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Topic: Advice on towing

graemek

10/1/2019 at 12:09pm
Location: Somerset
Outfit: Soulpad 4m + Vango Omega 350

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Hi,

We're looking to upgrade from tents to a trailer tent this year and I have started looking at towing weights etc. I think I'm along the right lines but am a little confused about some of the TT terminology.

Our tow car is a Volvo V70 1.6 Drive which I think can tow up to 750kg unbaked. When looking at trailer tents 2 weights are listed: Unladen and Laden.

In the case of a trailer tent what is the difference?

Is Unladen the weight of the trailer with just the tent in it? I wasn't sure if it means just the trailer body?

Does Laden mean if we store our own stuff on board or is that to be taken into account on top?

The trailer tents we are looking at seem to have a laden weight of around 450kg. Kerb weight of car is around 1500kg. Do those of you with more towing experience than me (none!) think this is a reasonable match? I'm concerned about going up hills, handling etc.

Thanks in advance for any help

Graeme

Rob and Tina

10/1/2019 at 12:57pm
Location: Royal Forest of Dean
Outfit: Swift Major 4SB

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The laden weight is the max weight it can be when you have it fully loaded. I don't think you will have any problems towing that TT with your car, you most probably won't even realise it is on the back. We used to tow a 300kg TT with a 1.2 1985 Vauxhall Nova and it was fine, don't forget even an unbraked trailer will still need servicing and if you are going to buy a used one check the age of the tyres don't just look at the tread.
Good Luck and happy camping.

Lincoln57

10/1/2019 at 1:04pm
Location: Cheshire
Outfit: Camplet Concord Romahome R30

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Hi Graeme,
Unladen weight is the weight of the trailer and the tent. Laden weight is the maximum that the trailer can weigh when you have added camping gear, gas bottle and all the "essentials" that we all take with us! Try to load your gear evenly with any heavy items as close to the trailer axle as possible.

As a general rule of thumb, the trailer should not exceed 85% of the tow car weight. The car you have should have no difficulty towing a trailer tent. The biggest danger will be forgetting you are towing and allowing the speed to creep up on the motorway.

graemek

10/1/2019 at 7:46pm
Location: Somerset
Outfit: Soulpad 4m + Vango Omega 350

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Thank you both very much for clarifying the difference! I had searched around online and was struggling to find specifics relating to TTs.

Also appreciate the opinions on how our car might handle towing a TT :)

Graeme

DarrenElbrow

12/1/2019 at 11:05pm
Location: Poole Dorset
Outfit: Conway Challenger 1997

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Quote: Originally posted by Lincoln57 on 10/1/2019
Hi Graeme,
Unladen weight is the weight of the trailer and the tent. Laden weight is the maximum that the trailer can weigh when you have added camping gear, gas bottle and all the "essentials" that we all take with us! Try to load your gear evenly with any heavy items as close to the trailer axle as possible.

As a general rule of thumb, the trailer should not exceed 85% of the tow car weight. The car you have should have no difficulty towing a trailer tent. The biggest danger will be forgetting you are towing and allowing the speed to creep up on the motorway.

The 85% equation doesn’t relate to trailers and folding campers. It is a guideline for towing caravans. Which have the aerodynamics of a brick. Also the weight that can be towed is not 85% of the tow car’s kerb weight. Trailer tents and folding campers do not suffer the same problems . The op needs to check the braked towing limit for their car as well as the unbraked limit. A lot of trailer tents don’t have brakes due to their lower weight. A majority of folding campers are braked ( our 4 berth Challenger is braked)
The op shouldn’t have any problem towing a TT or folding camper

DarrenElbrow

12/1/2019 at 11:12pm
Location: Poole Dorset
Outfit: Conway Challenger 1997

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Quote: Originally posted by graemek on 10/1/2019
Thank you both very much for clarifying the difference! I had searched around online and was struggling to find specifics relating to TTs.

Also appreciate the opinions on how our car might handle towing a TT :)

Graeme

We tow a 600kgs max weight folding camper with our 1.6 petrol Mini Clubman, it’s very stable behind our car ( which has a maximum braked trailer towing limit of 750kgs) the Mini drives very well at legal speeds (ie 50mph on normal roads) we try to avoid motorways wherever possible. Steeped hills require a bit of forward planning recgear selection, but nothing a competent driver wouldn’t cope with.
Your Volvo would be more than fine with a trailer tent

Post last edited on 12/01/2019 23:17:35

Bennythebal

via mobile 07/4/2019 at 10:08pm
Location: None Entered
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I use to tow my suncamper 500kg fully laden with my 1.4 corsa and that towed fine struggled a bit going up hill but she still pulled like anything.

tango55

07/4/2019 at 10:23pm
Location: Lichfield
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I tow a 1300 kgs. caravan with a Volvo V50 (2.4 diesel) which is smaller than the Volvo V70 and less kerbweight too. You don't say if your V70 is a petrol or diesel but if it's the D5 diesel you won't even know the TT is on the back as you get less wind resistance with a TT to that of a caravan. However, whatever it is you won't encounter any problems towing a trailer tent as in the late 80's I used to tow a Combi-Camp TT with a Honda Accord 1600 petrol without any problems.

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