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   Caravans and Caravanning -  Caravan Towcars and Towing Advice 		Share   Post on X / Twitter  Share on Facebook  Email  Printer Friendly Version Print
Subject Topic: Tow Car for Newbies Post Reply Post New Topic
PersonMadMum1972
05/6/2016 at 8:13pm
 Location: Hempstead Kent
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Hi there

I am asking this on behalf of my mum and stepdad.

They are about to purchase their first caravan after giving camping a go with a folding camper for a year and deciding they like it.

The caravan they are buying is a Coachman Amara 450 Year 2011 two berth. Unladen Weight 1245 kg MTPLM 1380 kg.

The vehicle they currently have is a 2009 Zafira 1.8 petrol. I understand this vehicle will be too light to pull the van so they are now looking at a different tow car.

Please could somebody advise of a car that would be suitable? We purchased a Mondeo 2l diesel when we bought our van. It pulled easily but was around 92%. I think for a beginner towing the 85% guideline should be greatly considered.

Any advice would be fantastic.

Thank you very much.

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Center Parcs April 2015
Chestnut Meadows Bexhill August 2015
Once in lifetime trip to Florida Oct 2015!!!


Personrichardandjo2010
05/6/2016 at 10:02pm
 Location: essex
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I am not certain but I think the Amara has a high nose weight if so you will need to take this into consideration

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Persontango55
06/6/2016 at 2:17am
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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The caravan you are referring to is the exact same model as mine except mine is an older model with an MTPLM of 1300 kgs. The car I tow my caravan with is a Volvo V50 (see picture in my profile) and has the D5 2.4i 5 cylinder engine which produces 180 BHP with substantial torque needed for towing. The towball weight limit is 75 kgs. on all the V50 models which the vehicle towing limit is 1500 kgs. but obviously not a safe match. Driving solo I can achieve around 52 - 55 mpg. so it's a good all rounder for both economy and towing purposes especially if you only have the one vehicle. Because the MTPLM on the 2011 model is 80 kgs. heavier, the match between the V50 D5 and Coachman Amara 450/2 would be around 89% but much better than the Vauxhall Zafira as a comparison.


Persontango55
06/6/2016 at 10:19am
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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Strangely enough, my first towcar was a Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 petrol to which if I remember right the maximum towing capability was 1200 kgs. although I think the 1.9 diesel was 1300 kgs.
My caravan at that time was a small 2 berth with an MTPLM of 1000 kgs. and the Zafira struggled on motorway inclines and hill starts to say the least. After 2 years we changed the towcar for a Ford Focus 2.0 diesel estate and the performace was outstanding in comparison. However, both of the above vehicles had a maximum towball weight limit of 75 kgs.


PersonMadMum1972
06/6/2016 at 6:27pm
 Location: Hempstead Kent
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Thank you so much everybody for your replies. The car I have is a Mondeo 2l diesel 140bhp 2010. I wasn't sure if this could tow the Coachman Amara. We towed a Sterling with it with a fully laden weight of 1424 and it went like a dream.

The only problem with the Amara is I understand the nose weight to be 80 kg whereas the maximum on the Mondeo's tow bar is 75kg.

I am not overly experienced with nose weights. Would that rule out the Mondeo?

Thanks again in advance. :-)

-------------
Center Parcs April 2015
Chestnut Meadows Bexhill August 2015
Once in lifetime trip to Florida Oct 2015!!!


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PersonSkoda Bob
06/6/2016 at 7:18pm
 Location: None Entered
 Outfit: Swift charisma Skoda Scout 4x4 View Skoda Bob's Profile View Profile   Reply to Skoda Bob Reply   Quote Skoda Bob Quote  
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Quote: Originally posted by MadMum1972 on 06/6/2016
Thank you so much everybody for your replies. The car I have is a Mondeo 2l diesel 140bhp 2010. I wasn't sure if this could tow the Coachman Amara. We towed a Sterling with it with a fully laden weight of 1424 and it went like a dream.

The only problem with the Amara is I understand the nose weight to be 80 kg whereas the maximum on the Mondeo's tow bar is 75kg.

I am not overly experienced with nose weights. Would that rule out the Mondeo?

Thanks again in advance. :-)

The nose weight is what you make it , you can run under it, just load the van to suit.
mind you, there are some daft people who have loaded their vans, then added stuff just because they have been told they must load the nose weight to the max



PersonMadMum1972
06/6/2016 at 9:23pm
 Location: Hempstead Kent
 Outfit: Vango Genesis Airbeam 500 View MadMum1972's Profile View Profile   Reply to MadMum1972 Reply   Quote MadMum1972 Quote  
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Great, thank you Skoda Bob. I am still researching for them and found the spec for the 2011 Amara. It states an empty nose weight of 40kg and a maximum hitch weight of 100kg. I assume the absolute weight you can go up to at the front is 100kg (but only if they had a 100kg nose weight on a tow bar of course) but not sure what the 40kg empty weight is.

So if they were sensible with loading would a 75kg maximum nose weight on a Mondeo tow bar be okay for them with an empty nose weight of 40kg?

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

-------------
Center Parcs April 2015
Chestnut Meadows Bexhill August 2015
Once in lifetime trip to Florida Oct 2015!!!


Persontango55
06/6/2016 at 10:20pm
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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The noseweight on my Amara 450 is 85 kgs. and like I said previous the towball limit on my car is 75 kgs. so I have to manipulate the items on the caravan to get the nose weight down but you need a noseweight gauge to achieve this. However, I disagree with Skoda Bob referring to daft people loading the van to achieve the correct noseweight as that is the target you should aim for. The reason is that the damper compresses against the towball to operate the caravan brakes so if the noseweight is too light then the hitch basically tries to lift which reflects on the stability of the caravan. If the noseweight is too heavy it puts excess stress on the vehicle's rear suspension so when you brake the noseweight presses down further trying to lift up the front of the car so again you lose grip and steering on the car thus causing stability problems again. When the caravan is in tow, the wind pushes against the front of the caravan causing drag which in effect is lifting the hitch slightly so the faster you go the more drag it creates thus trying to lift it off the towball and that's why you need to aim for the correct noseweight.
The faster you go the more drag it creates so if you are travelling at 60 mph. with a head wind of 20 mph. then in fact the caravan is doing 80 mph. so the process of lifting off the towball increases thus losing grip on the rear wheels and that's when 4x4's get into difficulty travelling at 70 mph. down the motorway.
Noseweight contributes to stability in more ways than one but some daft people are not as daft as you may think.



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