Towing a caravan

Limana68

HI there all
Just a very quick question and sorry if its a dumb one!
Can you tow a caravan with an automatic car ??? Its a 2.3 engine but my hubby reckons you cant, so if so it means we wont be getting a caravan this yr! (I think hubby is secretly pleased about that)
Tell me he is wrong!

Li

vikingaero

Quite a few automatic cars need an additional oil cooler/radiator for the automatic transmission. Towing a car can cause the fluid to boil/overheat on some cars.

cajef

If you tow a caravan with an automatic you need to have an extra oil cooler on the transmission, otherwise the extra load will cause the transmission oil to overheat, these can be fitted but the cost is about £300.

Limana68

Thanks for that!! So my hubby was nearly right then( ha ha)I dont think its worth it then as the car is only worth about £600 and we've spent enough on it alraeady, so will wait a while till we can trade it in............ will have to carry on using the tent.

jennifernil

It depends what car it is, not all require additional coolers.

Conor_3

Also remember to check your driving licence. If you passed your test AFTER 1/1/1997, there's a whole raft of restrictions regarding the weight of trailer you can tow.

chrisw

Try this car/caravan matching site to see if it's ok:-

http://www.whattowcar.com/

Cumbrian_Male

I tow a caravan with an automatic and have NOT fitted an extra oil cooler.

The main things to remember are

1. Check your car hand book to find both your cars kerb weight and the train weight.

2. Aim for a maximum 85% of kerb weight provided this does not exceed the quoted tow-able weight and when added to kerb weight is less than train weight.

3. Nose weight should be between 4-7% of trailer gross weight provided it does not exceed cars maximum specified limit.

Your car handbook will tell you if you need an additional oil cooler for the gearbox, and if it does, you can get them from the scrap yard or new from Kenlowe for around £130 and diy fit, it isn't hard.