Looking to get a 4 berth and considering a Lunar with mtplm of 1305. Car is a 4 wheel drive Audi A3 with kerb weight of 1540, so works out as 85%.
I am new to towing (and slightly nervous!) so looking for advice on stability etc for towing with this size of car. Would I be better sticking to lower than 85% or would I notice little difference?
Quote: Originally posted by learnercamper on 14/5/2017
Looking to get a 4 berth and considering a Lunar with mtplm of 1305. Car is a 4 wheel drive Audi A3 with kerb weight of 1540, so works out as 85%.
I am new to towing (and slightly nervous!) so looking for advice on stability etc for towing with this size of car. Would I be better sticking to lower than 85% or would I notice little difference?
Thanks in advance.
It will be fine weight wise. I would pay attention to loading though and watch your nose weight. Smaller cars don't like heavy nose weights so check what your car max is and load to no more than this.
We tow a lighter van 1200 mtplm with my wife's Mini Countryman which weighs around the same as your Audi and it's a good tow. Her mini is also 4 wheel drive which helps when towing off the grass too ;-)
I have a Skoda Octavia Estate 4x4, same drive and engine system as Audi, car is 1,495kg, caravan 1,318kg giving 88% ratio. You will be OK and of course extra grip on wet hill starts, no wheel spin and extra grip on muddy fields. My car noseweight is 75kg and it tows well between 70-75kg and very stable.
Quote:
I am new to towing (and slightly nervous!) so looking for advice on stability etc for towing with this size of car. Would I be better sticking to lower than 85% or would I notice little difference?
A lighter trailer, other things being equal, is always going to be more stable but at 85% you are following the the advice for a reasonable tow.
In its favour the A3 has a short rear overhang which is good. If you want to keep the odds on your side then I would say:
- get as near to 7% noseweight as you can without exceeding limits. For the A3 and your proposed van that probably means 75Kg, which I think is the towball limit.
- pay close attention to tyre pressures for both car and caravan. Adjust the car pressures for towing according to the handbook. Don't guess at the caravan tyre pressures of course, look them up too - mine are c. 50psi on a 1200Kg caravan. Check the tyre pressures before every trip. I'm convinced that low pressures are the biggest cause of blowouts and instability on caravans.
- To the extent that you can, considering noseweight, load any heavy stuff over the caravan axle, or between it and the front. Heavy stuff at the back is bad for stability.
- never exceed 60mph. It's your maximum legal limit here anyway. A well loaded outfit may be stable at a higher speed but you are eating into your safety margin.
- take note of wind (the meteorological kind). It's fairly obvious that sidewinds can be dangerous, but headwinds are just as bad. It's airspeed as much as ground speed that affects stability, so slow down a bit if it's windy.
- on motorways and similar roads, watch out for large vehicles which can create disturbing airflows. Those large car transporters are known for being among the worst.
- don't forget the caravan is there:)
I seem a bit obsessive about this but that isn't because I am worried by towing - I enjoy it - it's because I don't want to be worried about it, if that makes sense.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed reply Alan. I must admit I've never really thought about tyre pressures, so will definitely take that on board. Don't think I'll ever get to the point where I forget the caravan is there though😉
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Topic: Towing with A3
