai or Kia.

 

[Beachball]

The other day i saw a Hobby Twin Axle on the back of a Volkswagen Sharan 2.0 TDI Auto 170 bhp .and he said it a great towcar and good on fuel but the choice is up to you..

 

[NigelHutson]

Crikey billy, I knew Vanmaster caravans were heavy, but fifteen and a half tonnes IS heavy. If you can get 30 mpg towing that, I'm off to my local Nissan dealer now.................................

 

[billy2]

I tow my Vanmaster 1550 kg with a Nissan X Trail 2.2 dci returns 28 to 32 mpg towing and 38 to 42 mpg solo .Do carry some of the heavy stuff ie awnings gas bottle cool box ,chairs and wheel locks in the car ,as only 2 of us plenty of room .Will tow at 60 mph all day .Makers max tow is 2000 kg i think a bit optomistic.Have towed twin axles in the past with ,Mitsubishi Shogun and Pajero,Isuzi Trooper all very proficient tow cars but with the price of fuel now had to compromise ,i find the x trail excellent.

 

[billy2]

To free with my 0000000000s was allways my trouble

 

[NigelHutson]

Awww. That's my illusion shattered. :-(

 

[PatrickStoner]

I have recently started towing a 1700kg Elddiss Avante with a Ford Transit and it seems to be excellent. We get slightly better fuel consumption with the caravan on - probably because the speed is kept down - with 21.8 mpg solo and 22.5 mpg towing. Not normally that anal, but had a point to prove.

Transits come in front and rear wheel drive configurations and the rwd version is the one to go for. The bus version, the Tourneo (or something like that) only comes in fwd configuration as far as I know. I converted mine with side windows and some interior fittings, but that did not stop me having a falling out with the C&CC to which I used to belong. And some sites will not like a Transit towing a twin axle. OK, most sites won't like it, but providing you don't own a lurcher, start selling lucky heather at the gate or nicking the lead off the church roof as soon as you arrive, there are still sites who will let you in.

 

[lishka]

Well a month on I've finally got there! I sold our sedona and replaced it with a 2009 transit 300 swb only to find the GTW was 3500 max, the empty van was 1860 the caravan micro was 1310/ 1600 max so it didnt leave much for fuel, passengers steel framed awning 2=2 kids, 3 dog's and all the rest of our kit, so back up for sale it was!
I've now swiftly sold it fortunetly at NO loss! and replaced it with a 2008 Vauxhall Vivaro swb 2.0 Diesel (Rear seat / window model) 2700 + 2000 braked trailer gives me 4700 GTW It pulls really well at the moment solo and I'l update this again next week when I've actually tried it out! Tow bar should be fitted Fri so it's out for a ride out this weekend all being well
Fingers and feet crossed!

 

[lishka]

This pulled it great, it's a 2 litre 90bhp and on the 40 mile round trip including some steep inclines it came back in at 25mpg!
With a much better mpg round town solo I really think this is the way forward for us
I've checked with the sites we frequently use and none of them have a problem with us pulling on with this, the side windows seem to make all the difference.
Mentioning a vauxhall vivaro seems to sound a lot better than mentioning a ford transit!!

 

[Beachball]

Coming home from Manchester at the weekend i saw a Vauxhall Zafira towing a twin Axle Caravan ......

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Beachball,
If you posting was designed to make anyone gasp with astonishment, then I'm sorry to dissapoint you.

Without knowing the exact model of both car and caravan, the suitabiliity or legality of such a combination is open to conjecture. For example:- Just because a caravan has twin axles does not necesarily mean its a big caravan. Bessecar produced a range of medium sized caravan on TA's, and years ago Chateau also had a relatively small caravan (I can't remember the model) that used TA's. and i have towed both types.

So it may have been a perfectly satisfactory combination.

 

[Beachball]

Actually it was a Bessacarr Cameo Twin Axle with a Vauxhall Zafira (put this way i would not be towing this outfit)

 

[Martin24]

And we saw a vectra towing a twin axle conquerer, I wouldn't tow that outfit either!!

 

[Parksy]

These people are obviously not readers of Practical Caravan Magazine or members of this forum.

 

[Martin24]

Lets hope they are!! we could start a name and shame with registrations!!!!

oooppppsssss, perhaps not!!! Having said that the slight slips over the 60 mark are NOT our fault, it's the car!

 

[Lutz]

More important, they've probably not even read their owner's manual or taken a look at the car's VIN plate.

 

[Beachball]

A few years back we were staying on a site near Cambridge and this was a Friday i was sat in the Porch Awning and this outfit came in Kia Ceed --- Buccaneer Schooner and i would not pull this outfit either