There are a few things to consider with the questions you have posed.
First and foremost.How much can I tow? The absolute limit for your vehicle is a caravan which, when laden to its maximum permitted weight, (also shown in some places as mtplm) does not weigh more than the kerb weight of the vehicle.
That said, there are then factors that reduce the above absolute maximum. The first is the experience of the driver of the outfit. The current best practice is that the caravan has a mtplm of no more than 85% of the towing vehicles kerb weight. In your circs. that would reduce your caravan down to about 1100kgs. Then there is the fact that the Laguna is an automatic. Most manufacturers impose a limit on how much their rubber band cars will tow. Check with Renault. You may be required as well to fit an additional cooler to the gearbox because of the increased load being placed upon it.
Your last question regarding suitable caravans for a family of four is one that no one other than you and yours can answer. Over the last few years caravans have become heavier and heavier to the point where very few new caravans fit the criteria I have outlined above. Having said that there are loads of caravans out there which fit the bill. The fact that the van may not have all the up to the minute "can't do withouts" matters not a jot. Go out there and have a look. The looking is half the fun.
If you find one (and before you commit yourself) seek advise from someone was is a caravanner. There are saleman out there who will allow you to buy something wholly unsuited to your car and you could finish up with an unmatched outfit which will spoil your experience. If you are buying from a dealer try to screw out of them every piece of genuine"can't do without" equipment you can. i.e.water bottles,electrical cables, even awnings.
I have just read the above and it sounds a daunting prospect but with common sense and the right approach you will end up with a well matched outfit that will give years of pleasure.
The absolute limit for your vehicle is a caravan which, when laden to its maximum permitted weight, (also shown in some places as mtplm) does not weigh more than the kerb weight of the vehicle.
No this is not true, the legal limit is the Gross Train Weight,(GTW) as stated on the VIN plate of the car. This is the total weight of car caravan and everything in them and will quite often allow a caravan weight much more than the kerbweight of the car. Having said that the rest of Geoff's advice is spot on, and makes the above 'fact' immaterial
I won't get into a slanging match over the above. You are in fact correct re the gross train weight aspect of my post but from memory if the towed vehicle (in this case the caravan) weighs more than the towing vehicle, doesn't the allowed speed limit of 50mph drop down to 40mph. We have enough complaints about our hobby without giving them a golden opportunity after following some ill fitted outfit trundling along at 40mph
The simple way to look at it as the guys above have already said: Aim for 85% max. That's safety.
With an Auto box, (I tow with an auto) you may indeed need an extra cooler, but it is also worth checking with Kenlowe, they have a website you can look at and if you ring them, their advice is superb, they will tell you what to look for etc. and will advise what you need. It may be just a simple extra fan, as it was in my case for a Volvo 960. I did it myself and it works great. - just back from Italy, and having spent 2 hours crawling up a gradient to the Gotthard tunnel in a 32 Degree ambient, the temp. gauge never moved from the norm. Thanks, Kenlowe!
Wozzer i rang Kenlowe this morning and they said that with my Renault Laguna i don't have to make any changes. The Renault have a good very good cooling system on their auto box and i should be fine with it just don't go too heavy.
We went last weekend to look, we were very disheartened - well I was - when the dealer told us we couldn't tow a 4 berth with our year old Peugeot 307 estate. He told us we'd need a 4 x 4. As the car is only a year old I don't think that we'll be getting one for a while.
Though if hubby has his way it'll be next year!
I'll only ALLOW myself to be swayed IF we get a new 'van too. I know that won't happen, he's a bit of a tightwad ( I think he has Yorkshire blood in him).
I have found some nice older 'vans thoug that our car will pull, but hubby's not keen on anything second hand.
I drive a rover 45 diesil 2. ltr and the max tow wieght for this is 1000kg and the 85% kerb wieght is 1085 kg Even though the tow wieght is light compared to other cars i found a 4 berth van which has a mgw of 900 kg ( its a old van eliddis tornado 1985 ish ) It has no shower just cold water but it can sleep four. I put the awning in the boot of the car . But like you if a want a newer van i would have to change my car. but am i right thinking that the salesman was talking rubbish that you need a 4x4 to tow a carevan
Yes the salesman was talking rubbish, you don't need a 4 x 4 to tow a caravan, BUT it may be that a 4 x 4 was needed for the caravan he was trying to sell. Depends what it was. Many of the new family sized caravans today are too heavy for all but the heaviest of family saloons - Mercedes etc, but there are still some that can be pulled by Mondeos, Avensis, Accord etc. And of course there are the MPVs to consider as well.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
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Topic: TOWING WEIGHT ?
