Which tow car

[Fiddle Camper]

Hello. I’m new to this website and also relatively new to towing, having not towed a caravan for over 20 years. At the time I swapped to motorhomes, which changed to smaller camper vans.

I am now at the stage where my little van is no longer adequate, not having toilet and shower. Vans large enough to accommodate these look huge. I’m not so concerned about the driving, but panic at the thought of trying to negotiate narrow village streets and busy car parks when out and about, touring.

So now I have come back to the idea of a little caravan. I have fallen in love with the Freedom Twinsport Flair. With an MTPLM of 800kg I wouldn’t need a huge car to tow it. Am I right in thinking anything with a kerb weight of over 800kg would do it?

My chief question is diesel or petrol. During the darker months and whenever I’m not touring, it would be used for regular short journeys to the shops etc. I know from my camper van that diesels don’t like this. Would a decent petrol car (eg with Eu6 certification) be adequate in terms of economy of drive over a diesel.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[otherclive]

I’ve recently changed from Kia XCeed 1.5 turbo auto that would tow up to 1200kg. Solo economy on trips was 50-55mpg. But irrespective of petrol or diesel I’ve always tried to avoid short journeys. My wife even does a detour going to Sainsbury’s. 🙈

 

[Beardy]

So now I have come back to the idea of a little caravan. I have fallen in love with the Freedom Twinsport Flair. With an MTPLM of 800kg I wouldn’t need a huge car to tow it. Am I right in thinking anything with a kerb weight of over 800kg would do it?

Not quite. You need to look at the towing capacity of each individual vehicle. My wife's car has a kerb weight of 830kg and a tow capacity of 0kg (braked or unbraked) as it is not 'type approved' for towing. There are E Class mercedes weighing close to 2000kg that couldn't legally tow it.

Aim for something around 1000kg minimum to maintain the (recommended) 85% tow ratio.

Petrol or diesel? That really depends on your annual milage and (as you've identified) your typical usage. Unless you plan to do lots of long distance touring it sounds like petrol would be a better choice for you. I've found that diesels aren't particularly economical on short trips anyway (although I've only owned diesels over 2 litres).

 

[otherclive]

My RAV4 petrol has a Mass in Service of 1700kg, but can only tow 800kg braked trailer. But it wasn't bought for towing.

 

[RogerL]

A number of otherwise excellent small cars aren't Type Approved to tow anything - so choose carefully and check the physical VIN plate.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I drive a 1.5dCi Qashqai, perhaps viewed by some as an unusual tow car. I tow a van that's just under 1200kg and I think my car is rated upto something like 1350kg.

As a diesel I can get over 80mpg not towing. When towing on the same journeys it's about 40-45mpg.

 

[Fiddle Camper]

Thank you for the many responses.

Yes, I’m aware that some vehicles aren’t allowed to tow, but I do need to get my head stopping an all the abbreviations MIRO, MTPLM (think y that’s right!) etc. That’s tomorrow’s job!

Short journeys? Yes, where we can walk or use the bus, we do, but for economic and distance reasons the weekly shop has to be done by car. Likewise another weekly activity which is not on a suitable bus route.

Thanks for the vin plate tip, I’ll look out for that. I’m getting quite excited, but need to sell my camper first.

 

[borderbilly]

Hello and welcome, dont think you will have much problem selling the camper, as the season is coming up. Good luck with the sale.

 

[Beachball]

Hi Fiddle Camper Welcome to the forum I would put your camper on Autotrader it should sell good luck .

 

[Fiddle Camper]

Thank you for your ideas.

 

[Hutch]

Welcome to the forum, beware of dealers that will tell you details about the car BHP, 4 we, etc, they don't always know about towing specifications, ie if it needs an extra cooler for the transmission.
As others have said check the plates to see towing specs.

 

[Fiddle Camper]

Thank you. All of these tips are so useful. I’ll be sure to check the plate.

 

[Fiddle Camper]

Welcome to the forum, beware of dealers that will tell you details about the car BHP, 4 we, etc, they don't always know about towing specifications, ie if it needs an extra cooler for the transmission.
As others have said check the plates to see towing specs.

Actually, is there something specific I should be looking for on the plate? How would I know whether it needs an extra cooler? What would good BHP be for towing a van?

I’m thinking of getting a Golf SV 1400kg kerb weight. The van I’m looking at is MTPLM 1094 so should work well. Think I’ll go for petrol due to essential regular relatively short journies.

 

[AndrewAventura]

Actually, is there something specific I should be looking for on the plate? How would I know whether it needs an extra cooler? What would good BHP be for towing a van?

I’m thinking of getting a Golf SV 1400kg kerb weight. The van I’m looking at is MTPLM 1094 so should work well. Think I’ll go for petrol due to essential regular relatively short journies.

I think always best to start with an idea of car and caravan that might suit your needs, and then work from there towards your ideal outfit. Your suggestions look good to me, there's a review of the Golf SV as a towcar here https://www.practicalcaravan.com/news/new-volkswagen-golf-sv-review

Happy hunting, and happy adventuring!

 

[Fiddle Camper]

Thank you, Andrew, for your ideas and good wishes. There are a number of towing related videos on YouTube, including where to find and how to interpret a vehicle’s towing info, so my next job will be to watch a number of those!

 

[ProfJohnL]

It's worth pointing out that many car manufacturers will set a maximum towed weight limit that exceeds the tow cars kebweight. In theory you could choose a caravan whose MTPLM matches the cars stated towed weight limit, but when towing large trailers like caravans, the physical size of the trailer can make themselves difficult to control. This is why the UK caravan industry advice novice caravanners to aim for a caravan MTPLM not exceeding 85% of the tow vehicles kebweight.

The cars data plate contains two vital load limits. The first is the cars solo maximum weight limit, and the second is the maximum weight limit of the coupled car including trailer. These are set in stone and must not be exceeded at any time. If you take the solo value from the coupled value, you get the simplified but practical maximum weight of caravan you can tow legally.

 

[Fiddle Camper]

Thank you. That is really clear. I have copied it and saved it where I can easily find it.

 

[trevormonty]

I tow 1100kg 6.3m (shipping length) caravan with Suzuki Vitara 1.4T AWD Auto. Power is never an issue and we've taken it over some seriously steep hills. Handling is good but need to be careful in high winds.
Economy without caravan was 6.3L/100km on recent 1500km trip on equivalent of A class roads. NB legal speed in NZ is 100kmh.
Towing its around 12L/100km.
The 2WD drive version is meant to be 10% more economicial and mild hybrid even more.

My preference is AWD for towing but 2WD (FWD) should be fine. 2WD is cheaper and there are lot more of them on used market.