Numpty towing question

[251libby]

I haven't had my own transport for a while!
A friend of the family has ofered me free use of her lovely Ifor williams trailer when ever I like. Trouble is I dont have a towing car, I'm prob going to buy a big 4x4 for next season but there's a couple of shows at the end of this month that I really want to do, so my question is.......can you use a van for towing???
Now I would never want to use anything thats not powerfull enough and put risk to my horses but would this be ok?
I've seen a few people do it but I've also seen people tow with saloon cars too and wouldn't dream of doing that.
So what do you think?
If not ok I'd just not go to shows, simples

 

[jumpthemoon]

It doesn't matter if its a van/saloon/estate etc - it's the kerbweight that matters. You need to make sure that the weight of the trailer with the horse and all your stuff in does not exceed the kerbweight of the van. Or that the GTW (gross train weight) is not exceeded.

You should be able to find details of this on the net somewhere for the particular van you have in mind.

 

[suzysparkle]

What kind of van? I tow with a Mercedes Sprinter MWB high roof which is bigger than my IW510. It tows better than a 4X4 IMHO (and I've towed with a Defender, Disco and a Shogun before) because it's bigger than the trailer, very heavy and mine has a bigger engine in it than the standard one. The only snag is it's no good on wet grass!! It has a big towing capacity...more than the gross (ie max permitted) weight of the trailer. Vans are designed to haul weight about!! I've seen quite a few people towing with vans.

 

[lilym]

I have towed with my work's transit van (02 model) it did a really good job on the road, very smooth and easy.....wouldn't rate my chances in a muddy field though!!