Does anyone tow with a Citroen Xsara Picasso? + LW Trailers

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luckilotti

Well-Known Member
Joined
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hillhousestables.co.uk
hi,
i'm planning on selling my box once hubby has finished a few jobs on it and am now wondering if i should buy a trailer instead of another box (assuming i can pass the test that is - 5 years ago a farmer tried to teach me, wasnt very good!) anyway, i currently have a Citroen Xsara Picasso and was wondering if there is anyone else out there who tows a horse trailer with one?
when i was looking to buy one, i did see one at a garage that had a tow bar fitted, and the dealer told me it hadnt done heavy pulling, as the type of towbar it had wouldnt be capable of towing a caravan etc - i pointed out that in fact, it was the kind you can pull a double horse trailer on! anyway, i never got that car.
i know i would have to work out all of the weights etc but i guessed it may be easier to ask 1st on here to basically see if others have done it/do it
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Also - what makes of trailers are the lighter weight ones? i do already have an old trailer but it would take too much to make it road worthy so any suggestions - would consider a mare & foal trailer or a double, ideally to be capable of taking a 16.2hh.
 
This is something I'd like to know as well. We have a Piccy (2001 2 litre diesel model) with a tow bar as well.

We've only ever towed our sailing dinghy but when we had the tow bar fitted, the guy said that the tow bar could handle a horse trailer too.

If we can, then i'm getting myself a horse trailer!
 
I'm sorry, but there's no way I would even consider towing a 16.2hh with a citroen xsara picasso. I just wouldn't feel that it was 'safe' enough. If, weight wise, they are capable, I don't see why they can't pull a trailer. I just wouldn't do it personally.
 
Hi Guys, I have a Renault Scenic, which is similar to the picasso.
I tow my horse trailer with that fine, but it is only a single trailer, but it does not struggle at all and i have been towing my girlie who is roughly 500kgs for two years now and everything is fine.
Hope this helps
Kate x
 
i know we once pulled a mare and foal trailer (borrowed for the day from a friend) with my vitara, a few people were rather shocked but what they didnt know was, it only had a little baby shetland in, hence weight wise, it was ok. i very much doubt i would ever want to carry 2 16.2hh but maybe carry 2 ponies at once, but need the height for when i did take a larger one out.
i really am in a
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about what to do, as i like to have my own transport, but in reality, i'm not sure how much i will be able to use it, and geez, the price of boxes has gone up since i bought mine! (i should get back what i paid for it, if not more when i sell it
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i havent a clue how i work out the whole towing weight things either!

ETA - thanks Kate. i know i pretty much was told i had the choice out of 3 cars, one of the others being a Scenic as its really hard to find boots big enough for double prams!
 
Its not just the weight its the ration too you need to consider too(size to size) I towed with my Passatt estate a 510 with a horse and didnt know i was towing. Look at how much weight they reccomend in the handbook. Or contact your dealer. Also you need to know your brakes can cope too.
Bear in mind the weight of your trailer as older ones are heavy.

PM- It might be ok to tow but would the brakes cope?? They might not
 
Look up your car/model/engine size/trim on Parkers website under "facts and figures", it should state the car's kerb weight and braked towing capacity. These are both pretty important when it comes to towing and obviously the bigger the better!

We have a Mondeo, TDCi 6-speed diesel which has a kerb weight of 1515kg and braked towing capacity 1800kg. This means I'm happy towing a single/mare & foal box and my 500kg mare with it. Being the 130bhp diesel engine, it has good torque and hubby says you can easily forget the trailer and horse weren't attached if it weren't for them looming in the rearview mirror!
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I'm hoping to get a Cheval Libere single horse trailer in the near future which is nice and light.

General recommendation is no more than 85% of kerb weight and you will definitely be illegal if over the braked towing capacity which tends to be higher than the kerb weight. The more room you have between what you're towing and the tow vehical's capabilities, the better.

Someone on here has mentioned an EU law that applies to the UK which states that the towing vehical must be capable of towing the trailer's Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM), even if you never intend to tow that weight. This does mean that a huge number of vehicle/trailer combinations on the road are illegal, but I'm really not sure on this point myself.
 
I tow the small bateson derby trailer, with the partition removed which is 585 k, my 15 hand cob weighs under 500k. I am within the weights for the car which is a 2.0 TD nissan primera and it tows fine and to date has not had a problem with hills etc and is very good on the motorway.

However, I drive carefully, avoid very windy weather and have to take into consideration the venue I am going to as it is not 4 x 4 and has only a typical car clearance.
 
The Citroen Picasso has a max towing weight of 1200kg:
http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/citroen.htm

Most trailers weigh approx 900kg, some are a little lighter, some heavier but that will leave you about 300kg to accomodate your horse. A 14h2" pony will weight in at more than 300kg & a 16h2" horse between 500 & 600kg. Either way you look at it a Picasso is not suitable for towing horse trailers & horses.... Sorry
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looks like i will have to change my car too.

i have a picasso

dont have a tow bar at the moment but i think i will save my money.
 
What is the kerb weight though? I'd be wary of going over the kerb weight with your total load, even if it falls within the maximum towing capability. A few folk have previously mentioned on similar threads that this situation could lead to the trailer pushing the car down hills etc.

It's so frustrating trying to get the balance between an economical car to drive day to day while still having enough grunt to pull the pony!

Good luck!
 
i just dont understand why people are willing to put their pride and joy at risk towing with unsuitable cars. forget the law, it is completely unsafe to tow over 100% of the kerb weight of the car and ideally should stick to not towing more than 85% of the kerb weight. plus, these cars were never designed for towing moving loads - they do not have the stability of the larger 4x4's. i have had my own horse for 7.5yrs but only just bought a trailer because i've finally been able to afford a big 4x4 to pull it. i'm sorry, but if you cant afford a proper car then just dont go anywhere. i would never put my horse at risk towing with a car. they're just not designed for the job. a single trailer and some of the larger, gutsier cars are ok, but i'd never put any double trailer and decent sized horse on the back of a car.

and getting back to the law, the tow car must be capable of towing the MAM of the trailer, regardless of whether it's empty or full at the time - this is EU law but does apply in this country and the police are aware of it and stopping more and more people to weigh them. VOSA are also seriously tightening up and will be stopping a lot of horse transport on the roads these days.
 
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i just dont understand why people are willing to put their pride and joy at risk towing with unsuitable cars.
i'm sorry, but if you cant afford a proper car then just dont go anywhere. i would never put my horse at risk towing with a car.

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i dont think anyone would want to put their horses at risk at all. maybe i'm being hormornal right now but i personally can afford a proper car thank you very much, one that is suitable for me at the moment, a family car. a lot of people do tow with cars and have no problems and are within the law, some cars (estates etc) can tow better than some of the smaller 4x4s!
i have been there and had a 4x4 in the past, currently have both a pony trailer and an horsebox, i was just posting to see if anyone knew much about towing with a Picasso as i am considering getting rid of my horsebox, and my current trailer i wouldnt fancy using on a road, plus i need to consider if its worth me taking the trailer test etc.

thanks for all of the replies though
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that Parkers website is quite good, it only gives the braked towing weight but i guess thats relevant. It barely has any info and no towing info for my old 4x4 i had as i thought i would have a look just to see what that was. I think i may just stick with having a horsebox.

ETA - was talking about this at the yard today and one of my liveries said that at a local show recently a lady was towing a Ifor with a Micra....
 
i'm sorry, but towing an Ifor with a Micra is most certainly putting your horse at risk and the number of trailer accidents are quite high enough without more being caused by towing with an unsuitable vehicle.

it is not your horse's fault if you cant afford a proper 4x4 for towing with. like i said, i couldn't afford transport for 7.5yrs - i was hardly gonna tow with my clio so i went without. that's life. horses are a luxury - if we cant afford to do things properly we shouldn't do them at all.
 
not only is towing more then the cars reccomended towing weight illegal, but towing close weights close to the limit on a car will absolutely kill your car.

About 8 years ago we towed an ifor 505 and 2 small ponies with a renault espace. It pulled the guts out of that car, and the car started breaking down every few weeks, the airconditioning developed lovely ability to spew green gas into people faces and green liquid into the passenger foot well, we were only just within the weight limit but we were inside it. We then replaced it with a mercedes 4x4 and now with a lorry.
I would never tow with a normal car or an estate car ever again.

If you cannot afford to replace your lorry with a proper 4x4 then i would stay with the lorry
 
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With rising fuel costs though, how many people are going to be able to afford 4x4's?
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My OH is saying for our next car, that we are getting a hybrid (a Prius i think) so definitey no towing for me if we get one of those.

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that's life unfortunately. horses are a luxury, going places with them is even more of a luxury. if you cant afford it you dont do it. times probably are gonna be hard with rising costs and wages not rising in proportion, but i'd rather not go somewhere than take unnecessary risks doing it.
 
This thread has made my blood run cold. Having seen a caravan flip over a BMW estate recently, I cannot begin to imagine the carnage if something similar happened with a trailer. If you can't afford a towing vehicle which won't be pushed by the trailer, then stay at home! Really, it is putting yourself and other road users at risk towing with a lightweight vehicle.
 
oh i've seen some horrific accidents caused by cars pulling trailers that are too heavy, you just have to drive along the A55 to the rhuallt hill regularly to see some horrfying sights.
The latest one was a horse trailer (old heavy rice type) with 2 ponies in the back, pushed the car 4x4 down the hill, jack knifed and span them round in the middle of the duel carriage way the driver was very lucky that it didnt pull them over. Had the car been smaller then i am absolutely positive that it would have pulled them over and that means at best badly injured horses and people at worst dead horses or people.

Ive also seen when a freelander was pulling a boat down the hill, boat started snaking driver didnt manage to correct it, boat flipped over taking the car with it. they had the tarpaulins up so someone died in that car.

Ive seen a caravan flip and pull the car onto its side (BMW estate) going down that hill as well.

bareing in mind that boats and caravans are stable loads and dont have things inside that move around and push against the breastbar, the conciquences of towing with light cars and getting it wrong does not bare thinking about. With heavier 4x4s you have more leaway when things do go wrong.
 
yet again, a simple post on here gets changed to something else!
i simply asked is anyone pulled with a Picasso, thats all! the 1st few replies were really helpful, re parkers etc. i get the impression that some of you are questioning finances - for me, thats not the issue, i just just asking a simple question, not wanting to start anything regarding if people should tow or just use horseboxes!
 
My friend tows her 16.1 TB/CB gelding in an Ifor 410 (mare & foal) with a Citroen Xsara Picasso.

I have no idea whether or not it is legal, but she has never experienced problems and the car does not appear to struggle, nor has it's performance been affected.

The 410 weighs 770kg - well, mine does, but that's getting on for 3 years old and they've brought a new range out this summer, so don't know if the weights are the same.
 
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yet again, a simple post on here gets changed to something else!
i simply asked is anyone pulled with a Picasso, thats all! the 1st few replies were really helpful, re parkers etc. i get the impression that some of you are questioning finances - for me, thats not the issue, i just just asking a simple question, not wanting to start anything regarding if people should tow or just use horseboxes!

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Whether or not the Picasso feels ok to tow with or not shouldnt matter as it would be illegal to tow a trailer - which will have a MAM of over 2000kg - with a vehicle that has a max towing weight of 1200kg. If you want something big enough for a family , good on fuel and able to tow look at a Maverick or similar.

The police are now very active in stopping trailers and checking weights etc, they will make you leave your trailer, occupied or not, at the side of the road and you will be fined.

Sorry....
 
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