Vauxhall Mervia Towcar

[stilton18]

I currently have a Vauxhall Mervia 1.6 and we are looking to buy a 2 berth caravan. Has anybody towed with make/model of car before.
I have checked the weights and the maximum I can go to is 1100kg. Any help would be greatly welcomed.
Many Thanks
John

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi stilton1,
welcome to the forum, yes I presently tow with a Meriva but mine is the 1.7cdti, it's a great little tow car for the lighter van, mines a 1058kg 380bailey ranger that is a 73% match, there are plenty of vans out there within this weight range, but a bit puzzled by the reference to 1100kg as the listings for the Meriva put it a 1200kg max tow load, ie, 1200kg+noseweight, and thats well under the 85% guidline, as a tow car it does everything it is supposed to do, and more, the only drawback is the max noseweight of 50kg and the fact that as a mini MPV it's a bit narrow and needs wide extension mirrors (to see down both sides of the van) everything else is a plus, mine as a diesel dosen't have the grunt below 2000rpm in high gear due to the high ratios but this has never been a problem once you are aware of it, although on the m/way at a steady 55/60mph the rev range is bang in the middle of the power curve, and will pull this all day long,
if you have any questions please ask we are all here to help,

 

[stilton18]

Hi Colin, Thanks a lot for your answer, that has helped me a lot. As to the reference of the 1100kg I worked that out myself so I probably got that wrong. We are looking to buy a 2 berth but I didn't want to buy one that is too heavy for the car.
Thanks Again
John

 

[Parksy]

Hi John
Welcome to the forum

If you have anydifficulties in using the forum please get in touch and I'll do my best to help.

 

[Mel]

Hi john, welcome to the forum. There is a lots of advice on here. You may want to repost in the Towcar section if you want any more info. Once you have got yourself armed with your weights (don't rely on caravan salesmen to get this right) there is no substitute for a few happy hours at a couple of large caravan forecourts, just getting in and out of vans until you find the right make, model and layout; even if you then buy privately (Proceed with great caution buying privately if you are brand new to vanning).
Let us know how you get on,
mel

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

Hi Colin, Thanks a lot for your answer, that has helped me a lot. As to the reference of the 1100kg I worked that out myself so I probably got that wrong. We are looking to buy a 2 berth but I didn't want to buy one that is too heavy for the car.
Thanks Again
John

hi John,
I have checked again, and the tow limit for all Meriva models is indeed 1200kg exept for special models that are 1300kg, having said that your approach is quite sensible, the unladen weight of the 1.6 petrol (16v) is 1375kg, 85% or 1375 x 0.85 = 1168kg.
so any van with a MTPLM around 1100kg would be ideal,
good hunting and let us know how you get on.

 

[mealsonwheels]

Welcome to the forum, John.
Happy and safe caravanning!

 

[brian_c]

Welcome to the Forum John.
good luck with your caravan search. I'm sure you will have many happy holidays and mini breaks when you get up and running.
all the best Brian

 

[Dustydog]

Hi John

Welcome to this forum.

Caravanning is a great way to enjoy life. We have just returned from a tour and will be off again soon.

Colin has given you all the technical data so good luck in your hunt for a tourer.

 

[GlennLW]

Hi John

Am new to caravanning myself, having had many happy years as a tenter..

We own a 1.4 turbo meriva and pull a 1991 ABI Marauder Diamond (a Yorkshire caravans special edition) with a loaded weight of @800kgs and as long as you remember to downshift before the hill to keep the turbo spinning it flys along without a problem...

 

[Beachball]

Hi John welcome to the practicall forum llol