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Towing a Caravan


RedRobin
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No, once you get used to having a different turning circle and you can reverse it without too much anguish it is straight forward. You accelerate slower, break earlier and just need a little bit more space.

 

So long as your car is both powerful enough to pull it along and heavy enough to keep a van of that weight stable you will be fine.

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1600kg caravan is a lot of weight. As an example, my Shogun Sport weighs (roughly) 1840kg. So you're towing something not much lighter than that.

 

If you're not used to towing, a heavy trailer or caravan can start to misbehave on you quite easily. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time for the journey, plenty of braking distance, and be sure to pay a LOT of attention to everything around you.

 

In addition, make sure your car is in top mechanical condition. Because towing that much weight will expose any weakness.

Edited by robbiep
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http://campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/gettingstarted/newtocaravans/

 

Attached is the page on the caravan and camping club website on new to caravaning. All sorts of useful info.

If you like quiet sites their CL sites are as little as £12 a night. They have bigger more equipped sites too. Well worth joining. We joined when we bought our first caravan and have never regretted it. Going to stay on a farm in August this year near Phwelli, two weeks at £12 per night including electric hook up.

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No, once you get used to having a different turning circle and you can reverse it without too much anguish it is straight forward. You accelerate slower, break earlier and just need a little bit more space.

 

So long as your car is both powerful enough to pull it along and heavy enough to keep a van of that weight stable you will be fine.

 

And use more fuel.

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Find out the maximum towing weight for your particular car and don't exceed it- balance the caravan using bathroom scales under the nose wheel once its loaded-simply move heavy items in front of or behind the caravans axle to get the nose weight right-when you are towing turn slightly later in a bend and a little sharper-it will take you about 10 minutes to get used to it. If you have kids then caravans are great fun but if theres just the 2 of you and you are up for a laugh then you should have the holiday of a lifetime.

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Some brilliant and informative replies ...............Some not :lol::lol:

Thanks, much appreciated .... Thats why I like PW.

 

1600 Kilos is just under the 1700 kilo max weight my Mits Outlander can tow ~ Im using the 85% rule ( 2000 max towing for vehicle ) I was just using the 1600 kilos as a weight scenario.

 

 

Cheers all

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Is 1700 kg max towing weight ,or the kerb weight of the car .

Some manufacturers max towing weights ,are pure fantasy .

Best advice is go on Caravan Club website all the info is there ,Caravans are great especially if you have kids .

If you have the right car /caravan balance ,its easy .

My wife is not a good passenger(and can't read a map ) so she does most of our towing .

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http://campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/gettingstarted/newtocaravans/

 

Attached is the page on the caravan and camping club website on new to caravaning. All sorts of useful info.

If you like quiet sites their CL sites are as little as £12 a night. They have bigger more equipped sites too. Well worth joining. We joined when we bought our first caravan and have never regretted it. Going to stay on a farm in August this year near Phwelli, two weeks at £12 per night including electric hook up.

 

Thanks for the link and info. Yes the site prices look great.

 

 

 

Find out the maximum towing weight for your particular car and don't exceed it- balance the caravan using bathroom scales under the nose wheel once its loaded-simply move heavy items in front of or behind the caravans axle to get the nose weight right-when you are towing turn slightly later in a bend and a little sharper-it will take you about 10 minutes to get used to it. If you have kids then caravans are great fun but if theres just the 2 of you and you are up for a laugh then you should have the holiday of a lifetime.

 

Just the 2 of us, so yes should turn out to be a laugh and an adventure .......... fingers crossed .

 

 

 

 

Is 1700 kg max towing weight ,or the kerb weight of the car .

Some manufacturers max towing weights ,are pure fantasy .

Best advice is go on Caravan Club website all the info is there ,Caravans are great especially if you have kids .

If you have the right car /caravan balance ,its easy .

My wife is not a good passenger(and can't read a map ) so she does most of our towing .

 

 

Sooty, Mitsubishi say max towing braked is 2000 kilo. So ive edged on the lighter side at 1600 kilos max braked ( 85 % rule is 1700 kilos )

Looking at Fixed Bed 4 Berth's . With reasonable sized Lounge area

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Is 1700 kg max towing weight ,or the kerb weight of the car .

Some manufacturers max towing weights ,are pure fantasy .

Best advice is go on Caravan Club website all the info is there ,Caravans are great especially if you have kids .

If you have the right car /caravan balance ,its easy .

My wife is not a good passenger(and can't read a map ) so she does most of our towing .

What sort of harness does she wear? I could do with a wife like that! :lol:

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Thanks for the link and info. Yes the site prices look great.

 

 

 

 

Just the 2 of us, so yes should turn out to be a laugh and an adventure .......... fingers crossed .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sooty, Mitsubishi say max towing braked is 2000 kilo. So ive edged on the lighter side at 1600 kilos max braked ( 85 % rule is 1700 kilos )

Looking at Fixed Bed 4 Berth's . With reasonable sized Lounge area

My understanding is the 85% rule refers to the kerb weight of the tow vehicle not its towing capacity. As such the caravan/trailer should not be more than 85% of the kerb weight of the car. Also must not exceed the towing capacity of vehicle.

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Some brilliant and informative replies ...............Some not :lol::lol:

Thanks, much appreciated .... Thats why I like PW.

 

1600 Kilos is just under the 1700 kilo max weight my Mits Outlander can tow ~ Im using the 85% rule ( 2000 max towing for vehicle ) I was just using the 1600 kilos as a weight scenario.

 

 

Cheers all

I have the outlander and tow a 18 foot caravan, newer caravans are lighter, it used to be about one foot =one hundredweight. My caravan has fixed bed, bathroom at rear the full width of van, nice forward sitting area.the car pulls it very well. Even can use the 6th gear no probs knock the mpg down, buts thats all built into the price of the holiday, infact i am sat in it right now parked up at shrewsbury. Was down in dorset last week. I love getting away as much as we can, early retired lets you do that.

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Some brilliant and informative replies ...............Some not :lol::lol:

Thanks, much appreciated .... Thats why I like PW.

 

1600 Kilos is just under the 1700 kilo max weight my Mits Outlander can tow ~ Im using the 85% rule ( 2000 max towing for vehicle ) I was just using the 1600 kilos as a weight scenario.

 

 

Cheers all

1600Kg is a lot of van and you probably won't have to go that heavy, but as you're tugging it with an Outlander you will be fine. The 85% ratio of car kerb weight is not hard and fast and although it makes sense to have a car that is heavier than your van to help keep things in shape if you drive sensibly and smoothly then you will be fine. 85% is a good target to have in mind when van hunting though.

 

The correct nose weight on the van is the key thing and don't load the tail of the van heavy to counter balance it, keep the heavy stuff over the axle.

 

Despite what all the naysayers might say a caravan is a great thing. You don't have to go far and a weekend away as little as 30 mins from home gives you a different perspective on the world.

 

I often regret selling our last one, but we just didn't use it enough to make it worthwhile.

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We borrow my outlaws one and it's a great way of getting away with the young one and dogs. No panic about trashing a cottage and no issues with rain unlike camping. It's about the 1400kg mark and towed with an l200 so no issues just sit at 65-70 and it toes beautifully. But I do have years of towing heavy trailers on farms so it's simple in comparison. Just take things easy and you'll be fine but watch gate posts etc as it's surprising how many people damage caravans and they are expensive to fix

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We borrow my outlaws one and it's a great way of getting away with the young one and dogs. No panic about trashing a cottage and no issues with rain unlike camping. It's about the 1400kg mark and towed with an l200 so no issues just sit at 65-70 and it toes beautifully. But I do have years of towing heavy trailers on farms so it's simple in comparison. Just take things easy and you'll be fine but watch gate posts etc as it's surprising how many people damage caravans and they are expensive to fix

Be very carefull, towing, you are only can do 50 single carriageways and 60 on dual carriageways and motorways.

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Yup know that bit for cameras it's 65 is mostly motorways, the l200 has a 60 limit on dual carriageways anyway.

I've slowed up a little recently since getting an hgv at work with a ticket at 56 on a single carriageway never realised the cameras could tell the difference as the spot is a 60 for cars

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When you buy a caravan make sure its got an Alko anti snaking tow hitch fitted.

 

http://www.alko.com.au/vehicle-technology/aks3004/

 

They stop the caravan snaking if it gets in the lorry ruts on a lot of roads and the excessive swaying sometimes caused by or large vehicles going past or gusts of wind. Most modern caravans have them fitted and you can get a bulldog lock to clamp them to the car tow hitch which can be left in place while towing. Stops the ******** nicking your caravan off the car when you stop at services. Also worth getting a caravan wheel lock for when you have the caravan parked up.

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The 85% thing is a guideline for new towers, its 85% of the kerb weight of the vehicle not the towing capacity. Remember it is a guideline and not a law. However keeping under 100% is recommended by everyone if you decide you want a van over 85%.

 

Towing is easy once you get into it, its just like normal driving however you just need to plan ahead a bit more and you of course accelerate and brake slower. Reversing is the tricky bit, the number of people that cant reverse is astounding if you have never done it either book on one of the club courses or pay a local instructing school to take you out for the day then just practice lots.

 

One thing to make sure is your license covers you. If you got it before Jan 1997 you should have B+E which entitles you to tow virtually anything up to the cars limit. If you have license after that date you are restricted to a gross train weight of 3500kg, gross train is maximum weight of the car + maximum weight of the caravan (all weights as printed on the chassis plates)

 

We love caravaning and done it for years so for us its a relaxed experience, some people seem to make their life as stressful as possible by making things harder than they need to be (checking nose weight every time they move 100 yards is one example)

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