Hi to all, just joined briskoda,first request,any information on towing with 2008 octavia 1.9tdi 105bhp with dsg box,what weight caravan used,and any problems encountered ?

Cheers,painter06

Hi painter06, welcome to briskoda,you normally tow with 85% of your cars weight, I did have a Octavia TDi y2000 110bhp and that was very good at towing so you shouldn't have any problems with yours ( just upgraded to the Scout 4x4 -brill ), don't know about the DSG box as mine are manual. if you fit the Skoda electrics ( CAN bus ) make sure its wired for the caravan as pins 10/11/12 are needed for batt charge/fridge etc ( one pin is a spare ). cheers - Stuart.

Hi Sparky, thanks for quick reply and information on electrics enjoy your new Scout 4x4

painter06

Can't help with the 1.9 but my two vRS's have been a joy to tow with, with 1200Kg on the hook. The current one will soon be towing 1350Kg which should sort out the men from the boys!

Maybe a post on the Practical Caravan website or Caravan Talk will get you the info you need.

I tow with the same vehicle (56 plate) as you including the DSG box. A truly superb towing car. Pulling the caravan off a wet field even on an incline is no problem at all. You have chosen the best vehicle in my opinion.

I used to tow with a Suzuki GV 4 wheel drive. I have not yet met a towing condition in which the Skoda doesn't perform better.

Just stick to the 85% weight guideline and you won't go far wrong.

Don't get suckered into buying a stabiliser if you don't already have one. A properly laden caravan isn't unstable, a badly loaded one is (keep anything heavy low and over the axles keep the nose weight to 75kg and you will be ok). A stabiliser won't improve a badly loaded caravan.

I put about 10psi extra in the rear tyres for the journey, I feel this improves the handling but it is a matter of preference.

Enjoy your towing.

Edited 5 October, 200916 yr by y Me

As a lifelong caravanner I would always use a stabiliser. I also have the ALKO ATC electronic stability system on my current caravan (and have ordered it on the new one). Further to this the last few 'vans have had shock absorbers retro fitted. In other words I use every stability aid there is ... as well as loading very carefully and checking the noseweight every trip.

So I would say load VERY carefully, up your tyre pressure (the 10lbs the Octy needs is a pain but well worth it) then fit a stabiliser. you just never know when a freak gust of wind will catch you or some idiot pulls out in front of you so go for the belt and braces approach.

Have 55 plate 140bhp Elegance with dsg. Tow Coachman at 1324 klg as that makes it 85%, although Skoda say 1400 klg take no real notice of that. Travelled all over the place including East Grmany etc , had no problems ,only got ALKO hitch which has been quite sufficient so far . MPG whilst towing , 25/30, the 30 was on a m/w . Have also TYRON BANDS which when a tyre sidewall went in France ripped the tyre and alloy wheel. Cracking car.

Thanks to all who gave information on towing much appreciated this helped to put mind at rest knowing new car purchase for towing has been right one,( have updated from Fabia to Octavia) and very pleased with it.

Tow a 1400k van with 1.9 DSG estate - generally OK. Can't say it really accelerates, more gets rolling, but I'm happy with it, seems fine as long as you're not in a rush. Tend to stick to around 50 / 55 most of the time. DSG is very good uphill, unlike a manual you don't lose pulling power by the drag of the van when downshifting.

I do tend though to use the manual selector fairly frequently on the faster roads / motorways - the dsg is fine in traffic, through towns etc, but when pulling the van on the open road, can have habit of hunting for the right gear - small inclines make it change down only to be followed by changing up too soon, then back down again etc. Pick the right gear yourself and it's fine. Will pull 6th on the motorways, but drops down at the slightest incline / headwind. 5th is fine - bit noiser but quite acceptable. Fuel consumption varies between 27 to 35 depending on the journey.

Hi guys

Slightly off topic, so forgive me.

But I am always amazed at the cars you use to tow By Australian standards, they would be regarded as much too underpowered and "lightweight" to tow a 12-1400kilo caravan. The starter car for that sort of van would be usually a Ford Falcon (RWD) with a 4litre petrol six - 195kW and 390nm. Perhaps more common would be one of the larger 4WD diesels eg a Mitsubishi Pajero (Shogun) or a Discovery etc. And often, our road conditions are easier to tow on than yours.

I realise that there are major differences in fuel prices and size of standard family cars. But here we would not regard any Shoda except perhaps a 2.0TDI (the more powerfful version) as even up to the task.

Is this why jeremy Clarkson is anti caravans> Just joking, and intrigued by the difference.

Cheers

powerd

Canberra, Australia

From what i've seen of Auzzie 'vans they appear to be heavier, wider and less aerodynamic than their UK counterparts.

Obviously too the nearest our 'vans get to the bush is a nice trimmed hedge on a well groomed Caravan Club site!

Can't really comment on the Aussie approach - no experience or knowledge - not sure if our roads are better or worse than yours. I suspect we don't travel quite the distances perhaps (although Europe's a fairly big place). Obviously as you'd assume the bigger the car / engine the better - I've certainely thought about swopping my 1.9 for the 2.0, but given the extra cost of making the swop, just thought that the 1.9, with a little patience, does a fair job for what I expect.

Problem with the bigger engines, 4x4's etc, is that whilst very nice, HMG is threatening to raise the annual road taxes to such levels as to make these cars very expensive to run (not taking into account the cost of fuel).

Where I think it's going to get very interesting is when car manufacturers start reversing the trends for bigger heavier cars - van manufacturers will have to reduce van weights correspondingly. I read in auto express this week that carbon fibre platforms are being developed which in conjunction with aluminium and plastic body parts, could reduce weight considerably. 800 kilo car towing 1400 kilo van....now that really would be a challenge!