Trailer tent & 1200cc car-viable combination?

ampersand

A trailer tent has been offered to me. Haven't seen it up yet.
Any tips, price guides, warnings would be welcome.
My present car is noble but little, though I took 3 huge and heavy pieces of furniture to France in November, with trailer and every possible space stuffed to gunwhales.
Thankyou in advance.

jopsey

I would have a look on https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk
somebody on there will be able to help you im sure

sad_gills_fan

You need to know the nose weight of the trailer.
I have a 1600 car (Meriva) and pull a caravan that is just over 1 tonne. If you check on the website for your car (or similar), it will give you the towball weight.

I would guess, and I emphasise guess, that it will be fine. As long as it's not a massive trailer. Is it a trailer tent or folding camper? Makes a difference as a folding camper are normally heavier and larger.

Incidentally, we found that storing our caravan near a 'holiday hotbed' (near Norfolk for us) has saved us towing it from our house up to Norfolk/Cambridgeshire/Suffolk each time we want to use it. It does restrict us on where we can go but as those places have so many campsites around, we save loads on not towing all the way. We drive 2 hours on our own, pick the van up and drive for only up to one hour with it ... savings, savings!!

Best of luck, have fun. Get yourself an electric hook up and away you go!!

Sad Gills fan

steveo3002

your owners manual should say whats the maximum towing capacity

bestyman

I have a 1.4 astra van that tows a trailer tent , well in fact its a trailer now as the tent went rotten one winter . I think the weight of your car compared to the weight of the trailer is the main thing but as previous post say check with the handbook.
I would say that even if it is possible remember to not to expect too much from the car . Towing my trailer tent with a loaded van up a big hill was down into 2nd gear . Still, a steady trip to the cosat a few times a year wont do much harm if you treat the car with a little care.
See the tent up before you buy, check for mould and mildew, check corner steadies etc to make sure everything works.
Plenty of trailer tents on ebay to give you an idea of the cost .
Best advise has alrady been given, ask on the forums ( there is one for trailer tents) on uk campsite.
Happy camping

Felix

Pulling a trailer is one thing, trying to stop it is another. If the brakes on the car cannot handle the extra weight then you could find your self in serious trouble.

Also if you are stuffing the car with luggage plus taking the trailer that is even more load for brakes to stop.