Towing a caravan

[tracer]

Hi

I am after a Octavia Estate TDI not DSG or 4 x 4. As I tow a caravan a small one about a 1000 kilos I was wondering if the 1.9 will do the job or does the 2.0 TDI do it much better or a waste of money.

Any one else tow a caravan with octavia estate, what's your experiances?

thanks

Edited 1 March, 2009 by tracer
wrong weight

[No Waiting]

Very happy towing our two berth with the 4x4 1.9 tdi

a small one about a 10000 kilos

But yours sounds a lot larger if it's 10 tons :eek:

[Obadiah]

I tow a van trailer, weight just under a ton,loaded, with a 1.9 4x4. No problems!!

[Birdwell L&K]

I tow with a 2.0tdi pd dsg, and I wouldnt go back to a manual again. As long as you are nowhere near your 1400kg towing limit its fine in fact this is my second 2.0tdi pd dsg and had no problems at all.

[Marcus100]

If you are sticking with such a light 'van then the 1.9 will probably be fine. But do you have plans for a heavier 'van during the potential life time of the car?? If so go for the 2.0.

I could get by with a 1.9 for my 1175Kg 'van, but prefer the get up and go of the vRS.

[neharris]

We have had a 1.9Tdi 4x4 and then a 2.0Tdi 4x4 and both were fine with what we towed (1050 kg on the 1.9 and 1300 on the 2.0).

The 1.9 was fine as was, but we often had to drop down to 5th on any form on hill on the motorway (remember only the 4x4 had 6 speed gearbox on the 1.9Tdi - 2WD versions have / had 5 speed boxes). To help we fitted a tuning box (a PSI Powerbox which pushed horsepower to about 135) which helped a lot and didnt affect MPG too much. We still have the Powerbox which may be for sale if anyone is interested .

The 2.0, which we still have is great, the only thing we find is that due to the higher ground clearance of the 4x4, there is a bit more movement at the back end than I would like, but its not too much. I have a set of VRS alloys to go on this weekend to help sort that (bought off here).

My basic advice is that for the weight you want to tow, a 1.9Tdi would be fine, but the 2.0Tdi is a bit smoother (especially if you can get the CR rather than PD). You do pay with the MPG though.

If you do a lot of towing, and have any chance of upgrading the van to something heavier in future, go for the 2.0Tdi. The 4x4 is a choice, but for towing off a muddy (or recently a very snowy) field its one I was prepared to pay the extra for.

[patrolman]

have a look at "www.whattowcar.com",you can outfit match ,and compare different vehicles,

i tow a 1300kg caravan with a scout no problems.