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Topic: Towing ratio of 93% for first caravan.

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binka

27/1/2014 at 5:01pm
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Thanks. I've seen some Lunar arivas. Are they generally a good make?

Greendemon315

27/1/2014 at 8:54pm
Location: Blackburn Lancashire
Outfit: Coachman Laser 650 and Discovery

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Don't listen to the salesman. It is too heavy.

Jim

misterg

27/1/2014 at 9:51pm
Location: East Midlands
Outfit: Coachman VIP 575.Santa Fe

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I have been caravanning over 40 years and the first rule is dont rely on manufacturers, dealers or private sellers to tell you the truth.Some may others will not.This is based on many real examples and personal experience. Sad but true. The good news is it is a great experience once you get the right outfit.

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tango55

27/1/2014 at 9:51pm
Location: Lichfield
Outfit: Coachman Amara 450

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I previously owned a 1.6 diesel estate but there are actually two Ford Focus 1.6 diesel engine versions. One has around 89 BHP with a towing limit of 1200 kgs. and the other a 109 BHP with 1300 kgs. towing limit. The official Ford Focus brochure details were the opposite way round so I queried it with the Ford dealer. I seen the e-mail from Ford UK saying that it was actually an error and the details are correct as above. However, our 2 berth caravan has a MIRO of 984 kgs. but the MTPLM is 1300 kgs. so I had to travel with the absolute mimimum of gear required. The car towed okay on the level but found it struggled on motorway inclines but my major concern was going down hill because even having 7 years experience at towing I was extremely cautious having an outfit at around an 93% match because in an emergency or windy weather the caravan being almost the same weight as the car could possibly cause a snake even though the caravan was loaded correctly and an Alko stabiliser fitted. I towed for a period of 18 months but when the financial time was right I bought my Volvo for the right reasons so now I feel comfortable and safer having a match of 83%. Remember that a caravan salesman is there to make a profit for the company and the quicker they sell allows more space for more caravans to display. They will feed you any information to gain a sale because once they have your money and leave their premises it is the customers responsibility regarding safety. If the unfortunate happened whereby the caravan lost control, the salesman would escape any responsibilty because a) there is nothing in writing with reference to his verbal confirmation and b) he would declare that the customer failed to do their homework prior to the caravan purchase. So the advice is to ignore what the salesman said and do your own homework first as many on this forum will offer sound advice especially if you are a complete novice as safety is paramount. With reference to the wording I would hazard a guess that details of the outfit match were taken from whattowcar.com but I found that the information provided is not always that accurate so the best way is find out the vehicle's kerbweight and the Caravan's MTPLM and calculate the outfit match yourself by using an online percentage calculator. That way you have done your own homework so you then know what vehicle kerbweight you require to tow your caravan in safety.

binka

27/1/2014 at 10:26pm
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Tango, I've done that now and using the car kerb weight and a mtplm of 1200 gives me 91.5%

Which is better.

And that gives me just under 200kg to play with putting stuff in the van.

Its only me and dd and after having an old vw camper we are used to travelling light. I've been looking at weights of everything from gas bottles and water rolls to pots and pans and I think if we put the majority of our clothes in the car for travelling we'd struggle to put 100kg in the van.

So that gets it under 90%

If we filled the van to 1157kg it would be 88%

tango55

27/1/2014 at 10:42pm
Location: Lichfield
Outfit: Coachman Amara 450

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Quote: Originally posted by Rob and Tina on 27/1/2014I think your MTPLM may be 1250kg so that makes it over weight:

Elddis EX 2000 Hurricane 2000
Year - 2000
2 berth
Single axle
Mass in Running Order (Kg) - 1014
Maximum Technical Permissible Laden Mass (Kg) - 1250

Rob

To answer your question you really need to work on these figures that Rob and Tina posted which I agree that they sound more likely to be the case regarding the caravan weight.

Rob and Tina

28/1/2014 at 9:42am
Location: Royal Forest of Dean
Outfit: Swift Major 4SB

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Binka had said in another thread that he had ordered a Focus estate so when I initially replied I thought we were talking about a new vehicle. As Tango has said above there are several versions of 1.6 diesel Focus and the weight limits change by year and model so it is important to check the details of the particular car.

We have recently taken delivery of a new 1.6 diesel estate with the 115bhp engine and I still have the weight limits sheet from the brochure on my desk and there are now 3 versions of the 1.6. Some of these have a max tow limit of 300kg and the 115bhp has a max tow now of 1200kg. As I don't trust the salesmen or brochures in case they are wrong, I checked the weight plates of similar vehicles at the dealers to check the details and told the dealer that if the weight plate on our car showed a lower weight we would not accept the car. Luckily the new car said 1200kg.

Rob

binka

28/1/2014 at 10:16am
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Mine is a 2010 1.6 diesel estate, 110bhp. Ford have said the towing capacity is 1300kg.

Its the mark 2, phase 2.

Rob and Tina

28/1/2014 at 10:25am
Location: Royal Forest of Dean
Outfit: Swift Major 4SB

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The details on your weight plate confirm that your car has a 1300kg limit. The plate on our car shows a 1200kg limit. It proves that you have to check each car's plate as there are so many variations.

Tango has lots of towing experience and he was extremely careful with towing at that level so as a novice you should be very careful until you gain more experience especially with a fairly low powered car. I always err on the side of caution and I wouldn't be happy at that weight. It wouldn't be illegal but it may not be a good idea for a novice.

Rob

binka

28/1/2014 at 10:34am
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I think I'm going to buy it.

I'm happy to keep minimal stuff in to keep the weight of the van to a max of 1150kg. We have a weigh bridge near here and I'll weigh the van. Will keep a list of what's in the van and weights of each item and keep an updated tally. Will get a nose weight device and check that each time, make sure tyre pressure is ok, load carefully. Happy to take it steady on roads with a stability hitch.

Will see how it goes, if the combination doesn't seem good will look at changing one or the other. Any lighter weight vans I've seen don't have an end bathroom and after looking at quite a few caravans yesterday Id really prefer an end bathroom.

I do appreciate all the advice even though I know I look like I'm not taking it on board!

Rob and Tina

28/1/2014 at 10:49am
Location: Royal Forest of Dean
Outfit: Swift Major 4SB

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I think we are all wary of a novice towing a large weight but you have done your homework and are aware of the restrictions. If you load the caravan up and get it weighed you'll know exactly where you stand and can adjust the weight if neccessary.

You've done the right thing by asking first, too many people listen to the salesman and end up with an outfit that is illegal or dangerous.

Try for a bit of discount with that caravan or get them to chuck in a starter pack with aquaroll etc. Good luck.

Rob

bobmel

28/1/2014 at 12:14pm
Location: Aberdeen
Outfit: Coachman Pastiche 460 VW Tiguan Moti

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could this be you

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Robert (BoB)

binka

28/1/2014 at 12:39pm
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Lets hope not.

freeatlast

28/1/2014 at 2:30pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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Binka we are going to advertise our 2 berth Trigano this week. Just waiting for it being serviced tomorrow.

It would be an ideal 1st caravan, as it will come with awning, groundsheet, cover, waste and water bottles, battery and mains lead. It has hot and cold, full bathroom with shower, warm air heating, a wheel clamp, a hitch lock, spare wheel and a motor mover. The awning is different to that shown in our gallery. It is a specially designed lightweight full awning with fibreglass poles.

The whole of the front makes up into the bed.

The MRO is 740kg, and the MTPLO is 1000kg, so your Focus would tow it easily. Its dead easy to tow being slightly lower than most caravans, and the length and width are such that it neither swings out nor cuts corners on sharp turns. It also has uprated tyres and the ALKO chassis has a stabiliser and shock absorbers.

binka

28/1/2014 at 2:32pm
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Freeatlast, thanks but I've paid the deposit this afternoon. Really wanted one with an end bathroom anyway. Good luck with your sale.

Grampian91

28/1/2014 at 2:40pm
Location: Midlands
Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram

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The issue is the caravan may weigh more than you think.

Those weight plates are not 100% accurate. They are an average taken from several vans.

One guy who wrote into the caravan mag found his to be 140kg/180kg overweight.

Brand new from the factory...

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