Hi I dont know if this is in the right thread but I'm after some info on towing with my Oct Vrs. Firstly does any one tow with these? what are they like for towing? I like the idea of a detachable tow bar but can I use a stablilser with these? What the limit in weight you can tow? I'm looking at buying a 16 foot luner sunbeam not to sure of the weight but I think the Oct would tow it ok! I'm new to Skoda and new to caravaning so any help would be great!!!!

Dont know about towing with your Octy vRS, but as for tow weights, all are in your handbook including the maximum tow weight. I think you then have to work out what is 85% of your maximum tow weight and then you have the figure of the maximum weight your caravan should be, mainly for stability reasons but I have read soundings on the possibility of making this legal requirement.

As far as your tow bar is concerned, the removable ones tend to be swan neck types, but I think you can still get stabilisers for this type.

The main guys to catch here on caravans are Scrutineer, or CJ. Both are well into caravans, and defend the cause with gusto.

Thanks I think CJ does tow with the Oct not sure about Scrutineer I will try and catch them when they are on! Cheers

CJ has a C5 2.2 and a Fabia vRS, But i,m not sure what Scrutineer has.

I used to have an Octy estate, but with the 90 TDI. I also had the swan neck removeable tow bar which was very good, but only had a 60kg noseweight limit, and if I remember correct wasnt over endowed with too great a maximum tow weight (allowing for the 85% max).

A-B girl tows a folding tent style van regularly, also recently new to towing \ octavias.

-Comes cleany voice- I used to tow a trailer tent, and a normal small trailer with the Octy, and tow a smallish open box trailer with the Superb from time to time as well.

Maybe a fixed tow bar would be safer then as I dont want the caravan coming off on the motor way!!! and I wouldn't have to worry about the nose weight!! I'm going down to the local caravan shop see what they say!!

The swan neck tow bars are perfectly safe and secure. As for nose weights, that is governed by the car manufacturer, not the tow bar maker.

Ok I see. I'm a total novice to this as you may have gathered.

No problem m8. The choice really is whether you want to have the tow ball fixed and in place at all times, or have it removeable to be more asthetic.

The accessory market is geared more towards the fixed type, but the swhan neck types are being catered for very well even so, and in fact most major accessories can be obtained for the swan neck.

I for instance, have a 4 bike tow ball mounted rack that is solid and never going anywhere once mounted...it simply clamps around the actual ball. The fixed type ball rack from this manufacturer is bolted on between the ball and tow bar, needing you to unbolt the ball initially.

My suggestion would be to investigate the towing and trailer markets out there to get a feel of prices and what is available.

Here are some links that might be of help.

http://www.autow.co.uk/

http://www.caravanninglinks.co.uk/

http://www.wilmond.co.uk/

http://www.saundersonsecurity.co.uk/index.shtml

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/

http://www.towitall.co.uk/default.htm

http://www.towsure.com/

http://www.gttowing.co.uk/

Hi ben

from the top:

yes, I've got a vRS estate it tows very well with no major problems, plenty of power,the only negative points are: it can be hard getting the power onto the road especially in wet weather/hill starts- but most front wheel drive cars suffer from that.The traction control will help but as it works by cutting power its not the total answer ( cue Denis with comments about 4x4!!) it can take a bit of juggling with clutch / throttle to get away quickly! which brings in the other point , the clutch - its ok for normal use but if you have to do a lot of hard driving and shunting the van around it can start to get too hot and in worst cases need to be left to cool down.This is certainly not just a skoda problem as many current cars do it - manufacturers scrimping on componants is the norm nowadays! Otherwise its great will tow on cruise control in 5th with no complaints and will easily keep up with normal traffic speeds even other the permitted speeds :eek: ( not that i would encourage speeding

But seriously though for a beginner watch the speed it is soooo easy for a car like the vrs to keep accelerating without you noticing!

I dont use detatchable towbars, never heard anything anti but partly on cost and partly on the security of having a big lump of steel to keep the numpties off the back bumper,I like fixed. I'm sure you can get brackets for stabiliser but at extra cost.

I always use a stabiliser - mainly for peace of mind

weight: the general opinion is stick to 85% of the car weight which makes good sense especially at first.On this note - find out the figures yourself....do not take the figures from a dealer as correct!- they probably are but I once had a salesman trying to tell me an Astra would tow a twin axle bessacar ( about 105% weight match :eek: ) (i would not like to tow that after 20+ years let alone as a beginner)

Had a quick look for info on the sunbeam but no luck so far - certainly would not advise buying it untill you are sure about figures - if in doubt pm me again (before next saturday- holiday time )

To be honest I would be a little cautious about a 16 ft van ( i assume thats the body length not including the towbar) 1. because I would expect a 16' van to be a bit heavy but may be wrong on that. 2 whatever the weight dont forget the sides of the van are like a sail.....the bigger the van the more you can get hit by crosswinds both natural and from passing traffic! so a smaller van will always be more stable in adverse conditions

the maximum towing figures are just that - maximum that the car can physically tow with out damage and have no relation to what is safe and sensible

good advice from andy I can only add: try the caravan club website

ne thing I tend to do is to carry a lot of the gear in the boot to keep the van weight down and of course watch the loading postion of heavy item in the van

any more help needed just shout

marc

Thanks for all the advise looking at the stat's the Octavia can tow a max of 1300kg and the Lunar van sunbeam is only 740kg unladen. 14`6" internal so about 16` overall. So many thing to consider regarding the tow bar cost ect.. Been down the local caravan shop dreaming at the caravan at 14k very nice better than my home

what van do have scrutineer? i have a coachman 560 vip 23 footer doddle to tow

big k what do you tow your van with?

I've only got a little one!! :eek:

abi marauder gold 400 et 13' internal

used to have a new swift danette 14' a few years ago but had to down grade but we had a spate of van thefts a little while ago,while we had the van in storage.Couldn't say who was nicking vans but strange co-incidence that all the vans that went were big enough to live in while our little 13' was totally left alone

big k what do you tow your van with?

well did have a peugeot 806 (ppl Carrier) but sold it 4 something smaller i have an old sierra xr4x4 to tug it now. btw 4x4 is just the towcar not the daily motor

Did you manage to sell your van? or did you decide to keep it? bet it's a cracking van! A bit big I guess for the octavia to tow? I may wait untill sept/ oct wait for the prices to come down!

Did you manage to sell your van? or did you decide to keep it? bet it's a cracking van! A bit big I guess for the octavia to tow? I may wait untill sept/ oct wait for the prices to come down!

in the process of selling it 4 a grand :eek:

Thanks for all the advise looking at the stat's the Octavia can tow a max of 1300kg and the Lunar van sunbeam is only 740kg unladen. 14`6" internal so about 16` overall. So many thing to consider regarding the tow bar cost ect.. Been down the local caravan shop dreaming at the caravan at 14k very nice better than my home

the 1300 is the MAX towing weight not recomended

the kerbweight for the vrs is 1375 Kg - 85% of 1375 Kg is 1168 so giving you an allowance of 428 Kg for all the rest of your kit ( both personal item and heaviers bits like gas bottles etc) which should be plenty

I always keep the weight low preferring to have the outlet as nimble as possible - hence my justified claims in previous thread that I dont usualyy hold up traffic - it hold me up!

marc

I bet you can soon build up the weight with all the things you need to take! Thanks as I now have a good idea about weight ect I take it you have been a caravaner for some time with all the knowlage you have? Big k whats the weight of your van? I saw a caravan on ebay 25` twin wheeler and the guy towed it with his Astra said it was fine is he mad or what!!

I bet you can soon build up the weight with all the things you need to take! Thanks as I now have a good idea about weight ect I take it you have been a caravaner for some time with all the knowlage you have? Big k whats the weight of your van? I saw a caravan on ebay 25` twin wheeler and the guy towed it with his Astra said it was fine is he mad or what!!

1150kg unladen 1350kg laden

what sort of condition is the van in? any picks send to [email protected] if you have any to hand.

Bloody sheds on wheels ..............

Thought it wouldn't be long :D

Thought it wouldn't be long :D

Howard , I really don't know what you mean .........