Can a "normal" car pull a two horse trailer?

[Puppy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd a VW Passat, 1.9tdi 130bhp. I pulled two horses (17.1hh and 15.3hh) in a Ivor williams 510 Horsebox and it pulled it fine.

[/ QUOTE ]


Seriously?

[/ QUOTE ]

MY WORD!! Those horses must weigh more than Star and Be and I can't even buy a 3.5T lorry to take them....

 

[Sooty]

Not aimed at you as such, but the answer is yes - you can tow with what you like. However, there are guidelines and common sense. When towing horses, you need the weight in front if you want to avoid being pushed downhill be a trailer carrying a moving load. What looks fine on paper doesn't work in reality, which is why 99% of people towing horses pay the costs incurred in running a full size 4x4.

 

[apkelly01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd a VW Passat, 1.9tdi 130bhp. I pulled two horses (17.1hh and 15.3hh) in a Ivor williams 510 Horsebox and it pulled it fine.

[/ QUOTE ]


Seriously?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, seriously and it pulled them well. Normally I'd just have Super in the back and she's 16.2, but that day I was transporting 2 horses for a girl to a dressage event. The only problem I had was the belly was too low when going into the field to park otherwise it pulled it well - no snaking, weaving, pushing but I drive slow anyway when towing.

I don't have the car anymore as I missed my jeep too much. People don't get out of your way when you're driving a car

 

[suzysparkle]

Scary! Towing limit on a Passatt is 1500KG (I've just checked). You were pulling about 2300 - 2400KG with it.

Yes, something with a lot of power (If I towed with my 150BHP Astra I'm sure it would pull great) will easily pull a trailer, but you need a vehicle that's heavier than what you are towing to be properly safe. It's not just about pulling power. It's about stopping and how the trailer influences the vehicle. Needless to say, I wouldn't even pull my trailer empty with my car!!! I use my huge van which is way bigger and heavier than my trailer + Horse and is well under it's max towing capicity and within 85% of its kerbweight. That is just common sense. I am very experienced at towing, including towing glider trailers which are not nice to tow. I would go up to 100% of kerb weight but certainly no more, no matter what a manufacturer says.

 

[WelshRareBit]

I just wouldnt bother trying to cut corners, its not worth it in the long run.

 

[Wishful]

Yes it will "pull" it, i.e. make it go. The problem would be stopping it and steering it...

Car needs to weigh more than what it's pulling, and better that it is long and wide and stable, with a low centre of gravity. Saw Toyota Delica on its side on the motorway recently. Had been towing a caravan, caravan flipped it over.

 

[EstherYoung]

I used to have a very lightweight Richardson and either a Ford P100 pickup or a Sierra Estate. It would tow a small ayrab and a small pony within the legal limit. It was a lot lighter than an Ifor, unladen - I could push it around myself single handed quite easily (circa 700kg if I remember right, and that was before I stripped the partition down). That rig was certainly no less stable than my current Land Rover with very large trailer and two ayrabs up. No problem with hills and believe me we did some big'uns.

If you're going to do it, weigh EVERYTHING. I'd hazard a guess that the scenario in the first post would be a bit too borderline as Ifors aren't the lightest. The one time I towed an unladen Ifor with my car it felt like my own trailer did laden. I didn't dare put anything on it.

 

[squirtlysmum]

In simple terms - no!
You may find the car can pull a trailer but the brakes will not be able to deal with the weight.
If you look at the manufacturers plate, found in front of the engine under the bonnet, it will have various numbers on it these are
GVW - gross vehicle weight - this is what your vehicle is capable of carrying
AW - axle weights - these added together are your GVW
and most important to you the GTW - gross train weight this will show how much the GVW and a legal trailer can weigh and what it is capable of towing and stopping.
A small engine of 2.2 would not be safe to tow a horse trailer with and you could possibly be liable to a lovely fixed penalty ticket with added points for extra fun for dangerous unsuitable use.
It must be taken into consideration that you will have the car the trailer the neddy and all your equipment and if this goes over that magic number on the manufacturers plate you are driving illegally and, whilst on soapbox, putting you, any passengers, neddy, other road users etc etc in danger.
Steps off soapbox, so as I said before simple answer is no!

 

[Wishful]

The engine size is largely irrelevant. The issue is weight. A decent 2.2 diesel would have plenty of torque if the car in which it was mounted was suitable (unlikely). Torque is the key to movement. Weight and brakes are the key to stopping.

 

[the watcher]

'Scary! Towing limit on a Passatt is 1500KG (I've just checked). You were pulling about 2300 - 2400KG with it.'

correct, the kerbside weight on that car is 1618kg, so was being vastly exceeded by the trailer and contents - horrible and dangerous combination

 

[conniegirl]

[ QUOTE ]
'Scary! Towing limit on a Passatt is 1500KG (I've just checked). You were pulling about 2300 - 2400KG with it.'

correct, the kerbside weight on that car is 1618kg, so was being vastly exceeded by the trailer and contents - horrible and dangerous combination

[/ QUOTE ]

not to mention illegal, thus invalidateing the insurance. so who ever this was was driving without insurance, and killing her car.
we once towed with an old renault espace. with 2 ponies (12.2hh and 14hh) we were just below the GTW. It killed the car entirely, stretched the chassis and the aircon unit blew up. Not worth it in the end even though we were within its towing wieght its chassis wasnt built for towing horses regularly

For the OP. You are mad if you think you'll manage that legaly or safely. we tow using a Merc ml270. It weighs more then the trailer when weve got my 2 fat blobs in the trailer but when one of them starts getting impatient and starts shoveing against the breastbar of the trailer you can feel it in the car. Its not major in the big car but it would be very major in a little car. An old landrover or foretrak will do the job adiquately but a small estate car will not.
Also if you are pulled over and the whole lot exceded the GTW then you get a fine, points on your liscence possibly a bigger fine for driving without insurance. AND the killer is that they can seize the car and trailer and make you pay for proffesional transport home for the horse. Not worth it at all.
Ive seen a freelander that was towing a boat flip over, there wasnt much left of it and both driver and passenger died. the official cause was the trailer snakeing and flipping the car. Horses are a far more unstable load then a boat and thus youve got more risk of the trailer snakeing.