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hi we have a swift conqueror twin axle and had no probs at all towing with a isuzi trooper 3.1 my partner found it smoother towing than our older single axle.unfortunately though we decided to change our car and after extensive research on suitable outfit match we decided on a jeep cherokee 2.5 and blimey what a difference.We took it out on a short test run before heading to france and found ourselves snaking all over the road (we were doing the correct speed and it was packed correctly).We invested in a alko stabliser hitch and it made all the difference. What we have also found handy with such a large outfit when reversing onto your site pitch are some cheap walkie talkies (ebay).there is no shouting and hands waving about to the driver on which way to manoeuvre ,you can just stand at the back of the pitch calmly and quitely talking into your handset without having to even be in vision of the driver.

happy caravanning

Quote: Originally posted by ivanparkin on 15/1/2008

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Hi Dave.

Just wondering how you went on towing the new caravan.

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Quote: Originally posted by Surfer01 on 12/1/2008

<!--bmi_SafeAddOnload(bmi_load,"bmi_orig_img",1);//-->We had a Volvo D5 and it was great towing our.t/a on motorways but totally useless on grass that a hint of wet. I will never ever buy a front wheel drive vehicle for towing again. Tyre wear was horrendous.

We have lived permanently in our twin axle caravan for the last 2 years and only because it offers a lot more room. We have a motor mover on ours so it is a doddle hitching it up. In 2005 I traded in our 2003 Volvo for a 1997 3 litre Toyota Hilux Surf and have never looked back as it is an excellent towing vehicle, cheap to maintain and fairly economical for its size. After all Jeremey Clarkson can't be wrong when he praises the Hilux! Only thing we miss about the Volvo is the extremely comfortable seats.

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Quote: Originally posted by ian and jean on 27/1/2008

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great to read you comments we are getting a ace supreme twinstar twin axle and we have a identical car to you except its blue and we love it glad it pulls ok with twin axle it is so economcal and never failed a mot!!!
people dont believe us when we tell them how economical it is pulling a van!!! for a car that os 10years old i think they preserve better than a lot of these modern cars, only just put a new exhaust on last year,
Towing is lovely we have ace northstar and we both share the towing,, only problem we have is we have to remove the rear wheel every time we tow and put in back of car,cant find a solution to the problem and it is the correct towbar for the car.!!

Post last edited on 27/01/2008 15:45:40

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All I would say, as someone who has a 2007 twin axle Elddis Crusader Cyclone and has considered downsizing is that there seems to be pro-s and cons with both twin and single axles. the only downside i can see of the twin axles is the manouverability when towing through small villages, city centres, towns or country lanes etc where roads are tight and tight turns can be a nightmare as you can always risk clipping the rear as it swings round or mounting the kerb. In terms of manouverability on pitches we have a Truma mover and it is fantastic. I have manouvered onto pitches as wide as our van is long using it and the flexibility it offers still amazes me. In terms of handling, I have never owned/towed a single axle van but all I would say is that you only have to drive down the motorway and see how a single axle bounces and snakes around much more than a twin maybe this is down to the fact that singles seem to sit higher i don't know but they never look as stable no matter what vehicle is towing it. Twin axles sit lower and always look well planted. 

Turning to the subject of tow cars (if this is something you are think you will need to address if you go down the twin axle route) I personally wouldn't tow a twin axle with anything other than a proper 4wd. This is especially true if you get a summer like last year and the ground is wet and you want to shift your van on grass/boggy ground. I have helped two people with front/ rear wheel drive cars in the last 6 months to tow their outfit onto firmer ground, one occassion was literally just wet grass! I personally can't extol the virtues of a Discovery 3 highly enough. I have previously owned 2 present shape Range Rovers and I changed to the Discovery 3 last year. Towing the same van the Discovery 3 is a dream. It will pull the heaviest van up the longets Frenchy motorway incline at 65-70 without any fuss but watch out for tyre wear!!! By way of comparision I have also towed with an XC90, Land Cruiser, Shogun and recently a Kia the latter being the a very pleasant experience and the one I would go for ovver the Volvo, Land Cruiser or Shogun. My reasons? The XC90 in diesel form is woefully underpowered, the Shogun crude and the Land Cruiser never felt stable at anything over 55... For value for money the Kia would be a good bet but for me it would be a Discovery 3 or V8 Range Rover diesel every time! Before anyone wants to come back with "oh but the reliability" I can only say that I change my car every 18 months and do 50,000 miles (mostly towing) before each change and can say I have never an issue with the Range Rovers or my Discovery which is now on 25,000 miles...