hi henry dog here ready for my first fun on friday nerves are kicking in. been told that my car might not be up to the task i have a57 vectra 1.9 cdtd 120 bhp and my van is a sterling europa 495. could some nice caravanas tell me if this combo will pull please lol thanks henrydog21
It might pull, but from the info I've found you'll be struggling on weight/match.
The Vectra kerbweight is circa 1430kgs and as you're new to towing (presumably, given your nerves), it's recommended to aim for a van with a max weight of about 85% of the tow car, which equatesto about 1215kgs in your case.
A new Europa 495 has an MTPLM of 1480kgs, 50kgs above the Vectra kerbweight (what year is your van?).
While the Vectra is rated to tow upto 1500kgs, I wouldn't be happy with this combo myself. Even if you packed the van light, in my opinion, you'll be struggling to keep any decent match on this.
As said in the previous post if your Sterling Europa is new with a MPTLM of 1480 kg your outfit is very poorly matched at 104% so a change of towcar would be a good idea .
Of course there will be someone who will tell you to put all your extra gear in the car to lighten the van but there is no substitute for a heavy enough towcar added to the fact that you will be right on the towing limit of your vectra
No matter whether the luggage is in the car or the van, you are still going to be well down on power. You'd be better off leaving as much as you can at home.
I really wouldn't attempt to tow that combination if it's your first time. You don't say when you got your licence, but unless you've had it since before 1997, it would be illegal anyway.
Is this dealer bought? I have not checked the weights of your set up but if the numbers quoted so far are to go on then I think it was a poor show from the dealer.
Caravan Club has advice on what you should be able to safely tow. I have not checked recently but the 85% previously quoted rings a bell.
You should find the Weights sticker in your car. I would suggest that you check the manual/owners book as this will help you to find it and identify what the numbers are. From memory they are as follows Unladen weight of the car, Max laden weight of the car and then finally Max train weight, e.g. car and any trailer.
The 85% is a guide and to the best of my knowledge has no weight, sorry about the pun, in law. However if you exceed the max laden weight and or the max train weight then that is against the law. Agreed they need to get you weighed to be sure but I believe it has been done.
My first caravan towing experience was a Zafira, 1.8 petrol towing the Auvergne I have now. I have to be honest it was close to the limit but did tow quite well. It was up at 90 something % from memory.
One thing that I have not seen mentioned yet is the nose weight. Poor loading of the van that makes the nose weight too heavy or light is a key factor in an unstable van. Again the Caravan Club has a guide on this based on a % of the trailer weight. I check mine to be about 70kg.
On the licence point I do not that at some point, possibly 97, you had to pass a separate test to be able to trailers/caravans that were above a certain weight. I am way to old to be concerned but your circumstances may be different. Here is the link to check:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/driverlicensing/caravanstrailerscommercialvehicles/dg_4022564
Either way if you are legal and have a go then take it steady, break your journey up and enjoy it.
------------- "You can not change the wind, but you can adjust your sails"
check out the what tow car website you can put your car and your van details in and the site computes the outfit i did a quick check for you and you come out at about 90% for weights which is probably ok for an old stager but may not be so for a new boy it also tells yopu what towing performance can be like on motorways uphill etc do your homework but you will need to put your exact details of the car and van in and only you know what they are
if the dealer sold you the van he should have checked all the details for you before selling it legality is at a premium as well as safety you can not compromise on either
1.9 CDti (120) tips the scales at exactly the same MTPLM as your van'. Not ideal for a beginner. Also a bit close to limit if your a newer licence holder & you do happen to load the caravan fully. If you can pack lightly, & stick as much kit as you can in the car it will be ok.
Usual advice though, noseweight...try & get it to the Vectra's 78kg mark. With the legs up, drop the jockey wheel on a set of bathroom scales for a rough idea. Vectra's got a huge boot so use it. I'd try & squash water/waste containers in there, also the hook-up lead as they are quite heavy. Make sure the hot water tank is drained. Unless you need the battery charging, maybe even unplug the grey socket as the car will be working a bit harder to power the fridge. Perhaps invest in a roof box also, we stick all our sleeping bags, pillows & clothes in ours. Just helps to err more on the safety side with heavier car - lighter van'. Car tyre pressures...should ideally be those for a fully loaded car, ref your manual. Van tyres even more important, check & check again. We tend to tow with a pretty much empty van, takes about 10 mins to grab stuff from car & into van.
Take it nice & steady, car will work considerably less at 50-55 than trying to stick with the gung-ho hero towers at 60-70+. If its any concellation, we followed a Vectra along the A470 for 30 miles from Wales the other weekend, not sure what van it was but wasnt a small one, was doing a fine job of towing though, looked nice & steady.
Your Vectra is only a bit lighter than our Mondeo. We tow a 1500MTPLM van', but as said above van is usually practically empty & we only take the essentials. We're legal, as cars kerbweight is more than the caravans MTPLM, and my licence pre-dates 1997 by a good few years anyway. Ours is a lovely stable outfit to drive. The Wife even has a go. thats how well it tows. Planning to get a Ford Galaxy soon though. Happy with the Mondeo but its our second car & seems daft setting off in a £1.5k Mondeo & leaving a £7k Verso on the drive, so will change it for something that will pull the van' with a bit more margin.
Be sure to post an update with how you got on. Some really really top people on here always willing to offer advice.
check out the what tow car website you can put your car and your van details in and the site computes the outfit i did a quick check for you and you come out at about 90% for weights which is probably ok for an old stager but may not be so for a new boy it also tells yopu what towing performance can be like on motorways uphill etc do your homework but you will need to put your exact details of the car and van in and only you know what they are
if the dealer sold you the van he should have checked all the details for you before selling it legality is at a premium as well as safety you can not compromise on either
check and check again
Someone needs to send them some new batteries for their calculator a 1480kg caravan behind a 1430kg car is 90% ?
Many websites carry information that is incorrect, & legally the info on your V5 will be the overriding data. Even Vauxhall brochures have light kerbweights so the V5 is the only reliable information.
Also if you passed your test during or after 1997 then even if you do not fully load your van it is illegal to tow a caravan with a higher mtplm than the kerbweight of the towcar. Ifyou are not going to load the caravan, you need to get it replated. This is only an issue for post 1997 licence holders.
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Topic: towing car
