Which new tow car

[JezzerB]

We are also in the pickup camp-2019 Navara-stunning tow car amazing economy, great comfort. As you can tell so far we're delighted-31mpg towing to the coast on our last trip out was unbelievable-drops to 25 on the motorway though. It's the dogs car-so he sits on the front seat with swmbo chilled out in the back and all the trip paraphenalia inc an invalid buggy last time, in the load bay-we have a cover. Never had a pick up before but it is all the vehicle we'd ever need. Only disadvantage we can see so far is it is rather large for some supermarket parking bays-we park well away from the hoards!!!Oh and it's too quick-you really have no idea of the speed youre doing-it is so refined-good job it has a speed limiter and cruise!

 

[Blue4you]

Thanks for all your replies everyone and thanks for welcoming me to the forum. I cant wait until this horrible situation ends and we can go test drive some cars.

I'm sure this will be the first of many questions I ask.

Thanks again.

 

[Beachball]

Thanks for all your replies everyone and thanks for welcoming me to the forum. I cant wait until this horrible situation ends and we can go test drive some cars.

I'm sure this will be the first of many questions I ask.

Thanks again.

Actually you are not on your own i am now on Bedrest my back decided to play up on plenty of painkillers can hardly walk ..

 

[Blue4you]

Well I hope your back is on the mend app and we all see an improvement in our lives very shortly. I'm sure we are all itching to get out with our caravans again asap.

 

[Beachball]

Well I hope your back is on the mend app and we all see an improvement in our lives very shortly. I'm sure we are all itching to get out with our caravans again asap.

it will be in 2/3 weeks time and thanks for the good wishes

 

[Hutch]

it will be in 2/3 weeks time and thanks for the good wishes

Yes get well Beachball, wifey gets back problems at times, knocks her for 10, but we have a great chiropractor, hopefully we will not need him for some time yet.

 

[Beachball]

Yes get well Beachball, wifey gets back problems at times, knocks her for 10, but we have a great chiropractor, hopefully we will not need him for some time yet.

My wife worried about me because my dad suffer with a bad back and in less than a year i have had backache 4 times and it very painful ..

 

[waffler]

Looking round the average rally field the most popular tow car is Sorento/santa Fe. Next is the shogun and derivatives. Then I would think Ssang Yong. We then have estate cars possibly the passat. These people are serious caravanners but also ones who spend most of the year on fields of varying muddiness.

 

[Hutch]

I only bought my first Santa Fe, due to the fact my Vectra 3.0. V6 diesel was playing up engine wise and I didn't have the time to fix it. Only used the 4x4 about 4 times in the 6 years of having the SF.
Never got stuck in mud or snow with the Vectra as I always have decent tyres for mud and snow.

 

[otherclive]

I have only ever failed three times to tow the caravan off of a muddy field. Each time the car had 4WD. The first was my Gen 1 Sorento fitted with Goodrich All Terrain tyres which lost grip on a wet CL where the farmer had recently cut the grass. The second and third times were on muddy CLs with a Gen 3 XC70 and then a Superb 4x4 estate. The Volvo had its OEM Continental M&S tyres and the Superb had Michelin Cross Climate M&S tyres. But although the tyres are rated M&S they are really road oriented and not designed to pull a caravan off of a wet Cumbrian CL. Yes all three failures to exit were on different Cumbrian CLs.

So my trick is to unhitch the caravan. Reduce nose weight to almost zero. This can be done by either taking gear out or asking your camping partner to get in the van and gently move aft of the axle. Of course this becomes more difficult if you run at 100 kg nose weight 😂 Then use the mover. If the nosewheel still want to dig in I either run it onto Griptracks or may turn the caravan through 180 degrees and “drag” the nose wheel.

As the warlord Uhtred might have said were he a caravanner “ Grip is everything”
I prefer “ May the friction be with you”

 

[ProfJohnL]

The last two posts just show that the clamour for domestic 4x4's by caravanners in the belief it will get them out of sticky places is not particularly well founded. In fact if you look abroad to our continental cousins, the vast majority of caravanners do not use 4x4's.

The reality is that most caravanners never actually need a 4x4, its just an easy way to get a car that by virtue of its weight can to a larger heavier caravan, and a better vantage point.

 

[Blue4you]

I understand what your saying. It's the general size of a 4x4 and room inside that I think would be of a great help but only when we are going away with the caravan. As we have discussed its weighing up if the cost of running such a large vehicle 24/7 is worth it when we only go away with the caravan a dozen or so times a year.

The Merc CLS shooting brake would be a much better all rounder for the family with smaller running costs. I'm just struggling to say no to the 4x4 !!!😣😣

 

[otherclive]

I understand what your saying. It's the general size of a 4x4 and room inside that I think would be of a great help but only when we are going away with the caravan. As we have discussed its weighing up if the cost of running such a large vehicle 24/7 is worth it when we only go away with the caravan a dozen or so times a year.

The Merc CLS shooting brake would be a much better all rounder for the family with smaller running costs. I'm just struggling to say no to the 4x4 !!!😣😣

A neighbour has got a 4x4 Ford Galaxy which is a really nice motor and very spacious and he says it’s quite economic. But for trips away he’s in the motorhome.

ps edit Actually an S-max

 

[JezzerB]

The last two posts just show that the clamour for domestic 4x4's by caravanners in the belief it will get them out of sticky places is not particularly well founded. In fact if you look abroad to our continental cousins, the vast majority of caravanners do not use 4x4's.

The reality is that most caravanners never actually need a 4x4, its just an easy way to get a car that by virtue of its weight can to a larger heavier caravan, and a better vantage point.

Mmm it gets wetter-got us out of a tricky situation twice last year-Haltwhistle has one spot up a slope and swmbo wanted it; 4x4 was damaging the turf quite badly-as it was very very wet-think they closed a week after. Dacia Duster-with the Nissan xtrail 4x4 system-popped the diff lock on and it sailed up (reversing the van into the gap ) with no slip at all, and no damage to the grass, and prior to that a wet Southdowns-rain every day-got us off the site as they were in the process of banning motorhomes. Same thing-diff lock. There are a lot of cars out there or suvs with 4x4 our mini clubman is all 4-simply for sporting traction-really works, like the Golf type 4-when the front wheels may be overwhelmed by power, but in terms of 4x4 a diff lock is a real boon on occasion. Depends I suppose on whether (no pun but the weather) or not you caravan all year round or not and what sort of sites you use.

 

[Blue4you]

I think your right. We do try to book sites with hard standings if we can.
As I said earlier for me it's the sheer size of the vehicles inside really for the family, dogs etc that would be a benefit.
Obviously the ability to easily pull the caravan is a consideration but I would hope a 3.0 diesel mercedes cls estate would be fine towing our caravan at 1400kg ?!
I'm still not convinced which we will go for. I think a test drive in them when able will decide ?!

 

[JezzerB]

Best way-once lockdown has ended test drive is the way to go -and fun too! Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Blue4you]

Thank you all. 👍👍👍

 

[Beachball]

i Testdrive the car i have got now it brilliant we have a Petgear Crate in the boot for two dogs & a foldable mobility scooter ,,
But out of the three i think the Mitsubishi Shogun (but the choice is for you to make)
(My wife had a Mitsubishi Colt Attivo for 9 years now and it has been brilliant its gets her to work been a Nurse (NHS)..