Which Vehicle Help ~ L200 or Nissan Navara??????

[jasPALL]

Hi All,
New to touring caravans and towing so help appreciated.
I'm potentially looking to buy a dual purpose business/towing vehicle and thinking of the Mitsubishi L200 or Nissan Navara ranges.
I believe they have more than enough towing capacity for most caravans?? but wondered if anyone has experience of either of these vehicles regards handling and mpg whilst towing?
I also notice people talking about nose weight, axle weights etc etc ~ any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers in advance.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello jasPal,

There have been some reports that some caravan sites don't allow commercial vehicles on site. Both the models you mention are certainly designed for commercial applications, but along with the transit van they are also firm favorites with travelers, - draw your own conclusions

That aside, Whilst I have not towed with either model, I am pretty sure they both have healthy towload capacities and will pull most domestic caravans, BUT some manufacture will not offer a guarantee if the caravan is towed by a commercial vehicle. One of the reasons for this is the stiffness of the tow vehicles suspension, which can transmit unusually damaging vibrations through the tow hitch assembly to the caravan.

Again I have heard that fuel economy is not one of their strong points, and the ride and handling do not compare favorably with normal domestic cars and MPV's

I have used a large GMC pickup in Canada, and I was very surprised at the lack of room in the rear compartment for passengers, as the models you are looking at were originally designed for the US and Canadian markets I expect the same comment is likely to be true.

 

[jasPALL]

Hi Prof John L,
Many thanks for your response, All valid points I'm sure which I'd not considered.
My biggest concern would be refusal on sites which somewhat defeats our objective & takes the fun out of the hobby.
My current car is a Mondeo ST Diesel which I'm happy to keep for a little longer but when we decided to go into the touring scene I've got mixed response over the touring capability. I've been told it will tow most caravans but when I look at the figures with the 85% guide I'm left thinking it will only tow a few smaller or newer lightweight vans ~ CONFUSED.
Mondeo Kerb Weight : 1495kg , Fords Max towing weight 2015kg , Max weight (Veh+caravan) 3750kg
I've done the calculation based upon kerb weight 1495kg / 85% = 1270kg ??????
Cheers

 

[Lutz]

I can't quite follow your statement 'Fords Max towing weight 2015kg'. I don't know of any Mondeo with a maximum permissible towload of 2015kg. Don't you therefore mean maximum gross vehicle weight? If this is the case then the maximum towload is 3750 - 2015 = 1735kg.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

How about the Nissan Pathfinder?

 

[jasPALL]

HI Lutz,
according to ford sales brochure it is termed : Technically permissible maximum laden mass (gross vehicle mass)......does that make more sense???? and does that now concurr with your equation??
Cheers in advance

 

[Lutz]

Yes, that ties in with what I was thinking.

 

[jasPALL]

Many Thanks Lutz, thats great and makes a big difference in choices of caravan for us but I'm still a little confused because the various sites/info appear to calculate using the kerb weight.........Confused

 

[Lutz]

A number of sources recommend that, for a novice, the max. weight of the caravan (its MTPLM) should not exceed 85% of the kerbweight of the towcar. However, this is based the worst possible case, i.e. the car virtually empty but for the driver and the caravan fully laden, something which one would very rarely encounter in everyday practice. The recommendation should therefore be taken at face value and, although not wrong, it is debatable how realistic it is. It is certainly very arbitrary. However, the manufacturers' limits are absolute and these must not be exceeded under any circumstances. That said, the lighter the caravan and the heavier the car will always be more favourable so, as so often in real life, compromise somewhere between the recommendation and the legal limit is probably where most people finish up in the end. Sailing close to the technical limit, especially where such a limit exceeds a 100% weight ratio, can be very tiring on a long journey because you have to keep your wits about you more, but it's a choice everyone must make for themselves.