Car for towing a caravan

jaydeeh

We have a motorhome at present and we are debating wether to change to a car and caravan But we have lost track of tow cars and don't know where to start looking or if you can trade in a motorhome for a tow car We would probably need a 2.0-2.5 litre as we have not chosen a caravan yet Could any body give us advise on the subject please.

rdwarr

Skoda Superb seems to win Towcar of the Year with regularity. Seems to win everything else as well!

Link here

atrixblue.-MFR-.

rover 75/MG ZT T 2.5 v6 these dont suffer HG problems. bmw 525 mondeo STtdi.
chrysler 300c 2.0 diesel (merc engine) cheap second hand top spec american comfort.

forgotmyname

Thousand of car choices and thousands of caravans.

One thing to watch, Sellers who tell you your 1000cc small hatchback will tow their twin axle monster if you load it carefully. Too many sellers dont know what the caravan's gross laden weight is.

Decide what sort of caravan you want, Size, Layout, Berth etc.

Then decide what sort of car you want, Small economical one or a huge thirsty beast of a 4x4 that will tow the QE2 fully loaded.

ZT's dont suffer head gasket problems? Few on ebay may make you think again on that one.

Rolandtheroadie

Without a rough caravan weight, any car recommendations are just a guess.

marlot

When did you pass your test? If before 1997 you will have a B+E licence, otherwise just a B. There are severe restrictions on what you can use if you only have a B (max weight of caravan has to be less than the unladen weight of the car, whole outfit to be plated to less than 3.5 tonnes, etc).

Recommendation for everyone is that the max weight of the caravan is less than 85% of the kerbweight of the car, though its safe to go above this a bit if you're more experienced (up to 100%).

Try putting your thoughts on both car and caravan into whattowcar.com

I hugely recommend the caravan club towing and manoeuvring courses. They also have some great infomation leaflets http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/expert-advice

Some friends who have caravanned for years got caught out last summer - they bought a very fancy caravan, thinking their volvo V70 'weighed more than almost anything on the road'. Except it didn't, and the huge caravan was a pig to tow. They were lucky - the dealer let them change the caravan. They got very stressed though, and nearly lost their holiday to France.

Hintza

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

chrysler 300c 2.0 diesel (merc engine)

3 litre Merc engine.

sunshinetours

As above - choose likely caravans first and then decide on car. Remember you may be using this car for 90% plus of your time not towing, so running costs may be key.

Diesel may be worth considering as torque of many modern diesel engine means you can actually go for a smaller engine than you may think for many caravans (although weight is obviously key aswell)

One other consideration is nose weight as some caravans have very heavy noseweight requirements that only a larger 4x4 will accomodate

I would sell your m/h first and then use cash to buy the car for best deal

hartcjhart

some good info here

http://www.caravanningnow.co.uk/caravanning/faqweight.htm

poppasmurf_bewdley

Big caravan or little caravan?

Only you can make a decision, but the most popular towcar in our small club is the Mondeo Mk3 and Mk4 2 litre TDCi, including the estate. Price ranges from less than £1k to £25k.

TrickyWicky

Volvo. Doesn't matter what age it is as long as its 2L or above and well looked after it'll still pull a caravan with ease. Try as hard as you might their engines are pretty hard to kill.