Yeti advise on towing

[Bluejj33]

Hello,

My parents are thinking of changing their car so they can tow their caravan which is 1500kg,is their any Yeti owners who might be able to give their advice/opinions on them buying a Yeti to tow with. They are mainly concerned with the 85% weight rule but would rather get the opinions off owners who may use theirs to tow.

Thanks

[twoladies]

Not towed my horse trailer yet, but I have the Yeti Monte Carlo 170 bhp.  GT Towing told me its an excellent tow car.

[gumdrop]

I tow with the 2WD 110ps and the caravan is just over 1000kg. it is very good

but not heavy enough for your parents needs.

The 4x4 140ps is capable of towing a max of 1800kg to 2100kg. braked (depending on model)

The 4x4 170ps max 2100kg.braked

Edited 3 February, 2016 by gumdrop

[Llanigraham]

Hello,

My parents are thinking of changing their car so they can tow their caravan which is 1500kg,is their any Yeti owners who might be able to give their advice/opinions on them buying a Yeti to tow with. They are mainly concerned with the 85% weight rule but would rather get the opinions off owners who may use theirs to tow.

Thanks

 

Presuming a 150 diesel manual:

 

Kerb weight, with driver 1565 kg. 

Total weight, 2135 kg. *

Max towing weight, 2100 kg.

 

* I still can't work out where Skoda get this figure from. They do not provide an explanation.

 

Personally I prefer calculating on the kerb weight with driver plus 50kg for passenger and fuel.

 

I tow 1125 kg roughly with no problems, even at French motorway speeds.

Edited 3 February, 2016 by Llanigraham

[SuperbTWM]

Hello,

My parents are thinking of changing their car so they can tow their caravan which is 1500kg,is their any Yeti owners who might be able to give their advice/opinions on them buying a Yeti to tow with. They are mainly concerned with the 85% weight rule but would rather get the opinions off owners who may use theirs to tow.

Thanks

I have towed a trailer plenty of times with my passats own weight of soil or hardcore in the back and its hard going, especially on the brakes, you really have to drive smooth, steady and think ahead.I  can only imagine what it must be like going long distances with a high sided caravan and think it could get a bit hairy if it was windy. If i was serious about caravaning I would look at something bit bigger like a freelander II or that sort of size although I don't doubt a Yeti with even the 140 or 150 would have an issue pulling it at all.

 

The thing is you won't know what its like until they try towing it and seeing how it feels, it might be solid as a rock

 

It should be legal as long as what your towing doesn't weigh more than the car

Edited 3 February, 2016 by SuperbTWM

[eribaMotters]

SuperbTWM  Was your trailer braked though?

Pre Yeti ownership I pulled a 1300kg van behind a 100bhp VW Touran. When I swapped to a 500kg un-braked trailer tent I noticed a big difference in braking.It was not as easy. 1500kg should be fine behind a 4 x 4 Yeti.

 

Colin

[SuperbTWM]

SuperbTWM  Was your trailer braked though?

Pre Yeti ownership I pulled a 1300kg van behind a 100bhp VW Touran. When I swapped to a 500kg un-braked trailer tent I noticed a big difference in braking.It was not as easy. 1500kg should be fine behind a 4 x 4 Yeti.

 

Colin

 

Yes it was braked, you can only tow a max of 750Kgs un-braked. It is an old trailer though so it doesn't seem to engage the brakes unless you brake hard enough. I appreciate towing a modern caravan or trailer will be less noticeable as they should be set up correctly

 

When we used to have a touring caravan when I was younger my dad used to tow it with a ford Sierra which I think weighs about as much as a fiesta does now and he never had any dramas. I know it wasn't a massive caravan but i'm betting with all the stuff we used to take it not only exceeded the 85% recommendation, it was probably heavier than the car.

 

I think if you stick to the towing limit on the motorway and don't go tear arsing about your unlikely to get into any trouble.  stabilizer systems work well also

Edited 3 February, 2016 by SuperbTWM

[Frenchtone]

I tow a twin axle car transport trailer, all up weight with car on board,1500kgs with no probs, I have towed with previous 110 2wd without probs now tow with a 140 4wd - more power, but tows just as well as the 110!

Edited 3 February, 2016 by Frenchtone

[busdriver]

I've been towing caravans since 1972 and that means I have had quite a variety of caravans and tow cars!  My first tow car was interesting - a 1300cc VW Beetle that towed our Thomson Glen two berth to the former Yugoslavia for a summer holiday and, later, on a Christmas/New Year holiday to Innsbruck.  Not the most stable of rigs, but kept me alert behind the wheel!  Since those days, we have owned many really good tow cars including Mercs, Volvo 740 & 850, Honda Accord, and a Skoda Octavia estate.

 

However, in August 2011, we were lucky enough to buy a 2010 Yeti with a little over 2,500 miles on the clock.  Without question, it has been the best tow car we have ever owned.  With a wheel in each corner, little tow hitch overhang, and plenty of diesel power that the 170 offers, I have never had a moment of concern.  Our current caravan has an all up weight of  only 1238kgs, which gives a 81% (roughly) ratio; I would be more than happy to tow at a 100% ratio with this Yeti.

 

If your folks are worried about keeping to the 85% ratio, then this will be hard to achieve with any Yeti.  Even the bigger Yetis weigh in at not much over 1535kgs which would be close to 100% for a 1500kgs caravan - assuming that is the loaded weight?  Although the V5 of the heavier Yeti will show a permissible  towable weight of 2000/2100kgs, this I feel would be unsafe; even 100% of the car's kerbside (mass in service) weight should only be considered by an experienced caravan tower - venturing above that limit would not be advisable.  Why?  Well, look at the weather over the last couple of months for starters - would you want to tow a caravan that is heavier than your car in anything but calm conditions?

 

Hope this helps your folks & that they enjoy many happy towing miles with a Yeti in the future.

 

 

[Bluejj33]

Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply, I will pass on all the information and advice.

Cheers Jay

[Ryeman]

I seem to recall bad rigs were ones with relatively short distance from the caravans/trailers wheels to the tow ball and was the main contributor to instability in cross winds at motorway speeds.

The longer the distance the more stable, I seem to recall.

If there's a problem it's not the Yeti I recon.

[Cumbrian28]

The Yeti is a great towcar BUT towing a caravan isn't just about the weights. You have also a large sail like structure behind the car, so always stick to the 85% value. For other trailers ( low, eg car trailers) then the Yeti will easily cope up to its max towing limit.

[countryboy]

I tow a 1300kg caravan with my Yeti and have have found it to be an excellent tow car, a lot more stable than my previous Octavia with the same caravan, due mainly to the fact it has a shorter overhang to the rear of the car so less leverage to the caravan to swing on. The 85% rule is the caravan club recommendation to allow for newbies to towing to be safe. As long as you don't exceed the kerb weight of the car then you should be fine, if the MIRO of the caravan is close to the kerb weight of the car then make sure they put minimal amounts of luggage in the caravan and load up the car to enhance stability. If they are buying a new car then I would strongly recommend going for the full fat, vehicle specific wiring kit as that will include the trailer stability control, this will be included anyway if they get a factory fitted tow bar. 

If they are going to go second hand then the above comment about the electrics stands and I would also consider going for the 170 bhp TDI engine as not only do you get more power to pull the caravan but the car is equipped with bigger brakes to help with the stopping of the outfit.

 

Ian.

[RS939]

Not towed my horse trailer yet, but I have the Yeti Monte Carlo 170 bhp.  GT Towing told me its an excellent tow car.

 

We tow our horse trailer fine with it 2 horses in it, we see a lot of yetis at shows so its pretty popular 

[Ryeman]

We tow our horse trailer fine with it 2 horses in it, we see a lot of yetis at shows so its pretty popular

Wow!

What does it weigh all-up?.

[SuperbTWM]

Yeti will show a permissible  towable weight of 2000/2100kgs, this I feel would be unsafe.

 

Its surprising that the manufacturers come up with these ridiculous figures. The law states that whatever your towing must not exceed the weight of the car so with a yeti loaded up to 2 Ton and another 2 ton on the back will burn the clutch out on the first hill start and ruin the drive train.

 

Also many don't realize if you passed your test after 1996 you are only allowed up to 3.5T unless you do your B+E

[Llanigraham]

Its surprising that the manufacturers come up with these ridiculous figures. The law states that whatever your towing must not exceed the weight of the car so with a yeti loaded up to 2 Ton and another 2 ton on the back will burn the clutch out on the first hill start and ruin the drive train.

 

Also many don't realize if you passed your test after 1996 you are only allowed up to 3.5T unless you do your B+E

 

No it doesn't.

Firstly it depends on when you took your driving test, and then it depends on what limit the vehicle manufacturer says is the maximum weight the vehicle can tow.

I can, and have towed trailers that have weighed more than the towing vehicle, perfectly legally.

I could legally tow 3.5 tonnes with a LR Defender 90, for example.

 

It isn't something that I would advise, but it can be done.

[Ryeman]

No it doesn't.

Firstly it depends on when you took your driving test, and then it depends on what limit the vehicle manufacturer says is the maximum weight the vehicle can tow.

I can, and have towed trailers that have weighed more than the towing vehicle, perfectly legally.

I could legally tow 3.5 tonnes with a LR Defender 90, for example.

 

It isn't something that I would advise, but it can be done.

Imagine a motorway dense fog......shudder.

[Llanigraham]

Thankfully I only towed it from Llanidloes High School to Newtown Fire Station, where they stored it.

Wouldn't want to have gone much further.

[Ryeman]

Thankfully I only towed it from Llanidloes High School to Newtown Fire Station, where they stored it.

Wouldn't want to have gone much further.

You wouldn't get to park it outside The Great Oak from our recent experience.

[marcusthehat]

In fog no odds, driving "at an inappropriate speed" is the actual killer.

I am aware of caravans being subject to wind "buffetting", but since my right foot has always been controlled by a functioning brain, this is not an issue.

Feel the feedback, & slow up, drive slower OR STOP.

Always watching for high sided vehicles blocking a side draught, ditto watching for breaks in hedge lines (i.e field gates)

I.E.

Bloody "think" and happily drive within the manufacturers stated limits, or occassionally a bit over.

and sorry, but the clutch does not need to suffer Driver abuse, regardless of the load being towed, no excuses.

From my limited cattle towing experience when younger, behind a saloon car, with a "live" load liable to instantly switch the weight distribution.

No one should expect to be able to drive without some concentration or focus on the task in hand.

Or one should not be driving.

Simples

Cheers

M

PS

From someone who witnessed (in abject Awe) idiots with Caravans on british Motorways in high winds.

YES, they were fornicating stupid., but did not, nor could not seem to realize the hazard they were presenting.

I also saw the evidence of smashed caravans on this same journey, peak Hol season.

Quite lunitic.( I seem to recall it was an August  Bank Holiday weekend "Great Rush North")

Edited 4 February, 2016 by dieseldogg

[Ryeman]

An August bank holiday weekend towing a caravan is my idea of not being on any sort of holiday.

[marcusthehat]

I was towing an unbraked  Camplet trailer tent, with a home made frame carrying 4 bicycles on top,  behind the Galaxy, with a roof box, the whole "yoke" steady as a rock at a sustained 80/85mph

The Galaxy had a very short rear overhang, and i had extended the drawbar to the trailer tent for max towing stability (and easier reversing)

m

Edited 4 February, 2016 by dieseldogg

[graham47]

I was towing an unbraked  Camplet trailer tent... steady as a rock at a sustained 80/85 mph

m

I thought the speed limit when towing any trailer was 60 mph ! (And then only on dual c'way/m'way)

[marcusthehat]

I thought the speed limit when towing any trailer was 60 mph ! (And then only on dual c'way/m'way)

Yes, As indeed  I too understood, but twas on the M6, so I were merely "going with the flow",

this being 25 year ago or thereabouts