Hi all - new to towing and I have previously done a lot of searching re towing with a 1.4, advisable/sensible/at all possible!!
Well I bit the bullet and did it so for anyone out there thinking the same here are my findings / experiences.
A Few things of note first of all:-
Due to Circumstances beyond our control the car could not be changed.
Due to Licence restrictions we were limited with what could be towed.
I am no towing expert - these are only my comments, points may be slightly incorrect, things are by no means definitive/legal/professional and may be different for others.
Here goes:-
Car - Peugeot 308 1.4 VTI 5 door, 1370 kerbweight, 200 kg load (2 adults, 2 kids and 1 large bag)
Pennine Pullman 535 - 675 unladen, 850 max weight (although in honesty I may have been slightly over or under)
Pulling away on flat - slightly more revs than usual but once moving hardly noticed any difference at all.
Pulling away on a slope - Didn't really happen too much and when it did the gradient wasn't horrendous, again more revs but a more noticeable reduction in speed.
Motorway driving - No issues at all, slower acceleration (to be expected) but once up to speed easy to maintain and driving in 5th at 60mph with revs sitting around 3000.
Snaking - only 1 issue, overtaking a very large HGV with myself and that vehicle doing in excess of 70mph (sorry, too fast I know), little bit of wobble - nothing major but enough for me to be super vigilant about my speed!!
Driving up a slope - Again more revs and less speed (and again to be expected), short fairly steep climbs easily handled in 2nd and 3rd with higher revs than usual (around 3500/4000), longer gradual slopes meant dropping from 5th to 4th and on occasion to 3rd, big reduction in speed/power but I took the stance of slow and steady wins the race.
This was my first experience of towing any distance, my previous tests were no more than a 2 mile round trip along a flat road!! All in all I managed to Get from the North East of England to the Vendee in France via ferry crossing (aprox 1700 miles return trip) with no issues at all.
Petrol consumption was only marginally more than without the trailer and far less than I was expecting and at times I forgot that I had anything on the back.
Like I mentioned at the beginning I am a novice to towing, all of the points mentioned above are in respect of my set-up, yours may be totally different, but do your research - if the weights add up in your favour and you think you can, do it, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again (although I would use a SAT NAV next time, schoolboy error)!!
Thanks for that, I'm sure it will give many the confidence to have a go.
The Pennine Pullman is a folding camper which has much less air resistance than a full size caravan so the car will be working a lot less hard.
The fuel consumption indicates this to be true. I had a dandy folding camper, max weight 500kg behind my Peugeot Partner. Fuel consumption solo would be around 50 but dropped to about 43 towing the dandy. With a caravan of 1150kg max weight it is around 30. Being diesel it is fine on power though.
Always a good idea to research a route to check if there are any really steep gradients which are a long climb. It could be a problem if you get stuck behind very slow moving vehicle with regards to having to stop and try a hill start. Most long, steep gradients can be got round even if it means taking a longer route. Much safer than overheating or not being able to pull away on a hill.
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Topic: Towing with a 1.4 Petrol
