Message Forums

Quote: Originally posted by Basilbrush on 21/6/2008

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Have you considered the Pageant Provence? the rear bed could be left in place if desired plus, this van has the benefit of the walk in shower cubicle. It's a lovely roomy comfortable van. Our series 5 & the series 6 Provence both have the L shaped lounge, the new seres 7 is in double dinette layout but retains the sepaerate walk in shower. A very good shower it is too. If there was only two of us, we'd still have the provence & leave the rear bed made up.

I've just read your intention to tow with an L200. Due to there being 6 of us & the amount of kit we take with us, we end up taking two vehicles on full blown holidays.

I have an L200 double cab warrior which I use for work. I tow the van with this if we take both cars & it tows great. Mine has a rear top & load liner in place as well as the towbar & weighs in at a touch over 2 tonnes full of fuel.

To be honest, I don't like the Animal, it's down to personal choice but, I had an animal for a week becuse my warrior was late being delivered & I'm pleased we went for the Warrior with the cloth trim. My feeling on the leather in the Animal was that it was too hard.

My 2 brothers & myself all had new Warriors at the same time, two of us had manual versions & one had automatic, the automatic has cruise control on it. Given my time again, I'd have had the cruise control as well. Although, as I tow with mine, I'm not sure if I'd want the automatic. As far as towing ability is concerned, I'm well impressed with how mine pulls, we always go to Cornwall & the hills on the journey are not a problem for the vehicle at all. You'll have no problem towing a caravan with an L200.

I also suggest you go for the new shape L200, it's a very different beast compared to the old shape. Much more like driving a car & the rear seat passenger space & comfort is very good. I notice our dealer is currently offering the L200 on interest free credit. If you search the net, you'll find some super deals on them, I went to my dealer with one of these offers, they came very close to it, plus I have dealer contact for warranty support.

I hope this is useful.

BB

 

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Quote: Originally posted by brianconwy on 21/6/2008

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Disco's have been tested out in the field towing horseboxes and commercial trailers up to the maximum weight allowed.  It is more down to how sensibly they are driven.  How many farmers do you see turned over at the side of the road with their livestock trailers.  I have never seen one, but I suppose some knowitall will come along having seen loads.  If there has been some scientific research into the % towing weight allowed then it would be interesting to see some reference to this research. 

If I was going for a mitsubishi l200 I wouldn't bother with a caravan and go for one of these - Kountrylite 5th wheeler.  Because the hitchpoint is in front of the back wheels the geometry is far superior and the weight would be ok for towing.  It has the luxury of large motorhomes and the convenience of leaving it on the pitch while exploring the holiday area.

Brian

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You'll be well placed for carrying your dogs around in the back of the L200 double cab, I have a top on mine with an underlip loadliner in it. We take our dog in it regularly & it's great for the job. He's a 38 kilo Boxer so I need to lift him out to stop him catching his back toes on the tailboard but your colies will be easier to do this with if they don't jump clear of the tailboard.

The window in the rear passenger compartment of the double cab is electric opening, the front & side windows in the utility top open too. We open this when Winston goes in & then by opening the inner window we can see him & he gets ventilation. The space for carrying stuff in there is good too. It's amazing how much kit we get in ours when going away.

BB

Quote: Originally posted by Supatramp on 20/6/2008

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Do yourself a favour and forget all the fancy talk about how much you can put in the back and the mickey mouse 2.7tonnes, if you want to avoid being another caravan accident statistic, the weight you want to work with is the kerbweight, which for a new Animal twincab is 1865kg.

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 Hi,I heartily support your feelings too many car dealers/manufacturers spout out this

rubbish as gospel what you need is the kerb weight of your proposed car and deduct

15% to give you an 85% match although 90% is acceptable if you are exp. at towing. DONT ever exceed 100%. in the case of the Animal 85%=1585kg.

Jim are you saying that horse trailers loaded with two horses should be banned?  Our horse trailer has a maximum weight of 2400kg loaded.  Are you seriously saying that large 4x4s are not suitable for the job, even though they have been used for the purpose for decades.  On what are you basing your statement?

If the manufacturer of the vehicle has plated it to tow 3500kg, then that is good enough for me rather than gossip on forums.  The other day I saw a 4x4 towing a trailer with an identical 4x4 on it.  Commercial users having been doing this for years.  The suspension, chassis and braking systems on true 4x4s are geared for heavy work.

I would be interested in references to any research into towing weight ratios.

Brian 

Hi we have the Burgundy and love it, it has an open spacious feel, we don't mind the small loo and shower, don't want a van any bigger than this.

 The limousin is the same layout as the Bailey Senator wyoming, if you have the towing power which it seems you will have and you don't mind a twin axel then I would go for this layout because you get the lovely end  bathroom.

 If you are new to caravanning one word of advice I would give is that the dealer is as important as the make you choose because you are tied to them for some time with warranty work etc and the service that they give is very varied from one to another. They will promise you the earth to sell you a new van and are not that bothered once you have signed up.     Happy hunting. 

You obviously know nothing about towing horse trailers if you think they don't get towed at morer than 30mph.  Yes I certainly do see livestock and horse trailers towed I don't know how much compressors weigh but the vans towing them certainly travel fast enough.  A trailer will become unstable at very high speed in a straight line regardless of the weight of the towing vehicle.  It is a braking situation where there is the possibility of the trailer weight unsettling the towing vehicle ( and we are talking about braked trailers). 

Towing horses - 50 mph seems to be the advised maximum ( more to do with comfort of horsesd than anything else ).

Brian

I tow ours and on the local A55 dual carriageway 50 mph is a comfortable towing speed.  If you are totally ignorant about something then why pretend to have some knowledge? 

Brian

I have been held up by caravans and I have also held up other people whilst towing.  On A roads you are restricted to 50mph , by the law of the land.

The person who started the thread was enquiring about the towing limit of the vehicle she was buying and legally they can tow up to the weight set in the manufacturers specifications.  I don't know much about the L200 but if used with common sense I am sure it would becapable of towing the van she was considering.  Its the people towing at over 70mph that are more likely to come a cropper. 

As far as I am aware the 85% figure has never been set in stone and some vehicles make more stable towcars than others of the same weight because of better chassis, suspension and geometry.

Brian