will it tow?

lets be honest i dont know what i mean but yeah something weight? should be in the manual?
confused.gif
 
Kerbweight for a 1.8 Zetec Mondeo Estate is 1439kgs. It's maximum towing capacity is 1450kgs for a braked trailer.

My Ifor Williams weighs a tonne so it'd have to be a very small horse for the Mondeo to tow within the legal limits.

Hope this helps.
 
Web says the new ones can tow 1450kgs braked, which is higher than I thought it would be! We used to tow with a 1.8 renault estate, towing a 600kg trailer (one of the lightest you can get) and a 450 kg pony. It coped, but wasn't the safest thing to do!
 
no it wont. its train weight needs to be about 2 tonnes for a single trailer and horse.
also the trailer would seriously outweigh the car making it very unstable and very difficult to drive if you have even a light breeze.

I reacently saw a freelander pulling a boat over turned going down the rhuallt hill. not a pretty sight as the boat was in bits and they had a tarp over the car so someone died in the car. would hate to think if it had been a heavier trailer with a horse on board. Thats what pulling with a car that is to light for the job does you risk not only your horses life but your own as well. I personaly would not tow a trailer that was much heavier then the unladen weight of the car (mine weighs 2.5tonnes without people in, so the max we have pulled with it has been about 2.6 tonnes even though the manual says it can pull 3.5tonnes)
 
right? but whats the law on it i cannot get a straight b*st*rd answer on this? people pull trailors with other cars than 4 by 4s?
i would have preferred a bigger engine but i thought it would be weighty enough.... people always hire trailors with estate cars..
my mare is about half a tonne (im told) 15.2 cbxtb
 
Not sure where the law stands. However, if you had an accident and it was deemed you were over the weight limit for towing, I'm guessing your insurance would be null and void...for the car, trailer and the injuries to the horse/yourself.

What trailer are you considering towing with? Some are far heavier than others. I'd rather tow with a diesel too in all honesty as I think they have more torque.
 
Not sure there are any laws about towing weights
confused.gif
Its definitely a guidleine not to tow over 85% of the weight of the car, not a law though. Not sure
confused.gif
 
the law is that you cant tow anything heavier then the manufacturers specified towing capacity, in this case 1.4 tonnes. If you do and you are pulled over and weighed they can seize both the car and the trailer on the spot and crush them or sell them (and make you pay for professional transport for the horse to get home). If you have an accident your insurance is void and that means you can get done for driving without insurance and pay ther nice fines for that as well as any damage done to anyone else in the crash out of your own pocket.
 
is there not a helpline!! haha
i wont be towing it i havnt the licence anyway i found this.....

Ford Mondeo 1.8 TD Ghia 4dr 1351 1500


Ford Mondeo 1.8 TD Ghia X est 1421 1500 ....is this one and a half tonnnes?

and ill be towing an ifor williams trailor... or my boyfs dad will.
he says it'll be fine?
damn it!! one day i will have a big fat juicy box with a kitchen....
do you think jordan still uses her pink one haha she should donate it to me!!
 
You see I don't think you can play the 85% rule with horse trailers as there's no car on the market which can then tow a 2 horse trailer with two horses in it. I made a post about this a while ago.

I own a LWB Ford Maverick 2.7 TDi. Not a little car. My car has a towing capacity of 2800kgs. I can therefore tow my IW 505 and two horses according to the manual. The car does this effortlessly. However, the kerb weight for my car is only 1850 kgs. 85% of that is only 1572kgs. This would mean with my IW 505 I'd be pushing it just to tow Patches.

I'm sure the fact that drivers with livestock would tend to drive slower and corner more carefully means the advice to not exceed 85% of kerbweight isn't quite so
pertaining.

The reason my car can tow so much more than it's weight, than the Mondeo is due to the engine. A beefier diesel engine provides so much more torque than the petrol and will find it easier to power the weight of the towed trailer laden. A 1.8 Mondeo would seriously labour going uphill towing an IW 505 and a horse of the type the OP has.
 
If you're towing an Ifor Williams 505, I really don't think the car is up to the task. You really would be bang on the limit for towing capacity as the Ifor Williams (as long as it's a newer one with aliminium floor - older ones are heavier still) is 905kgs. Doesn't give you much scope for the weight of the horse.
 
so we are saying the car can tow 1.4 tonnes
and iv been told the trailor and mildred would weigh in at a tonne?
so is it ok?
the mondeo is a 1994 l reg by the way not a new one!
 
No way are horse and trailer a ton combined!

Your trailer, as an Ifor Williams, is already 905kgs in weight. Just short of a ton. That's assuming it's a newer model with the aliminium floor as the older models weigh more.

Your horse must weigh about 500kgs. A combined weight of 1405kgs. You really will be bang on the limit for your car's towing capacity and the car will seriously labour to pull that weight uphill.
 
would mildred and a trailor really be a tonne and a half?
it is a new one its so blo*dy stupid! how are young people expected to move their horses!!
im 21 i can afford a bid#g stinking 4by4 but not the insurance...i cant afford a box!! or a trailor i have to hire one then i dont have a licence to drive it so i have to rope people in to give me lifts. if i do manage to buy a box it'll be a shitter that i need a hgv licence for and the only cars i can afford wont tow a trailor with my horse in!
oh and i live in the middle of manchester so cant hack ANYWHERE ARRRGGGH
 
patches the 85% is just a reccomendation, but our car weighs 2.5 tonnes so in comparison yours is a light weight and on average we tow about 2.3tonnes with a big fat cob and an arab in the ifor 505. thats i think less then the 85% reccomendation anyway.
 
Sorry, I'm afraid so. You may be just under the limit but it's a big risk. Best bet is to have the car trailer and horse weighed at a weigh bridge to be sure.

I certainly wouldn't want to tow that combination. You will have great difficulty getting yourself out of trouble when the car is under powered.
 
you can get very cheap old 4x4's. alternatively buy a box (my box cost less then 2k and it is an old reliable merc that starts first time every time) and anyone who passed thier test before 1997 can drive it.

Insurance for ours cost £300 per year for an anydriver over 25 policy including breakdown and homestart.

I'm also 21 and have forund that its going to cost me £800 to do my HGV test so i'm going to do it and then i can drive my horses round and make a bit of cash in the holidays driving HGV's for a local firm.
 
thinking about it a friend of mine got a 15 year old landrover (farmer type one) for about £1k. she kept it only for towing horses and ran a clio as well for everything else
 
Yes it's light weight for a 4x4 but it's certainly not the type of car that anyone would say isn't capable of towing a horse. By the 85% rule, mine certainly isn't capable of towing Patches and I see many a Maverick/Terrano towing quite capably 2 horses week in and week out.

If I can't do it with a MAverick, then why would anyone think they could with a family estate?
 
We have an old Land Rover County Station Waggon.

Built like a brick, but top speed feels like it's about 30mph. Had it from brand new A reg, and it's only done 40k miles
 
[ QUOTE ]
You see I don't think you can play the 85% rule with horse trailers as there's no car on the market which can then tow a 2 horse trailer with two horses in it. I made a post about this a while ago.

I own a LWB Ford Maverick 2.7 TDi. Not a little car. My car has a towing capacity of 2800kgs. I can therefore tow my IW 505 and two horses according to the manual. The car does this effortlessly. However, the kerb weight for my car is only 1850 kgs. 85% of that is only 1572kgs. This would mean with my IW 505 I'd be pushing it just to tow Patches.

I'm sure the fact that drivers with livestock would tend to drive slower and corner more carefully means the advice to not exceed 85% of kerbweight isn't quite so
pertaining.

The reason my car can tow so much more than it's weight, than the Mondeo is due to the engine. A beefier diesel engine provides so much more torque than the petrol and will find it easier to power the weight of the towed trailer laden. A 1.8 Mondeo would seriously labour going uphill towing an IW 505 and a horse of the type the OP has.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking about this after I posted - my car (isuzu trooper) weighs somewhere about 2 tonnes I think, but can tow 3 tonnes, which is clearly way over 85%! But since I have lightweight trailer and can only fit ponies in it, it comes in under 85% when carrying two.

I'll join in the moan about not being able to tow though, drives me mad that my mum can (not very well) driive the trailer and I can't
mad.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top