We’re looking at buying a newer caravan. We currently have a Sterling Eccles 584 and tow with a Škoda Superb, an 87% match. We are experienced towers and find no problems with our journeys. We’re looking at a Swift Conqueror 560 but, according to Towcar match, not good match… around 97%. What are your thoughts?
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
Firstly I'd ask myself why I was thinking of changing. Does your present caravan no longer meet your needs, are you having problems with it, or do you just fancy a change? Nothing wrong with that if you do, but remember, newer isn't necessarily better and if you are buying second-hand you might be inheriting someone else's problems! From what I have read on here, even brand-new caravans can have their problems.
Our caravan is now entering its 34th year. We've had it nearly 9 years and it's still going strong. We've not had to spend a great deal on it in those years apart from tyres, and it suits us fine. Probably the best £1,100 we've spent in many years.
I was just looking for thoughts re tow car matches.
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
Tricky question to answer, well, more a tricky situation to find certainties on!
Experience from around 50 years of towing (various trailers from smallish camping trailers, car trailers, horse boxes, boat trailers etc., but mostly power boats and my caravan for past 8 years), is that 'the numbers' only go so far in choosing a decent tow car. What I've found is that whilst the trailer set up can be a fixed and known 'quantity', how it tows can vary enormously behind different cars, all of which meet or exceed the 'matched/compatible' towing spec at a technical level!
Did a lot of towing of the boats over many years, and the various tow cars ranged from 'didn't know it was there' at well in excess of speed limits to a all too scary 'if we do 40mph we're all gonna die in a ditch'! Only variable being the actual 'supposedly compatible' tow car!
Current car (Citroen C4 Grand Picasso 1.2L petrol) and caravan (Lunar Quasar/Cosmos 524) looked a pretty dubious combination as near matching in Kerb weight and MTPLM making a 97% match, AND near towing limit for the car. I bought the car new without intending to buy a largish caravan, but plans changed and a caravan became the 'must have' in first year of car ownership. Bought the caravan fully in the knowledge that the car-van match were legal but may not be ideal, and either caravan towing was going to be limited in things like speed, and/or car may need replacing sooner than I would normally do.
Couldn't have been more wrong in my expectations – it's close to a dream combination! Caravan tows like a dream, rock steady, doesn't get 'scary' at speed (even accidentally reached 75mph or so a few times!), or in poor towing conditions. Car tows with ease and returns fuel (Petrol) consumption figures to make Diesel drivers envious!
My thinking is, the car is wide with virtually a wheel on each corner, giving a very short rear overhang behind the axle and making it very stable, it's a 7 seater, so suspension not especially stressed by weight on tow bar. The engine delivers nice power and torque bands, meaning it gives power where it's needed for towing, and the gear ratios match nicely with the power delivery, so no nasty lack of power when you need it.
Message if there is one, matching services will keep you legal, but as to a good tow car, that's far more complicated, actual towing reports from the likes of Tow Car of the Year reviews give some insight, but it's the actual car and coupled caravan that determine how good it all works. Just to mess things more, some caravans seem to tow better than others, some are inherently nose heavy, some are markedly tail heavy, and axle positions play a part too! Whilst getting the nose weight correct goes a long way to stable towing, the weight distribution within the van comes into play when dynamic loads come into effect when moving - one of the reasons why you DONT get your nose weight correct by loading the absolute rear of the van!
I go along with that Monty.
Personally I like a relaxed tow with no fear of snaking etc.
Factors which affect suitability are:-
The overhang of the car at the back. A short overhang is the most stable. A long overhang gives the car a long lever to try and control the caravan.
The length of the caravan. When the caravan starts snaking it is turning from one side to the other repeatedly. There is a moment of inertia which is what keeps a flywheel turning. The moment of inertia is proportional to the distance of the weight the axle squared multiplied by the weight.
So the length of the caravan has a big impact on the stability.
A further factor would be the presence of the Alko Trailer Control Stability System. This is an electronic system which detects a snake and applies the brake to the appropriate caravan wheel to reduce the snake. This system has a small LED on the tow frame which lights up green when you plug in the 13 pin plug. It also makes a whirring sound.
So weight percentage is only a small part of a good match.
I go along with it too. My set-up is extremely stable, but then I do have quite a heavy and reasonably powerful car towing quite a lightweight older caravan.
I am a great believer though in setting everything up right rather than relying on electronic gadgetry. My caravan has the ordinary old-style hitch and no stabilisers whatsoever. I haven't used one since the 1970s when I forgot to fit mine on a 300 mile trip and didn't even realise until I went to unhitch. Like Monty I have towed all manner of trailers over a period of many years and not one of them had any form of stabiliser. My fear is that with a stabiliser fitted some people might think that the stabiliser will counteract any bad driving or careless loading that they might do, leading to a false sense of security. There is no substitute for loading correctly, getting the nose-weight right, and driving sensibly. That doesn't mean crawling along at 40 mph, it means driving smoothly and avoiding harsh braking and violent changing of direction. That has stood me in good stead for all my years of driving and towing.
A good match is one that works, and it isn't always predictable. What appears to be a good match on paper might not be, and vice versa.
I think I have to further comment on Naver's and Colin's posts. I too am a 'thoughtful' driver, trying very hard to anticipate roads/conditions ahead to facilitate trouble free towing by smooth and considered actions. Now, that's probably an unquantifiable factor to some extent in my good towing experiences, I'm also very careful with my van loading, nose weight as well as O/A weight which is generally quite close to MTPLM as a low payload capacity (accurate scales used to check), and tyre pressures (car and van). They all stack up to give a nice uneventful tow, so it's not all about tow car-trailer matching, certainly the matching review rate my outfit as less than ideal, although just about legal, but the actual experience is pretty good!
My caravan has all the modern safety bells and whistles, axle dampers, Alko damped hitch and anti-snake ATC control. I regard the ATC especially, as the equivalent of an emergency parachute - ONLY to be used when something else has gone seriously wrong, I don't 'use' it as a normal towing aid to compensate for bad towing skills/practices. I think I'm fairly proud to say it has never knowingly engaged during normal towing over 8 years and many thousands of miles! - it certainly has engaged when it's got 'confused', generally at low speeds when the van has rocked significantly crossing widely altering cambers, or crashing through pot holes etc. (many camp site access roads are very poor, so is the surface in my storage yard!), you are made very aware of it's activation by the arresting jerk when the van brakes come on hard, but this is not at speeds where snaking is a possibility!
I'm all in favour of gadgets like ATC, but not inclined to rely upon them totally as guaranteed to keep me out of trouble, they can fail, good outfit set up and good towing skills are the prime methods of safe towing, AND if that means your well set up outfit still gets a bit jittery at speed, then you simply don't drive that fast!
May all sound a bit scary and negative, but not meant to be, merely pointing out that as an owner you can do your bit to make any outfit as good as possible, and if it has it's limitations of being less than ideal, then you simply tow within those limitations! A 200 mile journey at 50mph will take you 4 hours rather than 3.5 hours doing it at 60mph! - it's not the end of the world. My outfit would probably tow at 80mph, certainly 70mph very happily, but I choose to mostly tuck in behind a HGV on a motorway inside lane and pootle along at 50mph or so. I plan my journeys on that basis, it's relaxing (I can set the car cruise control, and it will hold it's position in the traffic), it results in good fuel economy, and I get to journeys end pretty much when I expected to. Part of the camping lifestyle is generally relaxation, your journey doesn't have to be a mad rush to only start relaxing once on site, your holiday should start when your caravan wheels start rolling IMHO.
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. We will keep looking at various vans that have the layout that we are thinking about (end bedroom) which are light enough to tie safely.
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
I was looking at a Bailey and the sales person said it was a perfect 75% match. As seen below. When I checked it on tow car match, it wasn’t. Which matching websites do you use?
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
Quote: Originally posted by gailbonney on 18/2/2026
I was looking at a Bailey and the sales person said it was a perfect 75% match. As seen below. When I checked it on tow car match, it wasn’t. Which matching websites do you use?
There seems to be variation between similar services, but one in particular seems noteworthy as treating with caution, Towcar.info is great in most respects, BUT sadly it's a Dutch website and is known to use Car data from European spec cars, which often differ from UK spec cars, so the overall compatibility rating can be slightly wrong for UK use.
It's absolutely critical that you get towing capabilities from the EXACT car model and specification of YOUR/CHOSEN car, almost every aspect from engine size/type, trim level, auto/manual, and exact year have a bearing, an 'almost the same' model often doesn't work!
CAMC members can use their Tow car match service for free. CCC have a couple of options for members, not sure if free or chargeable though.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: New caravan
via mobile 01/2/2026 at 10:57am
