Pickup truck as towcar
As the title suggests - what do experiences do members have of towing their pride and joy with a Pickup Truck?
We currently tow with a nice Land Rover Discovery 3 
A few lifestyle changes now sees us requiring something like a pickup truck, preferrabley with a Truckman type top.
A fairly newish Isuzu D-Max looks a nice prospect. Then there's the Toyota Hi-Lux or even a Ford Ranger....
So what do you have?
Finally, some will see these as a 'commercial vehicles' - does the Caravan Club (or other independents) have any restrictions on visiting sites?
Comments
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Hi I run a Ford Ranger 2012 T5 in all honesty it's brilliant, the only downside is the length for parking once caravan's off, but this rarely bothers me, to be fair it towed our old Avondale last year brilliantly, it averages about 29 mpg with a lot of local
running, and towing doesn't affect it much, makes a brilliant family car as well the kids love the view, I had a old 55 plate ranger before, the new ones in a different league!0 -
The only downside is the stiffer suspension might be frowned on if you have a guarantee claim as most handboks warn against using commercial vehicles. Speaking to the engineer who services our caravan he did say that on the largest twin axles commercial
vehicles as tow cars can cause fractures to the chassis. A certain class of person using transits are the main sufferers which might cheer up some people reading this.0 -
Dave, there's no problem using a pick up on CC or C&CC sites. Commercial sites will, of course, make their own rules. I've heard that sites in N Ireland are reluctant to accept pick ups.
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I have an Isuzu Dmax Yukon Dave. I used to tug a 1.5Tonne Swift C/Van without issue. I still tug a 2Tonne Log trailer without issue, the Isuzu's can tug up to 3.5Tonne. I got around 29mpg towing & 43mpg solo driving. I've not had a single problem in 3+yrs.
I'm waiting for 2016/2017 to buy the 1.9ltr Isuzu. I'll stick with Isuzu, I like the truck, I like the fact its annual service(or 36k miles) too. There's plenty of them around & not expensive to run.0 -
They are all good tugs and load carriers as that is what they are designed to do, but they are all still a bit agricultural as they have to take a ton load to class them as a commercial vehicle for VAT & tax reasons, which gives them a very hard and bouncy
ride if you have not got a ton of cement in the back.They are also, as has been mentioned, very, very large if you are using them to pop to Tescos with.Towing a caravan with a pickup may also lead people to believe you hove from a certain roaming group of people that are not always welcomed with open arms.
However, they look great these days (particularly the Isuzu I think) and are very well equipped, and you can pretend you are all tough and macho and outdoorsy!
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SBF. . . .
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Both the hilux and the l200 before it have been fantastic tow vehicles.
Some sites consider them to be commercial but many don't. It's worth a call. We have had trouble once or twice trying to book private sites but both clubs do not discriminate
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What difference should the shape of the vehicle make ?????
A lot. Rock up in a DAF truck or Daimler Scout car and see what happens. More seriiously, it may be down to by-laws or insurance that no commercial vehicles are allowed on site as a customer (only ones on specific business related duties such as bin emptying etc. are allowed).
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If you give a site which says no commercial vehicles a call then more often than not they say pick ups are ok. They usually explain why the rule is in place and it's not got much to do with byelaws or insurance.
We've only been refused a few times. Always worth a call.
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What difference should the shape of the vehicle make ?????
A lot. Rock up in a DAF truck or Daimler Scout car and see what happens. More seriiously, it may be down to by-laws or insurance that no commercial vehicles are allowed on site as a customer (only ones on specific business related duties such as bin emptying
etc. are allowed).I saw a converted fire engine on my local site & one of the wardens uses what can only be described as an HGV tractor unit to tow his caravan. they also have a Smart 4-2/A Class (can't remember now) tucked up behind the cab ... how it's put there god only
knows.
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What difference should the shape of the vehicle make ?????
A lot. Rock up in a DAF truck or Daimler Scout car and see what happens. More seriiously, it may be down to by-laws or insurance that no commercial vehicles are allowed on site as a customer (only ones on specific business related duties such as bin emptying
etc. are allowed).I saw a converted fire engine on my local site & one of the wardens uses what can only be described as an HGV tractor unit to tow his caravan. they also have a Smart 4-2/A Class (can't remember now) tucked up behind the cab ... how it's put there god only
knows.Bet it had roof bars & they used them as carrying handles. Just picked it up & tucked it behind the cab!
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As the title suggests - what do experiences do members have of towing their pride and joy with a Pickup Truck?
We currently tow with a nice Land Rover Discovery 3
A few lifestyle changes now sees us requiring something like a pickup truck, preferrabley with a Truckman type top.
A fairly newish Isuzu D-Max looks a nice prospect. Then there's the Toyota Hi-Lux or even a Ford Ranger....
So what do you have?
Finally, some will see these as a 'commercial vehicles' - does the Caravan Club (or other independents) have any restrictions on visiting sites?
I have Hilux with a solid sided hard top (no windows) a steel blanking plate behind the rear glass So no one can see your gear when it is unattended, Ive also put a large shelf in the back which helps as everything isn't stuck on top of each other when
you come to get things out.I've had two that have been plylined and one with a plastic liner, I couldn't get on with the plastic liner as it was murder on the knees when getting stuff in and out, also stuff slid around like mad and there wasn't many places to tie to, with the ply
lining the floor is flat so stuff is easier to slide in and out , as I carry stuff in boxes I have fastened batons in to hold the boxes in place, A couple of lengths of shallow unistrut fastened back to front to the top of the tub are handy for attaching small
ratchet straps,The hitch is rated at 180kg for the noseweight , It carries a maxxraxx no problem, and tows a twin axle ok, Mine has front and rear parking sensors, which help a lot for parking.
Auto gear box is good on a hilux if you get an auto you get cruise control with it, handy on the motorway but gets the Nissan micras snarling when they are overtaking you and they die off on a hill and slow down and you keep on at the same speed.
They like a bit of weight in the back or they can be a bit harsh.
I've never had a word said at any site other than "nice truck". Or "I am stuck can you give me a tow"
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the later versions of all are more car like, you can change leaf springs to lighter aftermarket versions if you dont routinely carry heavy weight in load bed. Most are geared for towing as part of their design. good multi purpose vehicle. The latest Navara
is coil sprung at the rear now instead of leafs0 -
Having just returned from my first trip with my new Mitsubishi L200 I thought I would post some observations for anyone interested. The vehicle is a Challenger double cab, long bed with a 2.5 turbo diesel (172bhp) engine. The vehicle was supplied with a
Mitsubishi towbar and standard towball which I changed for an Alko and fitted to the lower of the two fixing holes, this gave a ride height of 445mm which was a bit high but after loading the back of the truck with an awning, bikes, water carriers etc. it
dropped 410mm which made the caravan nice and level when hitched.The caravan is an Abbey GTS Vogue 416 with an MTPLM of 1433kg and was absolutely effortless to tow, giving a comfortable ride and returning 23mpg over the course of the two hour journey (mostly dual carriageway). All legal speeds were reached quickly and
I was able to maintain speed up some fairly steep roads without the need to constantly change gear. Manoeuvring was also easier than expected, probably due to a higher ride height and excellent rear visibility.On the negative side, when driving solo the vehicle makes a little less sense, unladen the ride is a little bouncy and fuel economy is only around 38mpg in normal day to day driving. Also given the size of the vehicle, there is frustratingly a lack of storage
in the cab. Parking, although not particularly difficult is made more challenging because it is hard to gauge where the back of the vehicle is without getting out, but this is becoming easier with practice and supermarket spaces are easy enough if you reverse
in, although the vehicle does overhang the space by around 300mm. However for me the benefits of the extra confidence and convenience when going away more than make up for any negatives.0 -
..... and supermarket spaces are easy enough if you reverse in, although the vehicle does overhang the space by around 300mm. ....
I find it's easier to nick enough of the left hand space such that nobody wants to park next to me
..... obviously on the far
side of the car park away from the store0 -
Parking, although not particularly difficult is made more challenging because it is hard to gauge where the back of the vehicle is without getting out, but this is becoming easier with practice and supermarket
spaces are easy enough if you reverse in, although the vehicle does overhang the space by around 300mm.I've got an Isuzu D-Max, got the model with the rear view camera, which is brilliant for parking etc as you can see exactly where the back is... also makes life easy for hitching up, as I can see exactly where the towball is!
I personally love the pickup, even if it is slightly mad as a day to day vehicle!
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