Just considering getting a caravan. Never had one before.

Our car is a vRS TDi, with a max towing weight of 1,400kg.

How close have others got to this weight? How steady was the combi at legal speeds?

The 85% kerb weight 'rule' / guidance drops you to 1,235kg for the van which is a bit restrictive for us with the vans we are considering.

TIA

Have towed miles with 1200kg with no problems at all,

Towed 60 miles at 1400kg and felt abit uneasy,

But that was with a 2.0tdi Ambiente.

Just watch the 75kg noseweight.

As above watch your nose weight. I tow 1150kg no probs, with the dsg.

We have the 140 dsg Elegance and tow Coachman 1350 klg but keeping to the thumbrule we get it to 1324klg which is the 85%. Its not illigal to tow at 100% but if you are competant caravanner its is ok mindfull of highwinds /passing heavy vehicles ect. As for pulling ,we have travelled around western europe uphills ect and return about 28mpg. Speed, well as you know its 60 mph and we know a lot of caravanners go 70 plus. Have an incedent at that speed i leave that to your imagination.

Thanks for the replies, good to here that you can tow 1350kg OK, that would be where we would be with gas bottles and battery on board plus some other kit.

Just got to decide whether to take the plunge and get a van. We've enjoyed camping for many years so it seems to be a natural step that will allow a longer season for us.

You can get the towed weight down by loading the car rather than the van ......but always balance the van out with heavy items low down and near the axle, and that nose weight is VERY important

Towed a 1400kg caravan without stabilizer about 3000km this summer. This was with an 08 Elegance estate with the 105PD and DSG. No issues at all about the engine, but the DSG needed some coaching sometimes. It was a bit undecisive about which gear to use sometimes, but using manual mode corrected this. Not a big issue though as most of the time it was flawless.

The car is a bit soft in the back for towing a caravan, and it felt a bit wiggly sometimes, mostly due to incorrect noseweight and weight distribution in the caravan. Wind shear from wind gusts and trailers and lorries do affect the stability also though. I think a stabilizer should correct this. I'm therefore contemplating buying an AL-KO AKS 3004 stabilizer for my caravan.

I tow an avondale dart 556/6 with an mtplm of 1,300 kg this is just under 85% but its a strugle to keep the noseweight at 75kg,

have a look at this site " what towcar.com"

Maybe not the correct Forum to say this but it is in relation to the question and answers to to thread.Whilst our caravans have the plated max' weight on it it will be proberly be more than you think unless you get it weighed. For instance on our Coachman added to the weight is the power mover /Tyron bands and anything else which has been retro fitted , so in my case we can only take 24 klg food/clothes to get to the 1324 klg ideal weight. But as i said earlier it tows well and keeps up to 60 mph in most conditions.

I tow 1175Kg happily with my vRS TDi.

Would be happy to go up to about 1350Kg with it.

My van has an Alko AKS 3004 stabiliser, Alko ATC Trailer Control system and Alko Shockers on it ... needless to say stability is perfect.

I load to a noseweight of 75Kg and have never had any traction problems. I do boost the rear tyres to the max pressure.

Economy-wise normally get 28-30mpg towing ... or the other week 41 when being pushed along by a gale forced wind!!!!!!!

For me at least it is the perfect towcar.

As for caravanning ... it's the dogs doodahs ... i've been doing it since I was about a month old, so 38 years now.

Interesting.

I just got a towbar on my octy as the wife is about to buy a bailey. Its max weight is 1300kg which is at the 85% limit.

This is my first tin tent.

Its the nose weight check a piece of wood and the bathroom scales?

I would say that the 85% rule is very important and certainly worth sticking to.

I had an incident last summer when I was following a lorry in lane 1. One of the lorry's tyres blew out leaving a trail of debris behind. I managed to avoid the debris but it was a hairy maneuver and I'm certain that had I been in a lighter vehicle, the caravan would have taken control and caused a nasty accident.

I guess what I'm trying to say is you could probably tow perfectly happy with a 100% weight match, but it's those rare challenging moments which will catch you out if the setup is wrong.

i agree, i'v seen big 4x4's on there side and the caravan stil on its wheels , this is one situation were the tail wags the dog!!

Interesting.

I just got a towbar on my octy as the wife is about to buy a bailey. Its max weight is 1300kg which is at the 85% limit.

This is my first tin tent.

Its the nose weight check a piece of wood and the bathroom scales?

Yes thats the way to do it. Ensure that the hitch level is the same height from the ground as it is when attached to the towball. You do this by making the wood the appropriate length.

Good luck with the caravanning - its not everyones idea of fun I know but we very much enjoy it.

I use a proper noseweight guage but it amounts to the same thing. Just make sure the 'van is level to get an accurate reading.

Also weigh it every trip. It can vary quite a bit when the 'van looks as if its loaded in the same way.

I had an incident last summer when I was following a lorry in lane 1. One of the lorry's tyres blew out leaving a trail of debris behind. I managed to avoid the debris but it was a hairy maneuver and I'm certain that had I been in a lighter vehicle, the caravan would have taken control and caused a nasty accident.

This is where Alko ATC comes into its own too. Had a transporter pull out in front of me then put the anchors on. Had to swerve, the ATC kicked in and kept things nice and steady.

Thanks for the further replies. We've been deliberating still but things starting to fall in the direction of a 'van.....

I've been non to complementary about them for years as well..... Should be banned from roads etc. Best get my dark glasses out if we do make that purchase.

:thumbup:I tow with a OCY TDi 1.9 y2000 and its tows very good with my Fleetwood Colchester ( 05 ) trouble is when you get on wet grass etc and the front wheels start slipping, so I fancy a Scout with the new common rail when its available,how have people found the Scout on grass ? cheers - Stuart.

Regarding noseweight. Not only has the caravan to be level but the brakes must not be on as well, otherwise you will not have the correct reading, ie downforces ect.

I load to a noseweight of 75Kg and have never had any traction problems. I do boost the rear tyres to the max pressure.

Can I emphasise Marcus100's point here - don't forget the rear tyres. You need to put in (IIRC) about 10psi which seems a lot, but it makes a lot of difference to the handling of the car, not to mention fuel economy and wear on the tyres etc. I think the fronts need a bit too.

Could be worse, I tow a 1350kg van with a vRS petrol and I get 14 to 18mpg.

It is over the 85% and stability is noticably better if I load up the car with things like the awning.