I'm looking for advice please on this topic, we have a Kodiaq 1.5 TSI SEL 7 seater and we are thinking of buying the Bailey Phoenix 642, MTPLM 1388, the caravan dealer told us that we were within our limit for towing and looking on, 'match my towcar' we seem to have a fairly good match, and providing we load the caravan properly and put most of the heavy items in the car we should be OK, there are only 2 of us so we don't have lots of gear.  My only concern when looking at the result from the car/caravan match is the engine power, we have towed in the past but last time we had a Kuga 2 litre diesel, I expect it to be less powerful but hoping that its not detrimental to the engine, any advice or thoughts please. 

Also did I see on another thread that there are issues with towbar fitting as this is something that we will require. 

Some will say that you’ll be absolutely fine. Go forth and enjoy.

 

Others will say that you need at least a 190 diesel. 
 

Your caravan dealer wants to sell you a caravan. After sales towing will be your problem.

 

I don’t tow these days, but in the days of towing kart race trailers, I never complained of having too many horses at my disposal.

 

Sorry, can’t help answer your question(s).

Sorry BoxerBoy, not sure what you mean by 'after sales towing' 

22 minutes ago, EileenG said:

Sorry BoxerBoy, not sure what you mean by 'after sales towing' 

 

I'm pretty sure he means - 'after sales, towing will be your problem.'   That is to say that the caravan dealer is interested in selling you the caravan and not much more after that. 

 

HTH

We've done all the necessary checks on the various databases to check that we're within our limits for towing, I suppose it was just reassurance that we will be OK with the 1.5 engine. 

1 hour ago, EileenG said:

We've done all the necessary checks on the various databases to check that we're within our limits for towing, I suppose it was just reassurance that we will be OK with the 1.5 engine. 

 

It's not a simple yes or no.  It depends very much on the level of towing performance you want and are prepared to put up with.  

 

The other issue is that you haven't stated whether your car has a manual or DSG gearbox.  I see there has been some discussion which suggests that the manual gearbox version of your car was never homologated by Škoda for towing. 

 

I've only skimmed this thread, so I don't know if there was a definitive answer as to whether or not Škoda subsequently homologated the vehicle.  

 

 

It might be wise to ask your local dealership to confirm what Skoda's position is on this now. 

The non-homologated car was the diesel 150PS - Eileen has the petrol TSi.

We have the DSG gearbox, I contacted Skoda direct yesterday and they confirmed towing weight up to 1700kg, even though the specification plate of the car dictates 1800kg, not sure why their technical department has reduced it by 100kilo 🤔

 

Interestingly in the Towcar of the Year Awards 2019 The Skoda Octavia won its class up to 1400kg with the 1.5Tsi engine.

 

That said the Kodiak is much heavier so I think you would struggle on hills, especially pulling away. I have towed caravans for 26 years and to me there is no substitute for diesel power.

 

Worth looking out the Towcar awards for the last few years and searching for that engine in any class.

 

xlray

 

The only difference that I can see for the very similar car Re towing / not for towing, is the extra two seats in the 4WD version............

I'm assuming it must be to do with expected weight inside the vehicle or a different floor-pan due to the extra seating...???

 

Obviously power and torque values are going to have an effect on the car and how it pulls, but there is no reason you should have any issues if your vehicle is sound and you drive within it's limitations...............

That's interesting to know that xlray, we're aware that hills starts might be an issue, I just hope not too much of an issue, we towed with 2 litre diesal last time and nothing was a problem, when we bought the kodiaq last year at that point we didn't think that we would be going back to caravanning otherwise we would have considered a different engine or even car altogether, I think we're going to take the risk and see how we go, the only other option we have is to swap to an even lighter caravan. 

I'm assuming if you haven't already got the tow-bar fitted, you will have this fitted by Skoda, for the sake of any arguements regarding your 2019 car's warranty, should any issues arise.

No its going to be fitted by a local tow bar company, do we need it to be fitted by skoda? 

42 minutes ago, EileenG said:

No its going to be fitted by a local tow bar company, do we need it to be fitted by skoda? 

 

No, but personally I would check with Skoda that it does not affect the warranty of the vehicle in any way, that is all............someone on here will probably know the answer

A word of caution. This doesn't apply to your car but it's decent comparison.

I had a Kia Sportage with a 1.6 petrol engine which had 136bhp from memory, so not much less than yours. I also had a 2 berth Bailey caravan with an MRO of less than a tonne.

One day on the way to a site, I was forced to take alternative route, which in one place had quite a steep hill. I was forced to stop on the way up the hill (sods law!!) and getting going again was nigh on impossible. There was much clutch burning and smoke involved and eventually I managed to inch away, but the clutch will have suffered greatly. No idea how a DSG would cope in the same circumstances.

I'm sure you'll be fine if all journeys run smoothly, but it's the unexpected that will catch you out. Figures on a piece of paper don't tell the whole story.

I changed the Kia shortly after that for a 170bhp diesel Superb estate. What a difference !

 

With regard to towbar fitting, I had mine fitted by a local, well respected company and whilst I never actually got around to towing with it (sold the van), I did have it hooked up to check everything worked okay.

It did 😁. Cost was approx. £480 for fixed swan neck tow bar.

^^^ but that sounds more like a clutch problem rather than a petrol / diesel / bhp issue..........

 

Granted, a bigger and more torquey engine will have a better clutch, but I would hope a Kodiaq would perhaps have a better clutch(s) than a Kia Sportage....

 

2 hours ago, Tilt said:

The only difference that I can see for the very similar car Re towing / not for towing, is the extra two seats in the 4WD version............

I'm assuming it must be to do with expected weight inside the vehicle or a different floor-pan due to the extra seating...???

 

 

Ahh..........I note you have the 7 seater, so not sure why it only applies specifically to the 7 seat / 4WD version............

Quote

but that sounds more like a clutch problem rather than a petrol / diesel / bhp issue..........

 

 

Not likely, the car was less than a year old with less than 8000 miles on the clock and I'm not a clutch abuser. The main problem was lack of power in that situation and maybe the clutch wasn't as meaty as in other makes.

I'm just making the OP aware of potential drawbacks.

It will be gearing, a tall first gear is a nightmare for laden hill starts, also all the modern VAG vehicles will not rev above 2500 RPM until the vehicle is in motion, there is a massive torque limitation going on to prevent the over-revving and even without a trailer or caravan I can feel that there will be a big problem when I do tow one.

 

Actually the above might be 3000 rpm, I'm not going to start the engine to find out, also I dont know if it applies to petrol engines.

3 hours ago, olderman1 said:

A word of caution. This doesn't apply to your car but it's decent comparison.

I had a Kia Sportage with a 1.6 petrol engine which had 136bhp from memory, so not much less than yours. I also had a 2 berth Bailey caravan with an MRO of less than a tonne.

 

I think that is a poor comparison and there is some unintentional scaremongering going on. The Kia's 1.6 petrol engine is naturally aspirated, whereas the Kodiaq's 1.5 petrol engine is turbocharged. Lots of the comments about "diesel is much better for towing" should really say "engines that produce lots of torque from low revs are better for towing". Which is basically a modern diesel or petrol turbocharged engine.

 

Bear in mind that the Kodiaq's 1.5 petrol produces a healthy maximum torque of 250Nm very early at 1500rpm. Because the Kia has no turbo, it has to be revving nearly 3 times higher (4850RPM) to produce much less torque (161Nm).

 

The equivalent diesel Kodiaq admittedly produces 35% more torque than the 1.5 petrol, but it's 16% further up the rev range. So whilst the diesel might be "better", it's no longer dramatically better. Also worth bearing in mind that a regular poster on the forum - Silver - tows quite a large caravan with the older 1.4 petrol Kodiaq and reports no issues.

 

I would comment though that whilst the forward gearing on our DSG gearbox Kodiaq seems fine, the reverse gear is ludicrously tall. Our driveway is quite steep and I've given up trying to reverse up it. Our 190BHP diesel Kodiaq has vast amounts of low down diesel torque, yet it still butchers the clutch trying to reverse up the drive. So I'd personally avoid having to reverse a trailer or caravan up a hill with a DSG equipped Kodiaq.

4 hours ago, olderman1 said:

A word of caution. This doesn't apply to your car but it's decent comparison.

I had a Kia Sportage with a 1.6 petrol engine which had 136bhp from memory, so not much less than yours. I also had a 2 berth Bailey caravan with an MRO of less than a tonne.

One day on the way to a site, I was forced to take alternative route, which in one place had quite a steep hill. I was forced to stop on the way up the hill (sods law!!) and getting going again was nigh on impossible. There was much clutch burning and smoke involved and eventually I managed to inch away, but the clutch will have suffered greatly. No idea how a DSG would cope in the same circumstances.

I'm sure you'll be fine if all journeys run smoothly, but it's the unexpected that will catch you out. Figures on a piece of paper don't tell the whole story.

I changed the Kia shortly after that for a 170bhp diesel Superb estate. What a difference!

 

The Kia Sportage 1.6 petrol engine doesn't have a turbo and has very little torque at low revs. This engine is known to be gutless even when not towing a caravan.

 

The Skoda 1.5 petrol engine does have a turbo and does have lots of torque at low revs. There should be no problem with hill starts with this engine.

 

The only possible problem with a 2WD would be hill starts on a slippery road surface. However, good all-season tyres with the 3PMSF symbol would help cope with hill starts on even slippery road surfaces, although still not as good as 4WD.

 

4WD is a good idea if towing a heavy caravan. Not only will it help you get going on steep hill starts, but it will give you more traction when going down steep hills and using the gears to control your speed when going downhill. A 2.0 litre diesel engine will provide a lot more braking force to control your speed going downhill than a 1.5 litre petrol engine. If you rely too much on your brakes when going downhill rather than using engine braking, you will wear your brakes out much quicker. There's also the possibility of overheating your brakes if you were to use them too much while descending a mountain for example or even a big hill. 

Edited 2 July, 20205 yr by Carlston

Thanks everone for all the advice and information. I get some of it is based on your own experiences which I appreciate, and some advice on the technical aspects of engine management systems, which is great as I have no knowledge of this at all and this is exactly why I posted on the forum in the first place, for this advice. And based on the last few pieces of advice on the engine I think we should be OK if we stick to sensible steady driving and avoid getting into the situation of hill starts.

So I've just contacted Skoda direct and they have said that the 1.5, doesn't need the upgraded coolant system, it's just the 1.4 that needs that, the only thing we need to upgrade is the front grill to allow more airflow into the engine which costs approx £117.25 for the part. So this is another positive. 

14 minutes ago, EileenG said:

So I've just contacted Skoda direct and they have said that the 1.5, doesn't need the upgraded coolant system, it's just the 1.4 that needs that, the only thing we need to upgrade is the front grill to allow more airflow into the engine which costs approx £117.25 for the part. So this is another positive. 

 

I expect the upgraded front grill is more for Southern European countries where it gets very hot and they have big mountains to climb like the Alps. This would see the engine working quite hard at slow speed. The slow speed would reduce the airflow going through the radiator. Someone, somewhere has probably had this problem, so Skoda being cautious are simply offering it to everyone including people who would never experience an engine overheating problem.

 

Unless you are driving in over 30 degree temperatures up a mountain, you may not need this. It's easy enough to keep an eye on your temperature gauge, and stop as soon as the engine temperature (water coolant temperature) goes into the red. Wait 5 minutes with your engine idling for the engine to cool down a bit, (the radiator fan should come on) and then continue your journey. 

Edited 2 July, 20205 yr by Carlston

We've ordered it anyway just to comply with the requirements and ensure that the warranty isn't impacted. 

1 minute ago, EileenG said:

We've ordered it anyway just to comply with the requirements and ensure that the warranty isn't impacted. 

 

Good idea, best to keep the warranty.

This is 2020 & we are talking modern engines / vehicles.

Cooling fans and pumps come on with the ignition off and the engine not idling if necessary.