Caravan Newbie in a panic- MTPLM - BMW530D M Sport
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Hi Easy, When looking for our first van it had to fit the car, due to the weight,or lack of it, that I mentioned.
i think the best way to describe it is to say that I would not buy a car just because it was good at towing my van.
On more than one occasion, in our early days of vanning, fellow caravanners have suggested that I should have a bigger car, as it would give me more scope in my choice of van, but we didn't want,or need, a bigger van and it suggests that I am not happy with what I have which is not the case.
However, things are different now with us having a Q5. This was chosen, over the A5 Sportback that I was considering, to retain a raised seating position.
Its still not the size vehicle that seems common on club sites, but we do have a lot more scope anyway should we wish to consider something heavier
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Found this info on Vin plates
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Hi Easy, When looking for our first van it had to fit the car, due to the weight,or lack of it, that I mentioned.
Not an option for me. I had a 1200 CC HC Viva estate which had been fine towing my light trailer tent (after I had replaced the oil pump and had the crankshaft reground so I could refit with new bearings). My first caravan bought in 1981 was a 5 berth Eccles Topaz an built like the proverbial outhouse - very heavy for its time. My F-in-L was trading in his Datsun 180B sedan which at 95bhp was suitable. I paid him the PX price and he got a better deal on purchase price. I towed with that for 11 years.
Then I got rid of the of the 20+ year old 5 berth in 1993 and bought a lightweight ABI Monza Supreme 3 berth. Much lighter to tow and was to tide us over until youngest daughter would stop coming away with us. By coincidence my F-in-L was again about to trade in a 1600cc Nissan Buebird hatchback which although only 82 bhp was ample for that van. Having made a deal on the 4 year old car my F-in-L gave it to us as a gift and I gave my Datsun to Eldest Daughter.
So roll on to 2005 and OH had moved in with me. I had given my previous caravan away it was dry, I had fitted electrics and it was a nice van. I was planning to give up work in 30 months time and we decided to buy a new caravan and towcar. The towcar was chosen as primarily a tow car as I still had my daily driver which was not likely to be able to tow any caravan that Fliss and I chose. I wanted one that would easily tow 1500kg. I decided on a few year old Nissan X-Trail 2.2 diesel. Eventually found a fantastic deal on a new X-Trail for at least £2,000 less than a 3 year old one and including paint seal and interior fabric treatment. Also found an Ex-demo Charisma 5.4
Fliss paid for everything as she had just sold her home after moving in with me.
This is a receipt to confirm that Felicity Haslam of 20 Highland Avenue, Aston Park has provided £31,000 to her joint account with me, Alan Taylor of the same address, this being the approximate purchase cost of a car and caravan.
The Car a Nissan X-trail is to be collected new on 22 August 2005 at a cost of approximately £19,000 to include the fitting of a tow bar.
The Caravan a Swift Charisma 540 is to be collected on 25th August at a cost of approximately £12,000 to include fitting of Tyrons, extra equipment and an extended warranty for years 4 and 5.
I undertake to repay Felicity Haslam half of the total approximate purchase cost of £31,000 on or before the last day of 2005. This being my half of the joint purchase of the above car and caravan which are our joint property.
This is also an agreement between us as to the ownership, which is to be held jointly between us.
Signed Date
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As per other advice, (I guessed the car age) I wouldn't personally want to tow this outfit. I have 25 years of experience.
Below is the info from the C.M.C tow car matching service.
BMW 5 Series 530d M Sport (2017)
Make BMW
Range 530d M Sport
Model 5 Series
Year 2017
Fuel type Diesel
Transmission type Automatic
Body type Saloon
Kerb weight 1715.00kg
Towing limit 2000.00kg
Gross vehicle weight 2345.00kg
Gross train weight 4355.00kg
Nose weight 90.00kg
BHP 265
RPM for maximum BHP 4000.00
Maximum torque 620.00
RPM for maximum torque 2000.00
Bailey Unicorn Series 3 Barcelona (2015)
Make Bailey
Range Unicorn Series 3
Model Barcelona
Year 2015
Type Caravan
Berths 4
Number of axles 2
MTPLM 1723kg
MIRO 1560kg
User payload 163kg
Hitch limit Unknown
Shipping length 7.92m
Overall width 2.28m
Overall height 2.61m
Body Length 6.37m0 -
I used to tow 1500Kg van with a BMW 320d but the real problem was the low nose weight limit of the car which was 50Kg as I remember. Made loading very difficult and if I hadn't been caravanning for around 20 years by then it would have been easy to forget about correct loading and get a really unstable van.
Since that car I've always looked for a car with the largest nose weight I can afford and then started looking at van weights. I now have a VW Touareg which, in all honesty, can tow just about anything but I still have a single axle van with MTPLM of 1500Kg as such vans have always been big enough for my family of 5, and easier to manoeuvre and setup on site being a single axle.
I'd suggest as a first time tower that the van/car combination you're looking at is not the best match and you need to be extremely careful how you load the caravan given the nose weight issue shown in the matching data you have.
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Yes, the Touareg is an excellent towcar, we traded in our, unfortunately, unreliable 10 year old Volvo XC 90 for a Touareg in 2017, got a great deal on a pre reg with 14 miles on the clock.
Kerb weight is around 2200kg and we tow an up-plated 2008 Sterling twin axle 1900kg MTPLM, much better than the Volvo. I have been towing since the early 70s.
We like the fixed bed and the home comforts as we used to do 4 months abroad each year, so when we got the Volvo, though we had a smaller van at the time, we went for something that could tow a large van.
I would agree that the OP's proposed combination is not ideal, and as a new tower he needs to be very cautious.
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I would give it a try with what you've got. You can always change the car if you feel at all uneasy about it. Stability of an outfit is dependent on so many variables that a simple weight ratio check is only a very small part of the whole story. Some outfits handle better at high weight ratios than others with more favourable ones so it's impossible to generalise. As I said I tow a heavier caravan with my car of roughly the same kerbweight and am perfectly happy with the combination, even under adverse towing conditions.
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The only problem with Lutz's suggestion is that if you are unhappy with the balance and towing of the outfit then you are probably looking to upgrade to a Discovery/Range Rover type vehicle. Would it not be more sensible to reduce the proposed caravan to a shorter single axle which will be easier to tow on our congested roads especially our narrow country lanes.
We also had two children but we managed perfectly well in our little Elddis before upsizing to a Challenger 440 as they grew.
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I’m inclined to agree, Mikey. When the car already exists and the caravan has yet to be bought, I think it’s best to buy a van to suit the car.
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I suspect that, being a twin axle, it should tow OK.
My car is a similar weight at 10 kg heavier. but has nearly half the HP at 136. With the claimed horsepower I would not consider the van as I would loose around 95 kg off the payload for battery and twin axle motor movers making it untenable unless a weight upgrade was available of around 40kg as a minimum even for us as just a couple.
In my personal situation because there is only 6.5 metres between the dropped kerb on my side of the road and the wall of the opposite property I am limited to 7m shipping length, maybe a tad more but not much. When I swing the caravan in on the motor mover I get to within 300mm of the opposite wall.
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"Not an option for me. I had a 1200 CC HC Viva estate"
Hi easy, Great post and we were about 10 years behind you getting a van, we were tenters till then.
My first vehicle, loaned to me by my boss, was a Viva van with no accelerator peddle, the throttle cable was tied to the steering column and had a 4 inch bolt at the end to operate it.
Our car when we decided to look for a van was a Audi 80 Sport with near 100k mileage.
All the vans we were able to afford were as you found, bloomin heavy and with glass windows and gas mantle lighting till an ex hire Avondale Perle Olympus turned up. It was very battered but the only thing we could safely tow and it did us for 4 years.
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My first vehicle, loaned to me by my boss, was a Viva van with no accelerator peddle, the throttle cable was tied to the steering column and had a 4 inch bolt at the end to operate it.
When of our early holidays was using a site above Matlock Bath. There were two ways to get there and one must have been a relatively steep narrow lane. It may have been only 1 in 10 I don't know. I do know that it was too steep for a HA viva van towing a caravan though. The driver had braked for an animal and with about 1056 cc and 44 BHP was never going to restart. I reversed out of the lane, drove a roundabout route and reversed down the lane to him we fastened on a tow rope and I assisted him up the hill. I think my instruction to him was along the lines of 'keep your engine revving and clutch in with first gear selected and when you feel the first tug let the clutch up and give it go - we wont be going fast'. I suspect that with the rear wheel drive I might have pulled the train weight as it was probably mo more than 2.5 ton for the two vehicle and caravan.
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Some fantastic experience on this thread, thank you for your contributions everyone.
So the VIN plate says gross train weight 4560kg and maximum allowable mass 2470kg = maximum towing capacity
So 4520kg - 2470kg = 2090kg
At the beginning I read all the threads and it worried me even more to the point of potentially calling the deal off and forgetting all about it, back to the once per year flight to the sun in a 5* hotel.
But speaking to a good friend and looking at the same van this is what we fancied, it matched our requirement. When cancelling the MCEA engineer we had a really good chat, the gentleman is past retirement age but still works as a MCEA engineer and a volunteer, not as he needs to be because with his volunteering he likes to help people.
Wow want a font of knowledge, he explained the risks between single axle and double axle and potential blow outs but lots of other things.
Looking at all the discussions, common sense, be legal, safe and following the rules the Bailey Barcelona is ok to tow, the BMW has the power and will not be over the 1810kg mtplm or is that now 2090kg based on the above equation?
Its legal, I need to be practical and keep to the speed limits, weights etc (not taking the kitchen sink).
So its time to relax and not over think this, start the caravan journey and learn but not the hard way.
I'm looking forward to making new friends, great family holidays and combining the caravan with sporting events and trips to Europe (if they let us in)
Alot of caravan choices are at everyone discretion / personnel choice etc.
I done lots of research, the choice is now made and I'm out of panic mode
Many thanks everyone
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