towing car

debsflo

debsflo

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oh due to get new car for work and i am keen for it to be powerful to tow lightweight trailer and daughters pony. he wont consider 4 w d any thoughts on family cars ie volkswagen ,renault, volvo etc and what sort of torque do they need. ive looked at the spec on cars and it means nothing to me. anyone already done this
 
It is not all about torque etc but more to do with the kerb weight and towing capacity of the vehicle. There are others on here much more qualified in this field but I think I am right in saying that it is recommended you do not tow more than 85% of the kerb weight of the car.

I had a Volvo S80 which according to the handbook had a tow capacity of 1800kg but the car only weighed 1540kg. If I had tried towing the maximum capcity it would have been rather dangerous as the trailer would have been heavier than the car!

Suspect that any of the family type cars you mentioned will not safely tow a trailer with a horse and pony in. I know with the Volvo I could only legally tow one 500kg horse and my trailer weighed 820kg.
 
Think there was a post on this recently with a lot of useful input, might be worth a browse back a few pages
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- but I tow with a Volvo S60 2.4 TDI, torque is 340mn which is v good and fuel economy averages 45-50mpg!
Tows beautifully for my 16.2hh with a Ifor Williams HB510 - you must check out towing weights also known as MAM - mine tows 1600kg which is pretty much the most that you can get for a saloon/normal car. Really good webiste is http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/ and you can get all the technical info, mainly need something with high torque (torque = pulling power) and something with a high BRAKED towing weight mine is 1600kg.
Hope this helps!!
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[/ QUOTE ] I had a Volvo S80 which according to the handbook had a tow capacity of 1800kg but the car only weighed 1540kg. If I had tried towing the maximum capcity it would have been rather dangerous as the trailer would have been heavier than the car!

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This is a relevant point - but this is why the cars have a higher braked trailer towing weights than unbraked, as the car is capable to tow more weight when the trailer has its own braking system, so as soon as the trailer pushes on the car it applies the brakes itself to steady the trailer
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The kerbweight of the car is the important thing to look out for. You're legally allowed to tow up to the kerbweight but its recommended never to exceed 85% of the kerbweight and its a very very sensible rule to stick to. Braked or not once your trailer and contents get above the 85% rule you run the risk of trailer wagging, jack knife and accidents. Be safe when you tow - stick to the 85% rule. A decent big saloon/estate like the Volvo or VW Passat should be heavy enough to tow a light trailer (Batesons are lightweight for example) plus one pony. Your boss might be working on a false economy though by not allowing you a 4x4... if you're doing a lot of towing at or near the limit in a 2wd then your running costs will be higher - clutch wear, tyres etc.
 
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A Ford Modeo 2.0 TDI will do the job nicely.

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Sorry, but to tow with a family saloon is just plain dangerous - these cars are just not up to weight and are not built to tow a live weight. Personally, I feel that if you tow a trailer, you owe it to your horse and yourself to make sure that you have a vehicle built for the purpose - if in doubt read the thread re accident on M4
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That is a very sweeping and generalised statement and not IMO necessarily true. As I understand the law it would only become illegal if you were towing a weight that exceeded the vehicles towing capacity.

There is no way I would have risked my horses welfare and I towed with the Volvo S80 (granted only one horse) at 85% of the kerb weight, technically speaking I could also have taken a pony on board - I would not have for safety reasons.

Agree that from a safety point of view if want to transport 2 horses in a trailer then you will require a 4x4, and one of the bigger ones, not a Freelander sized one.
 
In an ideal world everyone would have enough money to have a massive fuel guzzleing 4x4 towing car - or even better a lorry but thats not realistic
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I would NEVER risk the lives of other people - let alone the life of my beloved horse (!) and my car & trailer outfit are certainly not illegal. The DVLA say so!
I have never had any problems towing - I use my sense - driving carefully with specialised trailer driver training and if it's gale force winds I just dont go!
 
Sorry, but I think you may be mistaken. A 600kg trailer (Cheval Liberte 1000) plus a 500kg horse, plus say 200kg of tack etc only totals 1,200kg. To tow that you'd need a car with kerbweight exceeding 1,412kg, and many family estate cars exceed that (hell, my OH's Peugeot 307 has greater kerbweight that that!!).

It's not illegal to tow with other vehicles than a 4x4. It's only illegal to tow a weight exceeding the car's maximum towing weight - which is often aroun 1500-200kg. The 85% is a guideline, but it's not "the law".
 
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