Can you tow a trailer with a 'normal' car?

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Gorgeous George

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Or do you have to have a 4x4? I would love to have my own transport, but when I got George one thing OH said was no lorries and definately not a new car to tow a trailer, and I didn't mind because I didn't imagine I would ever go to a show!!

We have a Citroen C4 (well we will if it ever gets repaired) 2 litre diesel and I would be looking at a single trailer.

My brain says it can't be possible as I don't think I've ever seen someone tow with a hatchback, but when you look at the weight of the box and horse it doesn't seem that bad.

Anyone got any experience?
 
Some cars can tow It will say how much in their manufactures guide and then you need to work out trailer weight plus horse and see. If I am honest I think not but 2.0 D can tow horses my friend has a VW and that does so might be able
 
Yes you probably could tow 1 horse in a single trailer with car. It depends on the car tho (and i don't know much about citeron c4's, LOL)
have a look at the parkers guide website - it has a towing weight guide - you can bung in expected weight of trailer and it will come up with list of cars that can/can't tow it.
 
i have towed a HB505 with one horse with an octavia 1.8 TD, however, I much prefer towing with a 4 x 4.

You need to check your kerb weights and trailer weights etc and make sure that you are not going over the manufacturers reccomended limits. Through reseach for another thread it is not illiegal it is more you need to say within the confines of what the car is capable of inorder not to invalidate your insurance or burn out clutch or engine.
 
Hi gg,
The towing limit for a C4 is 1200kg, which is 100% of its kerb weight anyway, so you are covered on both angles. It needs to be braked, which a horse trailer would be.

I would imagine your boy to weigh anywhere around 450-550kg, depending on weight variations, so that leaves you with about 700kg for the trailer. If you decide to put the tack in your vehicle then that also has to be deducted from the towing limit (as it is additional to the kerb weight), as do additional persons in the vehicle. So if your husband was to pop along to watch you for a day, you'd likely need to deduct 80ish and the saddlery another 50ish, so leaves you with about 550-600 for your trailer.

An IW401 (single trailer) weighs 770kg, so that would be a quarter of a tonne more than your limit
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Just found it on the Citroen web and it says 1570 Max towing weight braked. so think no - sorry

single IFW trailer unlaiden weight it 1000Kg
 
Still looking on google and the towing limit of your C4 will depend on the model - so if it's diesel or petrol, injection or not, hdi etc... I have just looked at another model that will tow 1300kg, and the above poster says they can pull 1570 (which by my reckoning would mean you'd be safe with the trailer and George and some tack).
 
My Subaru estate is a "normal " car but has 4x4 for muddy fields and is cheap to insure and run- If you have circa £20k then the new Subaru diesel is LUSH
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It tows beautifully
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If it's a Citroen C4 Picasso Wagon 5dr SA 2.0DT, then the legal towing weight it 1500kg. Although you need to check your particular vehicle hand book to find out for certain.

George would be in the region of 600kg?, they say to allow 200kg for stuff plus 70kg per passenger and an ifor 505 is 1170kg, that would put you well overweight, however, the new IW 406 unladen is only 767kg, so that plus hoss will be 1367kg, so strictly speaking it will be legal if you really watch what you are carrying extra peopel & stuffwise.

It would be probs be cheaper to upgrade your car than to purchase a spiffing new iw though.
 
My Dad used to tow 2 medium sized horses with his mondeo estates. There was never any problem, muddy fields were fine and the horse always had a smooth ride. That was a few years ago when lots of people did it!
 
Tendon-boot,
I am getting anywhere between 1400 and 1800kg for the VW Passatt Estate, depending on the size of the engine. Much like with the C4, it depends on size and type of engine.

If you only want to tow a single, with a medium sized horse and minimum stuff then you should be ok. 770+500+200=1450kg.
 
our is the C4 hatchback 2.0 litre diesel HDi, it would be a single trailer something like the IW HB403 which I think weighs 770kg.

I guess it doesn't really look possible or safe does it, oh well you can only ask! Will have to keep smiling for lifts
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not sure what I was going to buy this trailer with anyway
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If you had the Citroen C4 2.0 HDi which has a kerbweight of 1381kg, an Ifor single trailer HB403, weighing 767kg unladen, then put a 500kg horse in the trailer, that leaves you 114kg for tack, water, people etc. That would either put you over the kerb weight or very close to it, so I wouldn't recommend.

The recommended weights are that you should tow up to 85% of the vehicles kerbweight. It is legal to tow up to the kerbweight but not over it. The maximum towing weight on the car specs are misleading, as they are not the maximum legal towing capacity. It actually means that is the max weight the vehicle can move off with from a standstill on a 1:4(?) incline on a dry road.

Can't you get a small lorry? It's really not safe towing a large horse in a trailer with a car and you would be mad to risk yourself and your horse.
 
gg, I think it is possible.

As per my post! I seemed to overlook the fact your car was diesel initially!!! Your car/model/engine type can pull 1500-1570kg. The trailer is 770kg. That leaves 800kg for George and your stuff. George (500ish) + stuff will never be more than 800kg!

I don't think I would do it because it would be quite a struggle, especially up hills. Also the trailer is bigger than the car, so like Sooty said, although kerb weight rules only apply to caravans which are unbraked, in those terms it would not be AS safe as a large 4x4 pulling a trailer.
 
In Sweden hardly anyone has a 4x4 and everyone tows with "normal" cars - obviously big ones, up to weight, but I always found it a bit strange that hardly anyone seems to do that here. Makes so much more sense in terms of fuel economy.
 
The weight you have to now legally take into account when calculating whether a car can legally tow a trailer is the mam of the trailer you are towing ( that is the maximum authorised mass) so regardless of what a trailer actually weighs empty.
The Mam of even the lightest 2 horse trailer is over 2 ton so the answer is no you cant tow it off your C4. I think you might get away with a single horse trailer but it would be very close.
I live right near a VOSA weigh bridge on a main road and they are having a field day with trailers at the moment so it is worth being 100% certain.
 
You can with some of the larger cars.

I have a primera - 2 litre TD. I have the Bateson Derby which is a small and very light trailer and only tow Chancer who is under 500 k. I am in weight and the car has never struggled.

I do drive very carefully, plan A road and motorway routes if possible and allow large stopping distances - but then I would no matter what vehicle I was using.

Downside of the car is that I have to be careful of the venue - no deep rutted muddy tracks for me.

Now that we have Farra, we are going to review the trailer and vehicle - no way will she fit in the Derby or be towed by a car as she is 17 hands and a clydesdale. Alternatively we may just hire a box when we want to travel her.
 
Possibly not with a C4, but when I was young NOONE had 4x4 everyone towed with estates, mainly volvo's! So they could be used as the "normal" faimily car aswell and didnt cost the earth....... that was about 20 years ago though, but i'd still tow with a decent stamp of a volvo or the like.....
 
Used to tow my lw rice with a 2l volvo estate, was very secure , plenty of power and didn't weave. But I did only ever tow with my 15.2 mare in the trailer.
Had an aquaintence who used to two a big trailer with two full up 17hh eventers with her 1.8l volvo estate, now that was scarey.
The big 4x4 are definitley best for the job but it doesn't mean that you can't do it other ways.
 
I have a Renault Megane MPV and it tows the pony (11.2) with no problems. It has towed the trailer with the horse in round the car park (she's 15.2 and quite light) but it didn't feel safe and I wouldn't do it on the roads.
 
Robinson's do a single trailer which I'm pretty sure is the same make (rebranded) as the Cheval Liberte one's, it weighs 590kg and has a GLW of 1400kg so that might do the job for you.
As others have said, 20 years ago hardly anyone had 4x4s and we all towed heavy Rice & Bahill trailers, don't recall anyone coming unstuck, although we did have to unload ours and lead them up a particularly steep hill once when my dads diesel Citroen gave up the ghost (but we do live in the very hilly Peak District)
My instructor tows a similar lightweight single trailer all over the place with her Golf diesel estate, no problems, although her horse is only about 15hh.
 
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