What is a good towing vehicle for a trailer and car, track Impreza classic.

Looking for a diesel that's economical, can be used as a daily and can tow the vehicle as stated above.

How do you determin how much a car can tow?

Thanks

 

Been looking into this myself.

Lagunas look easy to get hold of in the diesel form with a towing weight of 1800kg.

Otherwise Mondeos look to be good value.

Being a youngster(ish) I don't have as many codes on my licence so maximum weight can be 3500kg for both car and loaded trailer

 

Exactly my problem.

A guy i work with has a old Passat he use to tow his race Leon with.

Where do you find the towing weights, is it stamped on the car?

Thanks

 

Not sure about that but if you go onto autotrader and find the same model then there are the full specs including kerb weight, towing allowances, economy, tax etc.

Probably is an easier way but that's how I found the info above

 

You should find the towing weights in the handbook but failing that check out some of the caravaning sites, they quite often have the data. Rule of thumb, as I understand, is that the max towing capacity should not exceed the GVW of the towing vehicle.

As a recommendation, I would suggest a Volvo XC70 D5. Has a towing capacity of 1800kg & is very comfortable + AWD. I used to tow my RA around the country with no problem, using a twin-wheel trailer. Car is good for all the other bits/pieces such as tools and spare wheels. High mileage doesn't really affect them as they are extremely well built. My 7.5 yo has over 220000 miles and is extremely solid and reliable. They can be picked up on eBay/Autotrader for £4-5K with loads of life left in them.

 

the 3500kg is the gross weight of the car and trailer added together, so you've got no chance. on a side note if the trailer has a gross under 750kg then your combination can be 4250kg.

stevie

 

No idea what a trailer ways but was roughly guessing 1900kg (laguna) + 300 (trailer) + 1300 (scooby)

May be way out but that was my thought. Guessing the Volvo mentioned above is no lighter than the laguna

 

You can find out kerb and towing weights here

Go to the tech specs under reviews and select your chosen car. Handy as it also suggests alternatives to consider along with the details of the car you pick, which can be handy. It also lists insurance groups, MPG etc which would be handy to know as well

 

You need to consider the maximum plated weight of the trailer and the GROSS weight of the towing vehicle.

Why not just do your trailer test? You are really going to struggle to find a suitable combination

 

Ive got a p reg disco,easy to drive and insure,get 27 knocking about and 30-33 on a run,good to work on and parts are flampence,a full clutch is £80!

 

the actual weight of the trailer at doesn't make a great deal of difference in this case, it's what the trailer's MAM or max gross weight is, then add this to the max gross (not the just the actual weight) of the tow vehicle. if the trailers MAM is over 750 then your conbination can be upto 3500kg. but the MAM of the trailer can't exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle.

so you need to know the weight of the impreza = payload

the MAM of the trailer. you need the lightest you can find whilst being able to carry the payload.

the MAM of the tow vehicle

the unladen weight of the tow vehicle

the braked towing capacity of the tow vehicle


not going to happen!! do the test!!




stevie

 

The weight of the vehicle has little to do with what it can tow. Will the trailer be braked? If not 750kg is all you'll be able to pull. If it is braked braked you need the MTPLM of the vehicle your using, take your gross weight from your train weight and that will tell you what you can tow.
Some diesel mondeos are good tow cars, upto 1900kg if you get the right spec, but they can change to as little is 1350kg. Your best bet is a 4x4 as most will pull 2000kg.

 

When did you get your driving licence? after 1997 there are restrictions on what you can tow.

 

to tow an impreza on a trailer, then the trailer will have a gross over 750kg. he has the newer style licence, category B without E. this means on a trailer with a gross over 750kg his combination of the 2 grosses has to come in on or under 3500kg, whilst the gross of the trailer can't exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle. without doing the trailer test (b+E) he's not going to do it legally, VOSA and the police seem to have cottoned on a bit more over the last few years.


stevie

 

Ok thanks for the help. So just to be clear:

Impreza weight - approx 1300kg gross

Trailer weight 390kg with a max gross of 2000kg

Laguna weight 1880 kg gross, with min kerb wt 1320kg.

Exactly what goes into the calculation?


And yes I took my test in 1998 so the newer style.

 

from the off your trailers gross is over your cars gross! the most your trailers gross can be is up to the unladen weight of the car which is 1320kg. (this doesn't apply if you pass the test)

the gross of the car + the gross of the trailer = 3500kg max whilst complying with the above and so long as you don't exceed the tow vehicles towing limit.


so at the moment 1880 + 2000 = 3880 - fail
2000 > 1320 = fail


stevie

 

thanks that is now clearer.

so by taking the test exactly what changes (I am talking about the simple trailer test).

I guess the only option is to buy a tow truck @ 2 tons!!

 

how comes no one has mentioned nose weight in all of this too? This also plays a big part of what you can tow, most cars will have a fairly small nose weight of 75kg, The radical on backwards as suggested (rear engined) with 8 tyres on tyre rack comes in around 120kg nose weight. hence i have a discovery to tow with as nose limit is 150kg.

 

Realistically I would say your looking at a largish 4x4 - as already mentioned a Discovery, or a Misti Shogun, or a Kia Sorento (before 2010 model), a Hyundai Terracan, Toyota Landcruiser, L200, Nissan Navara, or pathfinder etc.

Richard

 

for me the purpose if a tow car was to have a daily drive with much better economy and practicality.
guess i need to have a re-think as was hoping to drive the impreza without insuring for road use.
with the economy of the suggested vehicles this may not be worth it for me.

 

Jesus fu*king christ man, it is about £120 to take the test, what are you moaning about.

 

i was talkin about the difference in a 50mpg laguna and a 22mpg 4x4.
nothing to do with the test cost.
my point is if i need such a thirsty tow car then i should just drive the scooby!

 

Erm, cost of said tow vehicle needs to be added to the mix

22mpg impreza

I have a 3.1 isuzu trooper and get around 30 and my 2.5 transporter is about the same as a combined average.

Bigger is always better when it comes to towing, as you really don't want the tail to wag the dog

Avoid renault lagunas.... in fact avoid any french car!!!! they are just wrong uns.

 

I was looking at around £1500 which was why lagunas came in.

The 22mpg was what I got out of my mates L200 last year when I had it for a week (all shortish journeys). Wouldn't get that out of the scooby unless on a very long run.....

My original aim was to have a very economical daily drive which I could then use to take the scooby to events. 30 mpg is ok but not exactly economical compared to slightly smaller vehicles.

Haven't driven much with trailers which is why I am asking for advice.

I'm guessing I will be taking the extra test. No problem there. But I'm still not really clear of an economical daily drive which I can use to get to work and back but also tow the race car.

 

So can someone tell me exactly which of the criteria explained above change when you have taken the test?

 

you can use a tow vehicle up to 3500kg and put a trailer on it!! so long as you don't exceed the vehicles towing capacity

have a read up fella!! http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...ons/DG_4022547


stevie

 

I'd look at diesel audis, or a passat, they can be had for that sort of money and have a bit more weight to them than a plastic laguna, and will return 50 odd mpg easily.

 

A6 2.5 diesel is a great tow car and can be had for good money. cheap to run and reliable. Get the manual version

Laguna's and especially the diesels have a long list of faults and there is a reason they are cheap to buy.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/u...ars/2l_to_2-5l

plenty of room to put you lunch box and spares in and a good looking estate car

 

The common problems with the XC90 are the auto box and the 4 wheel drive system and can be horrendously expensive to fix. They are great cars and was looking at these myself but the problems put me off. My wifes business partner has one which I have used quite a lot, and it struggles to get above 28mpg and that is not town driving either. She has also had the afforementioned problems.

I would consider a V70 D5 manual, pre dpf model (upto 55 plate) but try and avoid the earliest of these as they suffer niggly faults that can also be expensive (driver information module for example). The intercooler is a weak point.

Edit; Just re read the post and see it is XC70, not 90. Still have the same problems with auto box and rear diff crown gear, but less thirsty than XC90.

 

Have a look at old bombproof W124 or W210 E class Mercs

My old W124 2.5D Touring used to manage late 40s on long runs with the motorbike trailer on