OK here goes....as you know we have decided to swap fron a tent to a caravan, checked what the car could tow (or at least i thought i did) & decided that the Bailey 510/4 was the one for us. After lots of replies yesterday we have decided that a secondhand van is best for us & we think that we have found the perfect one.
Disaster then struck this morning...i was convinced that our car could tow the above but decided to check the log book! It says on What Tow Car that the Bailey is 23kg too heavy Obviously we knew that our Ford C-Max couldnt tow a great deal but this had made us feel sick. We have been looking to get a heavier car/7seater etc but decided against it but now this has happened.
The thing is that my father was going to have our car & purchase us a different car but we still hadnt found anything.
BUT.......we do own a Vauxhall Vectra PETROL auto 1.8 that is just sitting there at present doing nothing...so my question is do i give up on the caravan idea or for now use the vectra to tow? Petrol & auto concerns me though.....
Any advice guys as we are desperate.......
------------- I hope caravanning is as much fun as camping!
My car is a 1.6 Nissan Almera Auto and tows fine - however, I only have a microlite caravan. I believe the VV's make ideal tow cars. You still need to check tow weights though.
Whether it's petrol or diesel is irrelevant, legally speaking. All you have to worry about, for legal reasons, is the maximum weight the car can tow (look in the handbook or ask a dealer, probably 1500kg for a Vectra, I would guess) and make sure that is more than the loaded (MTPLM) weight of your intended van.
After that, it's all preference; a 1.8 petrol will struggle on hills but should still manage and it is recommended that you stick to the 85% guideline; try keep the loaded weight of the van to be 85% or less of the kerbweight of the car (again, look in the car manual) eg. if the kerbweight of the car is 1600kg, try keep the MTPLM of the van to under 1360kg (especially important for your under-powered car).
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
My Dad's van is about that weight and he tows with a 1.8 petrol Vauxhall Astra Auto, with no probs.
It's a bit different towing with an auto. You notice the change in gears more often (as you be doing manually in a manual) I found the long slow hills were where it showed, as it couldn't decide what gear to be in. That's when you change manually down a gear or two. I have a little button that you switch on which keeps it in second gear and I slow down when I switch it on, until I'm up the hill!
Apart from that, I'd say it's the easiest way to tow. One less thing to think about for me.
Re: petrol consumption, well yes, it uses more, but not that much more! Any car towing something will use more petrol or deisel. The only way to find out is to have a go. Then you can decide later if you really need a new tow vehicle, so nothing to lose really.
Quote: Originally posted by J+K + 3 KIDS+1 DOG on 02/8/2010
The loaded weight of the van it says is 1240kg & the cars kerbweight is 1493 ( i think...thats the minimum until i can check)
So thats ok isnt it??
That's a bit under 85% so that's good - is this the Vectra we're talking about? You'll have to check the max towing weight is bigger than 1240kg - if it's an auto, it might not be that high (for some reason, tow limits for autos are less than for manuals).
Basically, apart form the safety issue for you and the family, in the event of an accident, the police and insurance company will look at these figures (max tow weight and MTPLM of van) and if the van is over the max tow weight, you're in big doo-doo. The insurance company will invalidate your policy and the police can prosecute...they probably won't even bother looking at the car/van/scene of accident/blame etc. So really not worth the risk...
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
I don't know much about the C Max but are you sure that it doesn't have a towing limit like my S Max does. If so you need to keep the MTPLM under this weight rather than following the 85% rule
Each car maufacturer tests its vehicles to determine the maximum towing capacity - this figure is listed in the technical specs of the vehicle. To work out whether your car can tow the caravan you are looking at you need THREE weights - the MTPLM of the caravan, the towing capacity of the car and the kerbweight of the car. The MTPLM of the caravan MUST be less than the towing capacity and the kerbweight of the car. Also, as novice towers, you should try to make sure the MTPLM is no more than 85% of the kerbweight of the car (or not far over).
Towing capacities of automatics are often lower than the manual equivalent due to the way the figure is worked out - the cars are tested not just to make sure that the chassis is strong enough to cope with the weight stuck on the back, but also how they cope with hill starts, etc - that's where the autos struggle most when towing, hence the lower weight limits.
Quote: Originally posted by J+K + 3 KIDS+1 DOG on 02/8/2010
Fiona... not sure what you mean! All of this is rather confusing....or i am just dumb
Some manufacturers of particular models set a maximum towing weight for the vehicle if you can find an online ford brochure for your car it will be in the technical details section. My SMax has a maximum towing limit set at 1440kgs which is less than 85% of the kerbweight but that is the maximum weight Ford have deemed my chassis, engine etc to be able to cope with. I don;t know if C Max is the same but I would definitely check unless anyone else can tell you on here.
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Topic: OMG....i cant believe it
Obviously we knew that our Ford C-Max couldnt tow a great deal but this had made us feel sick. We have been looking to get a heavier car/7seater etc but decided against it but now this has happened.
