Heaviest towable caravan

[silver1011]

The maximum tow weight is in the pricing and specification brochure, 2,000kg in my case.

 

Unfortunately it is the exact kerb weight I need.

[Kenny R]

Have you tried this site...

https://towcar.info/GB/outfitmatch.php

Edited 12 July, 2019 by Kenny R

[MrTrilby]

Take it to a weighbridge and pay £10. They’ll tell you how much it weighs. However, I didn’t think the 85% thing was law - just a recommendation? I thought the law was only worried about whether you exceed an axle or total weight. 

[olderman1]

What is the exact model of your Kodiaq, not that this will make a major difference but it's a starting point ?

Have you towed a caravan before ?

Where are you likely to go with it ? e.g. relatively local, travelling on A roads and dual carriageways, or further afield using motorways a lot.

[DaveMiller]

I’d suggest having a look at a Lunar Clubman ES - same side dinette and end washroom layout as the Swift Conqueror 530, but over 200 kg lighter!

Edited 13 July, 2019 by DaveMiller

[silver1011]

Sorry for the slow response guys, this caravan shopping malarkey is draining! 

 

KennyR, I did try out that website, it was recommended elsewhere on a dedicated caravaning forum, but strangely the Swift Conqueror 530 isn't listed.

 

MrTrilby, there is a scrapyard not too far away, I'm sure they'll weigh my Kodiaq. I'd probably have to brim the fuel tank and empty all the stuff out of the boot and the kiddy seats etc. first.

 

olderman1, this is my Kodiaq's specs with regards to towing limits...

 

 

 

I understand that when calculating the car to caravan ratio you should always take the MTPLM of the caravan and the minimum kerbweight (with driver) of the car.

 

85% is the recommended target, though not legally enforced.

 

So, the Swift is rated at 1,670, my particular Kodiaq is 1,658 - 1,793, putting me firmly around 100% if I take worst case (1,658kg for my car), so not ideal @ 101%.

 

Anyhow, things change fast, after viewing the Swift the 4-berth layout isn't for us. We're now decided on a Bailey Pegasus Ancona, 6-berth.

 

One of the benefits of Bailey caravans seems to be that they're pretty light, the Ancona has an MTPLM of 1,496kg, giving a ratio of 90%.

 

My only other niggle now is torque. It never crossed my mind when choosing our Kodiaq that I'd ever tow a caravan, so the 1.4 TSI 150PS was perfect for us, but dragging around a caravan up steep hills might be too much for it with a torque rating of 250Nm (compared to the 150PS diesel @ 340Nm so 36% higher).

 

 

They're a little outside our budget though so some tough decisions to be made!

[olderman1]

Okay, so you've addressed much of what I had in mind to tell you and you seem to have a good grasp of not only what's legal, but also what's sensible, which in my book counts for a lot.

Having found a lighter van, which was one piece of advice I was going to give and DaveMiller already did, you've addressed the weight issue pretty much.

My next concern with the first van you mentioned was going to be the strain on your car. Do remember that the max towing weight of your car in the Skoda specs is NOT what it will happily tow over long distances, but as mentioned in the specs you've posted, it's just what weight your car will pull from a standstill when parked on the gradients mentioned. when towing there's massive forces being generated against the van, both from wind alone and when passing/being passed by lorries.

On a personal note I'd be concerned about whether your 1.4 Tsi is man enough to do the job you're going to be asking of it, which is why I got the 2.0 Tsi, but if you don't intend to go too far afield and you are sensible and take it easy, then I'm sure you'll be fine, but if you're going to be doing a lot of mileage there'll be much stress and strain on your car. Depends on how much you care for you car and how long you intend to keep it.

If you decide to go ahead with your venture, try to get a caravan with ATC (automatic trailer control). This detects snaking and will apply the caravan brakes to help bring the van back under control. It's a handy thing to have, especially for a newbie whilst you're finding out about how to pack your car/caravan and until you've experienced what can happen out on the open road when towing a wayward box .

I know you have kids, but try not to take the kitchen sink with you, at least initially. Pack anything weighty in the van over the axle, and in the car  try to get it in the middle of the car, not in the rear (which will obviously difficult with rear seat passengers.

Your car only has an 80kg noseweight , which you might struggle to achieve, although it looks like the gas bottle holder in the Bailey might be central rather than in the nose, which would help greatly. If your gas bottle (s) is in the nose, you can now get lighter weight bottles (same amount of gas, just a lighter bottle). Get yourself a Milenco noseweight gauge, these are acknowledged to be the best and can be recalibrated if necessary. Most other makes are not accurate.

Beware if you have a motor mover fitted or if you get one later. These aren't light and count towards your MTPLM limit. Bloody handy to have though 😉.

Beware exceeding your noseweight and MTPLM limits. In the unfortunate event of an accident, if it's proven that you were over those limits, you could be prosecuted and your insurance likely won't pay up.

If you've never towed anything large before, I'd recommend a course if you have a centre nearby. They'll teach you the basics and how to manoeuvre and reverse, but what they can't tell you is what it feels like when you're in the centre lane of a motorway and you've almost overtaken a lorry, and then white van man passes you in the outside lane doing 80mph. That can very  bum clenching and packing all your kit in your rig correctly can have quite an influence on how your rig reacts. Don't forget also, that the 85% recommendation is there for a reason. And finally for now, not all cars are created equal when it comes to towing. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what the Kodiaq is like when towing as I recently sold my van before I got the chance to find out and we won't be returning to caravanning. The reason I mention this, is that when I bought my last van, I had a 170bhp diesel Superb estate. I liked that car a lot but it was really a bit too light for towing the van. 

Edited 15 July, 2019 by olderman1

[olderman1]

Excuse the cut off - laptop playing up so I had to submit what I'd written.

To continue; it was a very stable combination on the road and it had enough power to tow the van but I wanted a heavier vehicle, so I swapped it for a Hyundai Santa Fe thinking it would be better at towing. I was wrong - it never felt as powerful as the Superb and it wasn't as stable on motorways, which just proves that what we expect isn't necessarily what we get.

Sorry about the dissertation, but I hope it answers at least some of your queries. Just ask if you want any more info and if you proceed I can give you he name of a decent van insurance company who's prices I was never able to better.

Edited 15 July, 2019 by olderman1

[silver1011]

Thanks olderman1, longer term strain on the car did cross my mind, but I am a cautious (read sedate) driver, and like to think I have an above average awareness towards mechanical sympathy.

 

It's a manual gearbox so I believe this will help me to control the car (RPM etc.) more to my liking, but it is a 'keeper' so I don't want to be excessively shortening the cars working life.

 

There is a dedicated Skoda Kodiaq page on Facebook, I've asked similar questions there about the ability of the 1.4 TSI to tow. I appreciate the Yeti is a lighter car but I'm told that the engine in this outfit managed well, not sure on the MTPLM of the caravan in this picture though...

 

 

I don't think we'll be going far, at least to start with, but invariably we're bound to find ourselves in some tight spots / unavoidable steep inclines etc.

 

Luckily, all the vans we've viewed are fitted with ATC, a must-have for me now.

 

I hear your point on packing light, definitely a skill that requires some effort. Our kids are 5 and 9, so we're past things like push chairs and all of the other paraphernalia that comes with young kids. We have a roof box too, which will help get some of the weight out of the boot and further forward, the downside I guess though, it's higher up and potentially less stable, especially in crosswinds...

 

 

Again, luckily, the Bailey Pegasus benefits from the central (over axle) storage locker for the gas bottles which will help with the limited 80kg nose weight limit.

 

A motor mover is a must though, I hadn't considered it's effect on the MTPLM though, thanks for mentioning this. The van we're looking at has a Powrtouch Evolution (auto engage), and they do look pretty substantial / heavy. They're rumoured to weigh 35kg (includes both sides).

 

Interestingly my wife's sister tow a similar caravan to the one we're looking at with a Hyundai Sante Fe, I'll have to see what they think.

 

I've had an annual insurance quote for £136, but I'm told joining the Camping and Caravaning club can yield some increased discounts.

 

Thanks for your valuable feedback.

 

 

[olderman1]

To take your points, my first van came with a motor mover and I was told it was around 30kgs, so 35kgs for yours won't be far off.

If you can get insurance for £136 and it covers all your needs, then I'd say take it. I never found anything that low, although it obviously depends on what it covers. Like for like, I never found a Caravan Club package that could beat what I had, but we all have individual needs so you might.

Your roofbox may possibly aid wind flow around the van. My friend swears that his combo is more stable when he has his canoe on the roof, but of course our canoes are somewhat longer than your box, so therefore dissipate the wind in a different fashion. Overall I tend to agree with him, but it's hard to judge because every time you take the caravan out conditions are always different.

You seem to have the bases covered , so experiment with weight distribution, take it easy and hope everyone else on the road around you does too. You're fortunate to have a family member who already tows and can show you the ropes.

Good luck.😀

P.S. On the day we picked up our first van, we drove it home and loaded it with the kit we needed and then drove 6 miles down the road to a nice little quiet site just to get a feel for how to set up and attach the awning. It was an invaluable experience in the first part of our learning curve.  If your in laws haven't already forewarned you about awning erection, be prepared for a little friction when you do it. 😉

[xlray]

Interesting thread this. 

 

I have a 1500kg Compass van that I bought last year. I normally tow with my VW transporter campervan which has the 180bhp engine. I few weeks I briefly towed it to be serviced with my Superb 190bhp diesel. 

 

The one thing that I noticed was how much slower both vehicles were at gaining speed on hills compared to my old 1100kg . 

 

My wife's car is an Audi A3 with the 1.4TSFI 150 bhp engine. One thing I can say for certain is that I would not want to have this engine in my Superb as a tow car, and even less so in a Kodiaq which is heavier. 

 

I would strongly consider you take the Kodiaq and try it with a caravan before you commit to purchase. Personally I think that you will kill a 1.4 engine in the longer term with a 1500kg caravan.

 

I have the Camping and Caravanning Club Insurance - New for Old and it cost me about £240.

 

 

 

[J.R.]

Ah yes, awning erection........................

 

It was the last erection that I was ever granted with one girlfriend, it was a long and frustrating holiday thankfully cut short

[MrTrilby]

If you can, pack bulky but light things in the roof box. It makes a big difference. The Kodiaq has a high centre of gravity that is ok, but you really start to notice it once you start adding more mass to the roof. We’ve just driven down to France with 6 people in the car, a 500l roof box and bike on the roof, and 4 bikes hanging off the tow bar. The Kodiaq really let me know about the extra mass above and behind when changing lanes - so much so that I repacked the roof box to move as much mass lower down as I could for day 2. That doesn’t help with the rear weight bias giving you a bit of a pendulum effect though, which I imagine is more pronounced with a heavy caravan in tow.

 

I imagine the 1.4TSi will be fine provided you are realistic and accept a lower speed on inclines rather than working it hard to keep it at 60.

 

 

 

[silver1011]

5 hours ago, xlray said:

One thing I can say for certain is that I would not want to have this engine in my Superb as a tow car, and even less so in a Kodiaq which is heavier. 

 

I would strongly consider you take the Kodiaq and try it with a caravan before you commit to purchase. Personally I think that you will kill a 1.4 engine in the longer term with a 1500kg caravan.

 

I guess it depends on your expectations. I know people who think the 1.4 TSI on the Kodiaq, without a caravan is woefully inadequate.

 

I think it's a great engine, and while it's lack of torque can be more noticeable on steep motorway inclines (often requiring a downchange to maintain 70mph) it often surprises me with its performance, more than enough for me.

 

I've had it fully loaded, four passengers, full roofbox and pulling a small camping trailer and noticed no reduction in performance. I appreciate a 1,500kg van will definitely be noticeable but I'm confident it'll cope well.

[silver1011]

3 hours ago, MrTrilby said:

I imagine the 1.4TSi will be fine provided you are realistic and accept a lower speed on inclines rather than working it hard to keep it at 60.

 

First purchase after the caravan 

 

[olderman1]

A cautionary tale lest you get too complacent about the capabilities of your Kodiaq.

My first van was a 2 berth Bailey with an MTPLM of less than 1200kgs. At the time I had a new 2WD 2012 Kia Sportage with a naturally aspirated 134bhp 1600c petrol engine and a  recommended max towing limit of 1200kgs.

On paper all was legal and the car should have pulled the van no trouble as long as I didn't load the van up too much with kit, which I didn't in my early days until I had more experience. I did feel right from the off that the Kia needed more power, but like you, our initial intention was not to stray too far from home.

I was en route to a caravan site one day and my preferred route was blocked by a lorry stuck under a bridge, so I had to make a detour which entailed following a narrowish road, part of which became quite steep. Partway along this road I came up behind a large logging lorry and sods law dictated that on the steepest part of the route, he and I were forced to stop to let a vehicle pass going in the opposite direction.

Once clear, the lorry pulled away just fine, but I found I couldn't !! At first the car would just not pull the van away from a standing start on this incline and I ended up smoking the clutch quite badly.

I was in a slight panic as I was blocking the road if anything large happened upon us and I couldn't see a way out other than calling the emergency services.. Fortunately no other traffic came along and once I'd let the clutch cool off a bit, I gave it another try, and after much feathering, slipping and coaxing I got the whole thing slowly rolling and eventually built up speed and got to my destination.

Okay, this was a one off and hopefully will never happen to you, but it is possible, and the moral of the tale is; try and tow with a car that has a much higher capacity for towing than you actually need.

I sold the Kia a few months later and got the Superb 😉.

[silver1011]

Another day, another change in direction.

 

We're going to look at a Bailey Jive tonight, with an MTPLM of 1,374kg, so a 122kg reduction versus the 1,496kg Bailey Pegasus Ancona.

 

Whilst not officially a lightweight van (850 - 1,100kg) it is a least a step in the right direction.

 

Not sure on the graphics though 

 

 

Edited 16 July, 2019 by silver1011

[olderman1]

You won't be able to see the graphics when you're inside the van or towing it 😉.

I rather like Bailey caravans, our first van was a Bailey, but apart from giving a bit of extra headroom at the front of the van, I can't understand why they are designed with such a bluff front. It certainly won't do your mpg any favours.

The weight saving on that van can only be a good thing for your car.

[silver1011]

The Swifts are indeed a better looking van, especially from the front as you say. We looked at a Swift Conqueror 530...

 

 

I almost bought it for the two-colour alloys alone 

[MuzInOz]

Interesting topic and one close to my heart, as in Australia there is not much choice in caravans to stay under the 80kg towball limit.  My personal view that this is seriously affecting sales here, as other SUV have up to 150kg which brings in far more choice.

Having said that we are very happy to have found a Geist AK560 which is 1600kg max laden and I can load to 80kg towball and check with scales.  Just done 4500km with it to QLD and it towed like a dream.  The only issue we found vs. our previous Pajero was that the lower roof height and raked rear blasted the front van double glazed window so much the two layers stuck together - very nervous as we thought we'd destroyed it.  May look at a wind deflector to try to push some wind away from it and over the top.

Have to say that the lane assist really keeps the van in check and a much easier drive when towing.  We have the 140TDI Sportline and that gives plenty of grunt to tow with.

 

[silver1011]

The 1.4 TSI pulls like a dream!

 

[Gerrycan]

@silver1011, small turbo petrol engines are just not on offer is Australia for the Kodiaq or Superb, plus the local difficulties previously mentioned of finding caravans with low ball loading.

Despite knowing how good the 1.4tsi is in my Octavia I am surprised to see the size of your combination with roof pod, and how happy you are with performance.

What sort of consumption do you get?

 

With our distances, consumption is important and we are assessing the viability of the 'Grey Nomad' lifestyle for us. Going the whole hog on a good new combination is eye wateringly expensive and still pricey for a reasonable 2nd hand options.

Edited 12 August, 2019 by Gerrycan

[silver1011]

We haven't yet ventured far from home, less than 30 miles, but the site we're on is relatively rural, on the fringes of the North Yorkshire Moors, so our route was mainly tight and twisty roads with some steep and prolonged gradients.

 

None of them needed less than 4th gear. The absence of torque versus a diesel is noticeable but I never struggled to maintain the 50mph speed limit.

 

I've not had the chance to monitor fuel consumption, I know its a divisive topic but I bought a 7 seater, 4x4 SUV knowing that compared to other family car options it was going to be thirsty. I can't remember the last time I scrolled past the consumption screens. If I was to guess I'd estimate mid to late 20's (mpg).