burtie
Well-Known Member
If you do tow with a normal family car make sure the towbar hitch height is correct for horse trailers, so the hitch weight will be correct.
Golf as a towcar?
- Thread starter Splashy pony
- Start date
ROG
Well-Known Member
Most towing with smaller vehicles tow a lightish trailer with one horse and do so very safely for short journeys so I fail to see what all the fuss is about
superpony
Well-Known Member
I have a golf and personally wouldn't feel safe towing with it. Also as soon as you get onto wet grass with a trailer I imagine you would be immediately stuck judging by how mine gets stuck without towing!
ROG
Well-Known Member
Lets face it - anyone who uses a non 4x4 on such surfaces is a numpty
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
Hi, when I was 17 and got my licence I then got a trailer for my 15.2 Cob X Arab. My mum had a company car, a 1.6 Vauxhall Cavalier. She calculated all the weights, and we had a Bahill rear unload only, took the partition out and had haylage and bedding, and it was under the weight (just). Our water and tack had to be in the car.
I would agree that initially it was very easy to have "the tail wagging the dog" and we had a bit of sway on the motorway and downhill. We had that soon sorted with a stabiliser fitted between the car and trailer.
What did not help though was if we stopped at traffic lights and an HGV came creeping up behind us. My horse did not like the experience and would dance around until we moved off again and put some distance between us and the lorry. On occasion I think that the lorry driver would even be interested to see what dance the horse was doing and creep closer to have a better view!
With the lightweight car the trailer could actually push the car forward on the hand brake if the horse was violent. It was OK if I used the foot brake as well. Yes, I did have the car to the garage who said that the hand brake was within specs.
I think this was my concern, that although a big car/trailer and a small car/small trailer may have the same or even more generous % of bodyweight comparatively, a horse is a horse size and a horse flinging itself around seemed to affect the light car much worse. I guess a 15.2 horse in a big trailer and big vehicle will not unsettle the car as much as a 15.2 horse in a small trailer with a small tow vehicle. I think the comparative % should take the size of the moving horse into account.
Having said that, at 17 years old I had no option, Vauxhall Cavalier or no travel, and with the stabiliser all was generally safe and we covered miles.
I have to say that I did not have trouble with parking and we did park at grassy show grounds. Obviously it was not as good at the Series 3 Land Rover that I bought when I saved up, but in normal conditions it was just fine. I did get pushed out a time or two (one memorable time I sprayed my saviours in mud-oops) but when all is said and done it is easier to push a Vauxhall Cavalier than a huge vehicle.
I also found that I was not the only one to need a push. It was always a team effort. It seems quite elitist to suggest that someone is at "fault" for taking other than a 4 wd onto a show ground. Actually I have seem loads of big posh lorries stuck, maybe they should not go eventing?
I would agree that initially it was very easy to have "the tail wagging the dog" and we had a bit of sway on the motorway and downhill. We had that soon sorted with a stabiliser fitted between the car and trailer.
What did not help though was if we stopped at traffic lights and an HGV came creeping up behind us. My horse did not like the experience and would dance around until we moved off again and put some distance between us and the lorry. On occasion I think that the lorry driver would even be interested to see what dance the horse was doing and creep closer to have a better view!
With the lightweight car the trailer could actually push the car forward on the hand brake if the horse was violent. It was OK if I used the foot brake as well. Yes, I did have the car to the garage who said that the hand brake was within specs.
I think this was my concern, that although a big car/trailer and a small car/small trailer may have the same or even more generous % of bodyweight comparatively, a horse is a horse size and a horse flinging itself around seemed to affect the light car much worse. I guess a 15.2 horse in a big trailer and big vehicle will not unsettle the car as much as a 15.2 horse in a small trailer with a small tow vehicle. I think the comparative % should take the size of the moving horse into account.
Having said that, at 17 years old I had no option, Vauxhall Cavalier or no travel, and with the stabiliser all was generally safe and we covered miles.
I have to say that I did not have trouble with parking and we did park at grassy show grounds. Obviously it was not as good at the Series 3 Land Rover that I bought when I saved up, but in normal conditions it was just fine. I did get pushed out a time or two (one memorable time I sprayed my saviours in mud-oops) but when all is said and done it is easier to push a Vauxhall Cavalier than a huge vehicle.
I also found that I was not the only one to need a push. It was always a team effort. It seems quite elitist to suggest that someone is at "fault" for taking other than a 4 wd onto a show ground. Actually I have seem loads of big posh lorries stuck, maybe they should not go eventing?
Blurr
Well-Known Member
Legal limits and safety are not the same thing. On the country lane leading to my field it's legal to drive at 60mph, anyone who tries that is an idiot. It stands to reason that the bigger percentage you leave between the towing limit of your car and the weight of your loaded trailer the safer you'll be. As someone else mentioned, the tests used to determine the towing capabilities of cars will be the same for all cars but I suspect towing a load that's capable of moving in the way a horse does is not included (please correct me if I'm wrong) and that movement and rapid redistribution and redistribution of weight and the effect it has on the trailer will not be taken into consideration, it's absolutely not the same as towing a a load that remains static.. My current car can tow 3.5 (trailer maximum 2.5). My horse weighs about 750Kg, when he moves I know. But not nearly as much as when I towed with a car that could only tow 2.5 (a 4x4 more suited to motorway cruising), despite the total weight of trailer and horse being in the region of 1700Kg, you'd think that would be plenty spare, but it felt horribly unsafe/unstable if he started bouncing.
I don't think it's enough to simply be within the limit, especially if it's only by 100-200Kg, I can see why people do but personally I'd rather stay at home or hire a box.
I'm surprised by your view ROG that anyone taking a non 4x4 onto wet grass is a numpty. You frequently advise people about cars and trailer towing, specifically towing horses and very often those who are on the very edges of being able to tow legally due to category of licence etc, do you not know that most venues to which these people will be going will have grassed parking areas? It goes with the territory, so to speak. For the most part, organisers expecting rain will have a tractor (or gang of burly blokes) on stand by for towing (shoving) duties, on and off. Perhaps you should add a rider to your advice "only a numpty would go off road with this outfit" or perhaps more kindly "non 4x4s are not recommended for towing except on tarmac".
I don't think it's enough to simply be within the limit, especially if it's only by 100-200Kg, I can see why people do but personally I'd rather stay at home or hire a box.
I'm surprised by your view ROG that anyone taking a non 4x4 onto wet grass is a numpty. You frequently advise people about cars and trailer towing, specifically towing horses and very often those who are on the very edges of being able to tow legally due to category of licence etc, do you not know that most venues to which these people will be going will have grassed parking areas? It goes with the territory, so to speak. For the most part, organisers expecting rain will have a tractor (or gang of burly blokes) on stand by for towing (shoving) duties, on and off. Perhaps you should add a rider to your advice "only a numpty would go off road with this outfit" or perhaps more kindly "non 4x4s are not recommended for towing except on tarmac".
ROG
Well-Known Member
Common sense says that taking a towing set up onto any surface which it cannot cope with is numtpism at its best
I see loads of small towing vehicles near me with single horse trailers but I see those using only hard surfaces which offer good grip
I would not advise anyone to go onto wet grass with a set up that could not cope with it such as a big event where grass parking is the norm
The ones local to me using very light set ups seems to use them to move the horse into an area which is good for hacking where they use tarmac roads and park up in a layby which may be tarmac, concrete or hard core
Using the right set up for what you need to do is the key for safety
I see loads of small towing vehicles near me with single horse trailers but I see those using only hard surfaces which offer good grip
I would not advise anyone to go onto wet grass with a set up that could not cope with it such as a big event where grass parking is the norm
The ones local to me using very light set ups seems to use them to move the horse into an area which is good for hacking where they use tarmac roads and park up in a layby which may be tarmac, concrete or hard core
Using the right set up for what you need to do is the key for safety
Splashy pony
Well-Known Member
Thanks. That makes sense. Yes my little 1.6D Polo could legally tow a lightweight box with my 14.2. But in practical terms it might not be a great plan. Trundling around on Tarmac is fine and legal but off road is not an option. What a great option for someone with a B licence though.
mandwhy
Well-Known Member
This is interesting, I had never thought you could tow with something that small. I would really like to be able to go to my local equine college or similar for a clinic or something, I thought even a kid sorrento was a bit too small!
mandwhy
Well-Known Member
Do you not need to do a towing test if you do this option with single horse traiker? I think I may have heard if the whole lot is under 3.5t it is Ok?
Hippona
Well-Known Member
I've had a golf...a beefy engined one.
I've had Landrovers and now I have a Sorrento.
I know which one I wouldn't dream of towing with....
I've had Landrovers and now I have a Sorrento.
I know which one I wouldn't dream of towing with....
ROG
Well-Known Member
For the B licence towing of a trailer over 750 kgs MAM there is one extra rule on top of all the usual towing rules and that one extra rules is ...
... the plated GVW of the vehicle added to the plated trailer MAM must not total more than 3500
GVW (vehicles), MAM (trailers) & MTPLM (caravans) all have exactly the same meaning = the maximum legal weight something can be when fully loaded
Trailers are often down plated via contact with the manufacturer so they fit in with the B licence towing rule
Kat
Well-Known Member
On the subject of non4wd vehicles off road our vw polo was always great off road, we used to take it to shows with our trade stand so we would have to drive on mud heavily laden. I have lost count of the number of shows we went to where our ancient little polo would sail past stuck 4x4s. We only needed a tow once and that was at a show where everything was towed off as the mud had turned to 2ft of soup. We were one of the few vehicles that didn't need to be towed on in the morning or the previous day.
It was also amazing in snow, better than a 4x4 making it further up the snake pass in heavy snow than landrovers.
I wouldn't have towed with it though!
It was also amazing in snow, better than a 4x4 making it further up the snake pass in heavy snow than landrovers.
I wouldn't have towed with it though!
rascal
Well-Known Member
While it may be legal I would never dream of towing horses with something like a golf! At shows I have seen idiots with such cars and two horses, stupid!!
As we have a selection of horses and ponies from a sec a to a shire x I wouldn't feel safe in anything but my 4x4.
As we have a selection of horses and ponies from a sec a to a shire x I wouldn't feel safe in anything but my 4x4.
Jnhuk
Well-Known Member
I think that there is a lot of variation on how people use their trailer and that must take consideration in their choice of towing outfit.
Some folks use their just for occasional short trips out for better hacks, to local shows/lessons/clinics at equestrian venues with hard standing car parks as well as trips to the vet but on the other end you get the eventers that often travel considerable distances on motorways to an event (up here 2 hours and over is the norm and even worse further up north) where all the access/parking at the BE event is inevitably on grass which is not level. I fall in to the later group so when I had a trailer always towed with a substantial 4x4.
Some folks use their just for occasional short trips out for better hacks, to local shows/lessons/clinics at equestrian venues with hard standing car parks as well as trips to the vet but on the other end you get the eventers that often travel considerable distances on motorways to an event (up here 2 hours and over is the norm and even worse further up north) where all the access/parking at the BE event is inevitably on grass which is not level. I fall in to the later group so when I had a trailer always towed with a substantial 4x4.