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Quote: Originally posted by Nick J on 02/3/2010

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I hate to water on your parade but unfortunately the Hobby will still be illegal after the proposed change to the current towing width law as the length part of it is not under review so it will still be 7 metres maximum legal length for towing.....

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Has the farmers wife got an update on this?

I've been waiting to see how you enjoyed your new van.

hobby will be something that i look at next but i have to say you will find it a very nerve racking tow with a pick up

it will twitch and push you every where espicaly wet roads and roundabouts my eldiss is 1900kgs i tow with a land cruiser amazon

i did try towing for 20 miles up the m11 with my high lux extra cab and i couldnt relax and i tow for a living rather have that 1000kgs of extra ballast

I just want to see photos of the inside.  Please, please, please!!!

There's a Hobby parked just behind us at our storage site.  The site owner was telling us it's not been out since 2008 & nobody comes to visit or check on it.  They just pay the storage bill annually & that's it.  Think it's an older one as the bottom of the outside is that kind of bumpy, bubbly effect.  Unfortunately the curtains are all drawn so we can't have a nosey thru the windows!

Wonder if it will move any after 20th April?

Hello The Farmer's wife,

Great choice of caravan - Hobby are up in the top 5 of caravan manufacturers and this one is particularly outstanding in layout and finish.

Your truck (Isuzo RodeoPick-up 3.0 CRD Double cab, Denver Max 4 dr.) has a max tow wt. of 3000kg according to makers which is about the same as my tow car at 3057kg. (Ford Explorer 5.0 XLT - 1814 kg kerb wt).  But I only tow a Hobby WLU540 at 1600kgs and a ratio of 88.2% and this is a "good match" according to most caravanners/clubs/recommendations. There is no way I could consider towing a caravan of 3000kg whatever Ford might say about the max capability of my tow vehicle. You will be towing 2000kg as I understand it with a truck weighing about the same which is a 100% ratio. That's at the high end of all the recommendations for caravanners but still OK, apparently,  if your husband has considerable experience at towing, which I understand he has.

The problem which you may find is that the new regulations will allow you to tow a caravan of 2.5m but not if the length of the caravan excluding drawbar and coupling exceeds 7.0m as highlighted in a recent post by Chewie and I believe your Hobby is 7.96m. It may be worthwhile getting this checked out sooner rather than later.

I'm curious to know what mirrors people will be using when towing 2.5m wide 'vans

We've towed our 560 Excelsior (2.5m wide) Hobby for 2 years over most of Ireland, England and France.  We use Milenco extension mirrors which bolt to the top of the wing mirrors of the jeep on arms (don't get the elastic tie on ones, they just vibrate) and can see well past each side of the van.  We also leave the blinds open front and back so we can get a good view out the rear window. (Can't understand those people who drive around with their caravan curtains closed, surely any extra visibility is good for safety).  The Hobby is amazing quality

Sometimes You're the windscreen; sometimes the fly