Can a small car tow a trailer??

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thehorses2013

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Looking into getting a newer car smaller 1.4 or under, i currently have a 2ltr cost a fortune in petrol so wanting to get something smaller but can i still tow a trailer? Because on a 1.4 or under you dont have enough ump to pull it am i correct in saying this? Some people have told me if you have a smaller car you can still tow does anyone else have a small car & tows a small trailer?, Thank you
 
It all depends on the towing capacity of the car and the weight of the trailer. For a example a 1.4 Skoda Octavia has a towing capacity of 1800Kg. A 1.5 Ford Fiesta can only tow 750Kg.
 
It is to do with the weight of the vehicle not just the size of the engine. My MG sports car has a good engine, but it couldn't pull a trailer ....................
 
jemima*askin said:
Eh? Fixed link and all that! A too heavy trailer will slow down the stopping of the car but can't slam into the back of it!
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Yeah but could push it down a hill if they car doesnt have the strenght in its brakes or lower gears.
Orangehorse said:
It is to do with the weight of the vehicle not just the size of the engine. My MG sports car has a good engine, but it couldn't pull a trailer ....................
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This, its not just the size of the engine, or how fast the car can go, its also its physical pulling power.

Similalry, just because something is a 2l, doesnt mean it will be less econimical than a 1.4 - just depends on the car :)


Op - what weight is your horse and trailer?
 
jemima*askin said:
Eh? Fixed link and all that! A too heavy trailer will slow down the stopping of the car but can't slam into the back of it!
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I meant a small car would struggle with stopping with combined weight of trailer and horse. Agree not slam into back but pushed from behind.
 
It's not the size of the engine that particularly matters, it's the weight of the trailer and the fact that the trailer has a movable animal inside it! You need a car which is big enough and up to the job , weight wise. Going back to engine sizes though, you're going to have a bit of a job in a car with a lower engine towing a horse and trailer up an incline. It's also highly unlikely a car if that kind if spec is built for towing so you could run into more expense mechanically in the long run.

We have just bought a 2ltre estate car with a 1500kg towing weight. I know this is ideal for towing my pony trailer and my boy in it , the trailer and my pony come to 1300kg in total and that's allowing extras. I will also be towing to venues only so I do have the added strain on my car of tracks/ fields.
 
I think you’d be hard pushed to find anything that could legally tow like that. Having spoken to people that tow the last thing you’d want is something small and underpowered with a horse in the back.
 
alainax said:
Yeah but could push it down a hill if they car doesnt have the strenght in its brakes or lower gears.


This, its not just the size of the engine, or how fast the car can go, its also its physical pulling power.

Similalry, just because something is a 2l, doesnt mean it will be less econimical than a 1.4 - just depends on the car :)


Op - what weight is your horse and trailer?
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I have no idea hes 15.2 if thats any good but would also be taking my daughters 11hh pony at same time too, ive not got a box yet want to get a car 1st but i was hoping to get a rice trailer as i see they only seem to go on ebay for £600, I dont want to get the car & then realise the car cant tow it.
 
Basically you need to look at the towaing capacity for any car you are thinking of buying. My guesstimate is that you've got between 700Kg and 800Kg of horse to move, so find out what your proposed trailer weighs and work it out from there. Some of the smaller-engined modern cars - as suggested in my first post - have a 1800Kg towing capacity but you won't get a small car with that sort of towing capacity.

You need to get accurate weights on your animals though, not just guess, particularly if you're trying to cut it fine - which I wouldn't recommend.
 
jemima*askin said:
Eh? Fixed link and all that! A too heavy trailer will slow down the stopping of the car but can't slam into the back of it!
Click to expand...

thehorses2013 said:
I have no idea hes 15.2 if thats any good but would also be taking my daughters 11hh pony at same time too, ive not got a box yet want to get a car 1st but i was hoping to get a rice trailer as i see they only seem to go on ebay for £600, I dont want to get the car & then realise the car cant tow it.
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Some of the old rice trailers are very heavy. I have an ifor Williams 401 single which is incredibly light but still pull with a 2 litre estate car. The smaller engine has to work harder to pull and petrol costs are often no difference
 
I think it would be unwise to tow two horses in a heavy old trailer with a small car. The trailer alone would be around a tonne as those old Rice trailers are very heavy.

Due to the nature of the beast towing vehicles aren’t economical. Why not buy a small car for every day and a 4x4 for towing?

I have an estate car that although capable of towing my mare, it won’t be used for this as we don’t want the wear and tear on it. So we’re looking out for a cheap 4x4 for towing and winter, OH really wants a Landcruiser as they’re proper work horses. He was also saying that Discovery’s (secondhand) have dropped in price a lot since we were car shopping in February.
 
thehorses2013 said:
I have no idea hes 15.2 if thats any good but would also be taking my daughters 11hh pony at same time too, ive not got a box yet want to get a car 1st but i was hoping to get a rice trailer as i see they only seem to go on ebay for £600, I dont want to get the car & then realise the car cant tow it.
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Rice trailers, especially the old ones, are well built but very heavy, which is why they are cheap. Make sure you have a very detailed inspection of the underneath of ANY old trailer - brakes, suspension and most important, the floor and ramp. You don't want you horse to put a leg through the floor and lose its foot scraping along the road, sadly this has happened. Dead horse.
 
I'm too old to have had to take a trailer test, but isn't there some correlation not just with engine size but also weight for the tow vehicle as to the weight of the trailer? Most small cars wouldn't be heavy enough.
 
I once asked this question and nearly got shot haha! but thinking about it later down the line, I wouldn't want to risk my very expensive horse being damaged because I couldn't be bothered sorting out proper transport, therefore I am now saving up for a lorry for my mum to drive lol :)

I know that if I do need to move him in an emergency my car can do that, otherwise no I wouldn't do it. I have a 2 litre audi a3 and was told I could legally tow a 401 and my horse on my licence (think the trailer would have to be down plates) but its not really that safe is it and going up hills and going down isn't going to be very safe!! :)
 
LJR said:
Imo, no, cars of that size are not safe to tow with, it's an accident waiting to happen.
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Well that is what i thought but ive never towed & a few people told me that some smaller low engine cars can tow thats why i posted so see if anyone had
 
Getting a 2 litre diesel instead of petrol would let you tow but save you money on fuel. Mine still gives me almost 50mpg.

I used to tow with a 1.3L Escort and a tiny pony trailer and it coped fine but probably wouldn't be legal now. The 2L diesel and a Ifor 403 is legal and tows great.
 
unlikely. many large vehicles cannot legally or safely tow trailers. just see what car you fancy, and check its weight towing specs with you weighed trailer and equipment.
 
1.4 is far too small to pull a horse trailer and occupants. Apart from not having the grunt for the job the physical weight of the vehicle will be too little. 2 litres is considered to be the smallest to tow with

For towing you need a vehicle with a solid structure, can't remember the correct term, small cars are built on a sub frame and would stretch if asked to tow.

You can tow small trailers used for garden rubbish and the like. I once towed a small gutted caravan with my Morris 1300 and it seriously struggled even on the flat.
 
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Tnavas said:
1.4 is far too small to pull a horse trailer and occupants. Apart from not having the grunt for the job the physical weight of the vehicle will be too little. 2 litres is considered to be the smallest to tow with

For towing you need a vehicle with a solid structure, can't remember the correct term, small cars are built on a sub frame and would stretch if asked to tow.

You can tow small trailers used for garden rubbish and the like. I once towed a small gutted caravan with my Morris 1300 and it seriously struggled even on the flat.
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Cannot compare older vehicles with modern ones because the designs etc are very different

A modern 2.0 diesel with turbo will out perform an old 3.0 petrol capri



Generally the FEEL will be different using various vehicles but a vehicle designed to tow 1500 will do just that because they are all tested the same way
 
if you got a speed wobble, surely a small car would be pulled around the place? I also wouldn't trust having to stop at the end of a steep hill with a small car. just too risky.
 
ROG said:
Cannot compare older vehicles with modern ones because the designs etc are very different

A modern 2.0 diesel with turbo will out perform an old 3.0 petrol capri

Generally the FEEL will be different using various vehicles but a vehicle designed to tow 1500 will do just that because they are all tested the same way
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I can understand that - however the key factor is that you cannot tow safely with a vehicle that just has a sub frame.
Read this if you are not aware of what a sub frame is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subframe
 
I have an old rice, and it weighs just under 850kg. I've had it run over a weighbridge so know how heavy it is!
 
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