Towing Caravans

[fraserpants]

How much have people paid to have their tow bars fitted?

I'm looking at getting a tow bar fitted with single electric, I only want it to carry a bike carrier on.

I'm new to this tow bar world so any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

[Wild Rover]

How much have people paid to have their tow bars fitted?

I'm looking at getting a tow bar fitted with single electric, I only want it to carry a bike carrier on.

I'm new to this tow bar world so any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

I paid approx. £350.00 fitted last year for a detachable Witter with 13 pin electrics.

[matt_theforce]

I've just paid £400 for a detachable witter with twin electrics. (approaching peak season)

The price will vary hugely depending on the style fixed/swan neck/detachable and what electrics you use

[Triskaidekaphile]

We paid £530 for a Witter locking detachable with 13 pin caravan electrics (all pins connected) and a dedicated loom. On the third attempt the Octavia now knows about the caravan and disables the rear parking sensors and fog lamp automatically when it senses power through the towing electrics. We get a pretty picture of a car with a trailer attached on the display where the parking sensors usually display. There have been some issues because it's a week 22 car and the coding was different hence the three attempts.

We were quoted £400 for the same towbar but with compatible electrics that couldn't be coded but decided to go for the coding as the car also monitors the caravan bulbs so we don't have a buzzer that reminds you that you've got the caravan on the back. I've always hated that noise!

The towbar came with two keys, a nylon bag to store it when detached and a plastic cover to put on when not towing. The only thing you can see when the towbar is off is the small attachment point for the breakaway cable as the electrics fold up behind the bumper.

We'll be towing our Sterling Europa 390EK tomorrow for the first time. We've already been and tested the towbar and electrics which is how we found out the parking sensors were still on and being driven mad by the caravan when manoeuvring. We're using a 13 pin to twin electrics converter until we have the caravan converted to 13 pin.

[No Waiting]

car also monitors the caravan bulbs so we don't have a buzzer that reminds you that you've got the caravan on the back.

You may also find that once the car is locked with the caravan/trailer attached, the car alarm will sound if you unplug the electrics without unlocking the car - it did with the pre-face lift model anyway

[robtuke]

I paid £550 for my Thule Detatchable towbar + Dedicated 13 pin electrics. Works a treat

[sherlocks VRS]

Myself and family are currently on hols in northumbria after traveling 200 miles mostly on the A1, We returned 23mpg which doesnt sound a lot but when you consider the vrs in question is producing over 260hp i dont think it is bad as i am only getting around 30mpg normaly. the vrs sat on the A1 in 5th gear all the way with no probs could have put her in 6th but it droped the rev band down just out of the nice power band ive found for towing (hills NOT a problem for her just tickled the throttle and she pulled like a train even suprised some cars as we overtook them and they say caravaners slow trafic up not us! lol)The caravan in question is a 2009 bailey ranger 510/4 weighing in at 1023kg unladen and 1250 fully laden giving us a calculated 87% towing weight. i run a nose weight just over what they say at 80kg its only 5kg over but its balanced perfectly with no swaying or pitching. Bring on more hols!

[firthster]

Hi keep looking for info on my car mk2 Vrs tdi cr estate and I pre bought a caravan with a mptlw of 1325 so am I ok with it on my car???? It's got a bit confusing tbh,I did a search on tow car .co.uk and says its 79% weight to car

any help would be great also on the log book it says max 1400kg braked????

[mdk1]

20 minutes ago, firthster said:

Hi keep looking for info on my car mk2 Vrs tdi cr estate and I pre bought a caravan with a mptlw of 1325 so am I ok with it on my car???? It's got a bit confusing tbh,I did a search on tow car .co.uk and says its 79% weight to car

any help would be great also on the log book it says max 1400kg braked????

Yes your car will be fine, just make sure your van is loaded correctly and nose weight should be no more than 75kg.

 

[PirateSyrett]

Hi there!

 

If you want to be sure then go and have a look at the four figures on the drivers side b pillar plate (it's usually silver or black) which will list:

 

Max kerb weight of the car

Max train weight (car and trailer)

Front axle limit

Rear axle limit.

 

That will define the cars limits, but obviously you'll need to factor in any licence or personal comfort limitations.

 

FWIW we've towed to within a gnat's tadger of the legal max with our Superb (1650kg with an 1800kg limit) and Yeti (2050kg with a 2100kg limit) both of which had 170hp and handled the load (all weights, including axle limits checked on a public weigh bridge) with ease. Not relevant for you, but the 4x4 Yeti is an astonishingly good tow car.

 

In summary, if it's legal and you're confident enough to pull it your car will have oodles more power than it needs with such a small trailer/ caravan.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited 14 March, 2017 by PirateSyrett

[firthster]

Cheers for the replys thanks

I'll go and have a look now on the tags now

many thanks again

[firthster]

I've had alook and it's as follows

1980

3380

1-1100

2-1100 all kg

so my caravans max weight is 1325 so am I in or out of the regs????? Many thanks paul

[PirateSyrett]

You're legal!

 

It confirms your 1400kg log book findings and since your max is 3380kg you're also below the 3500kg licence cut off limit!

 

Fine work - hope you enjoy your hols :-)

Edited 14 March, 2017 by PirateSyrett

[firthster]

Perfect thanks,so what % am I running?????? It's well got me confused,

as on one caravan website it said don't exceed 85% outfit match.

 

 

so just so I know for peace of mind do I deduct 1325 from 1980 to find my % match

sorry for the questions but I've been searching since 5 o'clock teatime and still none the wiser

many thanks paul

[PirateSyrett]

Simples....

 

If you load your car to it's max 1980kg and tow your 1325kg caravan you'll be running at 66.9% and be legal - many will think this is a good match. (The maths is easy: divide the weight of your caravan by the weight of your car (both in kg) and multiply by 100).

 

Others will not be keen on my maths because the Caravan Club recommend using your cars normal kerb weight, which in the case of most Skodas doesn't include the driver (or passengers, real world luggage, spare wheels and other heavy options like pano roofs or a full tank of fuel). So, if you find your cars kerbweight from your handbook and divide your caravan's weight by that and multiply by 100 you'll have the purists, or CC's, usual ratio. 

 

I think this is daft because it doesn't take into account the real world loading of car and van nor the drivers competence hence my point about your confidence level - if it looks daft, then it probably is, so don't do it.

 

So the same maths on this rig according to the CC is: (I promise our Yeti's at the front - but you might have to look closely!)

 

Trailer weight 2050kg divided by car's hand book kerbweight of 1460 divided by 100 = 140% and therefore not sensible at all!

 

But by my maths:

 

Trailer weight 2050kg divided by car's actual weight 1660kg (the car is soooo much heavier than they claim!) plus passengers and ballast of 440kg giving a total mass of 2100kg divided by 100 = 97.6% which is both legal and within every other weight limit for the car.

 

And it worked really well over a 200 mile trip from Portsmouth to Cornwall on the steep and very evil coast road!

 

Apologies for the long answer, but want to make sure you have the detail to make the right choice in your circumstances. Please drive really slowly with any new rig until it's settled and you're bedded in.

 

Best wishes.

 

 

Edited 14 March, 2017 by PirateSyrett

[firthster]

Thank you very much, you've made perfect sense. I've been over thinking it tbh.

ive only recently bought the octavia,but tday my mate offered me a vw Tiguan tdi at a unbelievable price

and I've been worrying about my car to caravan for a couple of wks now.

but it looks like the octavia is more than capable of performing for our holidays.

many thanks again.

 

and I must say your rig looks a lot of fun,but theirs no way I would or could tow that lol

cant be live how little your car looks.

as I am a total novice at  caravaning I'll be taking it slow and carful.

thanks again Paul 

[pikpilot]

46 minutes ago, PirateSyrett said:

Trailer weight 2050kg divided by car's actual weight 1660kg (the car is soooo much heavier than they claim!) plus passengers and ballast of 440kg giving a total mass of 2100kg divided by 100 = 97.6% which is both legal and within every other weight limit for the car.

 

Even closer when you add the of 75kg of nose weight on the (mostly) rear axle. For peace of mind I would make a weighbridge check that the rear axle is not over the 1100 kg limit.

[PirateSyrett]

11 minutes ago, pikpilot said:

 

Even closer when you add the of 75kg of nose weight on the (mostly) rear axle. For peace of mind I would make a weighbridge check that the rear axle is not over the 1100 kg limit.

 

Absolutely!

 

We weighed the car and boat together (train weight) and then boat hitched to the car with just it's wheels on the weigh bridge (trailer weight without nose weight), then reversed so that the car's rear axle and boat trailer was weighed (rear axle weight) and finally disconnected and weighed the boat on its own (to derive front axle weight)!

 

Complicated, but at £12 for two pairs of weights worth it for peace of mind just in case we were stopped because it looks big. We had about 40kg of rear axle weight remaining at max nose weight!

Edited 14 March, 2017 by PirateSyrett

[CWARD]

You may find the VRS a bit soft at the back end even with the correct nose weight as my brother found out. I fitted some Mad Suspension Air Helpers to his car which are inflated for when he hooks up his caravan, which iirc is around 1300kg, and stops it dropping on it's backside on the ground.  Once at the site he lets the air out down and the car is back to normal. He used it for the first time last weekend and said it was much better than without then and didn't fancy running uprated springs as others have complained about it raising the suspension height when unladen and it being harsher too. They inflate quickly using a hand pump so no need to purchase the automatic inflation kit either.