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Subject Topic: Escort van to tow 2berth caravan Post Reply Post New Topic
18/5/2013 at 10:24pm
 Location: The Black Country
 Outfit: A proud owner of a old ABI maurader
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Hi all i am in need of some advice . I have a ABI mairuder 2 berth caravan there is a plate by the door that says 800kg in one box 629kg in another and 75 kg in the 3rd .  I have recently purchased a escort 55 1.8 diesel non turbo van r reg 1997 which i need for work it has only done 87000 miles and been well looked after . Will the van be ok to tow the caravan ? . I will be haveing the tow bar fitted next week if its ok [cost £150.00] . I will only be towing on   A roads & country lanes NO motorways .  I will be carrying fishing tackle/ gas bottle/ clothes for 2/ cutlery small tv/ battery ect, Thanks atb Roy . Cant wait to get away !

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18/5/2013 at 10:45pm
 Location: crewe
 Outfit: Elddis Xplore 302 and Nissan Campervan
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You can try putting in close matches to your caravan and van weights on here http://www.whattowcar.com/       ABI are not listed, neither is your van , so you will have to find out the weight of your Ford van.With a bit of maths you can choose caravan and vehicle to match your outfit but it will need a bit of searching.

Be cautious but I would think that a 1.8 diesel escort van should be heavy enough and torquey enough (?)  to pull a max laden weight caravan of 850kg ?

I am sure that more expert advice will follow from others shortly and I would get a more definate response before committing to that towbar. Good luck with your plan17



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18/5/2013 at 10:54pm
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 Outfit: 
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The 629kg is unladen weight, so carry anything up to the 800kg max weight, 75kg is max weight on the hitch, the Escort will be a bit lower than this, 70kg so load caravan to give a hitch weight(noseweight)of 60-70kg, if you don't have a noseweight gauge, check the weight with bathroom scales on a piece of wood under hitch. The van will tow it but 60bhp won't give you much pulling power.

To comply with current regs I think you will have to fit numberplate & light to rear door because the tow ball will partly obscure numberplate in it's standard position. Usual solution to this is to fit a detatchable towbar but more expensive & probably not available for Escort van.


19/5/2013 at 12:27am
 Location: Midlands
 Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram
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What is the Escorts gross train weight? Check the chassis plate.

Should be all legal. The issue you may find is with an empty van the back end may be a bit jiggly.

If the caravan sways the back of the van is so light it could cause you to sway also.

You may need to play around with the way you load it.



19/5/2013 at 9:10am
 Location: west yorks
 Outfit:  Fleetwood Crystal kia sportage xs
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just had a look Hereand it says no max tow limit 665 kg altho kerb weight is 1150 kg


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19/5/2013 at 9:18am
 Location: The Black Country
 Outfit: A proud owner of a old ABI maurader
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Morning all

Grampian 1i my sound silly but were will i find the chassis plate on the ford van ?

I have found some numbers under the bonnet on a plate which are.

1665 - 1665 kg

2365 - 2365 kg

825 -825 kg

950 - 950 kg

Hope this is of some use to you to help find if the van will be ok to the caravan . Thanks for you help .ATB Roy



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19/5/2013 at 11:00pm
 Location: Midlands
 Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram
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Drivers door post or under the bonnet. But you found it already.


Err that doesnt look good. Unless i have it wrong..


1665 if the vehicles maximum gross weight.

2365 is the gross train weight. So the max tow is 700kg.

If the vans empty you could probably increase that.



20/5/2013 at 8:44am
 Location: None Entered
 Outfit: Coachman Pastiche
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Ford do have a habit of giving max gross train weights that are lower than the vehicles gross laden weight added to the max towing weight, you just need to limit what you carry in the van in order to keep the train weight down.


20/5/2013 at 3:04pm
 Location: The Black Country
 Outfit: A proud owner of a old ABI maurader
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Hi all

I have spoke to 3 tow bar fitting companys this morning and the have all said that i will be ok to tow the caravan as long as i dont overload and take it easy . Thank you all for your replys . The bar will be fitted tomorro so i hope to have a practice by the weekend as i have never towed before . Thanks again ATB Roy



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20/5/2013 at 8:11pm
 Location: Midlands
 Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram
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The problem is if your outfit is not legal they will say we didnt tell you that.

Only you are responsible for the outfit being legal.

If they dont know what your vehicle weighs and how much stuff your going to take how can they say your OK?

Its amazing how quickly the items add up. Just the bare essentials can easily add 100kg to your loading.



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20/5/2013 at 8:44pm
 Location:  lincolnshire
 Outfit: N A
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Quote: Originally posted by roycurwen1 on 20/5/2013

Hi all

I have spoke to 3 tow bar fitting companys this morning and the have all said that i will be ok to tow the caravan as long as i dont overload and take it easy . Thank you all for your replys . The bar will be fitted tomorro so i hope to have a practice by the weekend as i have never towed before . Thanks again ATB Roy




Don"t forget your towing mirror"s x2 otherwise you will get a fine from the Police M8



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