Message Forums

Wouldn't do for me Steve, although I'm sure many will disagree, as it's not a great deal over the 85%.  I just like a bit of safety margin, that's all.

Jim

Correct!

Jim

Dont listen too all these " doom and gloom "  85% is what the caravan club recommend Arm chair experts

I am sure you have a level headed approach to safety and you know the caravan will never be loaded to its absolute maximum and the car will have a nice big bag of clothes and food shopping and maybe a porch awning sat in it so go ahead !

tending to agree with smoggy al on this one, if you are careful you will be sound

my almera's max tow is 1000kg, (equating to about 82% of KW) van is 820kg empty and about 930kg in running trim. in car normally I carry mum's wheelchair (12kg) trolley jack (14kg), axle stand, power cable, and a few other bits and bobs so say 50kg in car plus mum. I have never felt a snake or any hint of instability and can climb all hills with not too much bother. I am just ultra careful with the loading and only carry the bare minium of kit in the van, my heaviest items in the van are the battery, gas bottles and spare wheel. the rest would be lucky to make 40kg.

steve your 1.9 td engine will give you plenty of grunt so stop panicking but will advise to weigh every item going into the van and carry the bare minimum, after every trip I still sort stuff into 3 piles, stuff used, stuff that would have been used given different conditions and the why am i carrying this stuff pile, the latter gets left behind. you will be surprised how much weight you can save

Not sure how you describe the Caravan Club as armchair experts Al.

Jim

 Well said rustyfrog.

at Steve, you dont say if your parents have towed before, are they buying a new van and new car to replace and old setup or will this be their first time towing a Caravan as I believe that this will have a lot to do with their decision.

I have been caravaning for about 3-4 years now, which gives me some experience but I would not say I am an expert by any means.

I am now on my second caravan, I used to tow a Crown Regent 5 Berth with a Max weight of 1050KG with a 2.0TDI Zafira which had a Max towing weight of 1050KG despite the kerb weight being closer to 1500KG.  I have since changed my setup both car and van and now also have an Astra Diesel Estate 1.9 CDTI (Chipped) an tow a Adria Altea 542DT which has a max weight of 1300KG the Astras Kerb weight taking into account engine and model spec comes in at something like 1475KG (The manual show the kerb weight then you have to add extras for the different types of engine and then trim level!!)  The Astra has a Max towing weight of 1400KG according the the Manual and Log Book.

I tow with this setup with an Alko Stabiliser, again as other people have posted, I ensure my Car and my Caravan are well serviced and regularly checked, I Balance my Car and my Van as best as I can. I am fully aware of what I am taking with me each time and more often than not weigh everything that I am putting in my Car and Van. I always plan my route before I go anyware, always keep to a reasonable speed but take things easy.

I have actually found that my latest setup is more stable than towing with my old setup.

I dont think I would recomend a first time tower to be towing above 85%, but then again It may be that if you check everything you take weight wise and are sensible about what you take and how you drive they may be perfectly fine. If they dont need to use the full payload allowance, and there is a good difference in weight between car and van they may find that they are towing less than 85%. Only a Weigh Bridge will be able to confirm this though.

Quote: Originally posted by robsonalan on 16/1/2010

---

at Steve, you dont say if your parents have towed before, are they buying a new van and new car to replace and old setup or will this be their first time towing a Caravan as I believe that this will have a lot to do with their decision.

Hi robsonalan

My parents have never owned or towed a van before but my dad is a driving instructor and incredibly vigilant and safety conscious almost to the point of annoyance, Furthermore they won't be going anywhere near their max payload in the van so I'm fairly confident that they could be within the 85% towing guideline. I'm quite excited for them both as I know they will love the caravaning experience.

I think they've got a taste of the outdoor life from the times they visit us at local sites.