Towing a caravan.

[patrolman pete]

Anyone tow a caravan with their 75. I suspect that rear spring assisters may be required so I’m wondering what size to order.

[BRG75]

I towed a 1990 Elddis Hurricane XL, coupled to a (company) Rover 75 1.8 auto.

This was from when the car was new (April 2000) up until I handed it back in mid 2002, with circa 120K on the clock.

I still have my spreadsheet notes, and see that I sometimes increased the rear tyre pressures to 34psi. Nothing else. Nose weight was 63 to 65 kgs.

Towed perfectly, and I only had the long blade type of anti snake device.
it wasn't that good, so I didn't bother to fit it every time.

Isle of Wight twice, Cotswolds and Kent / Sussex coast many times.

Hope it helps.

Mike

[patrolman pete]

I’ve just put a deposit on a 2017 Elddis Affinity 554 with a loaded weight of 1470 kg so I’ll probably start towing in a couple of weeks. I’ll just see how things go. We won’t go too far for our first trip as I’ve never towed a caravan with a car but dragged a few trailers with a 3 ton van when I was working in roadside recovery .

[BRG75]

I'm sure you'll find it little different from pulling a long trailer, take corners with a little bit to spare, away from the kerbs.

Only thing I'll mention is coaches, and large lorries coming passed you on motorways.
They push air in front, and to the sides of them. The 'van might well be pushed a little to the nearside, before the car and van adjusts to the temporary wind tunnel effect.

Sounds a little worrying, but you soon get to anticipate it, in your off side mirror.

Of course, a 2017 'van will have a modern, and very good anti snake hitch.
Make sure your ball coupling is fully de-greased, if by chance you also tow other trailers.

Wish I was still caravanning myself.

Mike

[rovertone]

I used to tow regularly around the UK and to and from the Algarve with a similar weight van. I have an auto cdti with the 160 remap and and towing generally was a dream. I used to measure the noseweight to just short of the 100kg permissable and felt no need for spring assistance.

The only issue I had was overheating, (yes with a diesel) on long climbs in extreme heat in southern Spain, and also once on a very steep climb at home (Telegraph Hill nr Torbay).
I eventually found that the fan control box was faulty and the second speed was not kicking in but even when that was sorted, although not getting hot enough to drop into 'limp mode', I still had a close call in a hot long climb.

Although it is accepted that our diesels are slow to warm up, by using the onboard display I found that warm up with the van on the back was very fast.
One aspect that I did probably overlook was permitted towing weight which is quoted as 1600kg.
However when you read the small print you have to deduct the weight of other passengers and boot luggage etc. from this figure. So I was probably thinking I was OK pulling a loaded up van of say 1550 kg in actual fact I was exceeding the stated towing limit, albeit the towing figure is a calculation based on being able to comfortably start on a 1 in 8 gradient.

Generally it is advised to keep the van to within 85% of the car kerb weight or experienced caravanners can go up to 100% but never have van weight exceeding the car which I believe is illegal in any event.
I've added these comments to make you aware not to put you off! Without the excessive hills and temperature mixes towing with the car was a pleasure, even when I was probably a little overloaded! Enjoy your travels.

[patrolman pete]

Thank you both for your advice. I’m using my Connie diesel auto rather than my manual tourer so that I’m not suffering clutch anxiety lol !