Do I need a new tow car?
Hi all,
Were hoping to get a caravan, were trying to figure out if we should go for a new tow car or not.
I want to make sure the car has enough power, and feels heavy/stable enough. We only need a 4berth fixed bed, but finding it hard on weight.
But it will also be our main car as well, so not overly thirsty! (BMW is amazing on fuel! i know we will use more when towing)
we currently have:
BMW 318d touring
kerbweight 1571kg
85% 1335kg
148 bhp
Torque 236 lbs
Towball 75kg
Im worried that yes, although this car can tow on paper, its going to be underpowered?
We have been looking at a passat estate or tiguan, but im not sure if these will give us much more than we have?
I think the passat estate weighs a little bit less than the bmw, so towing weight will decrease but it has more power?
VW Passat 2.0
Kerbweight 1541kg
85% 1309kg
148 bhp
Torque 250.78 lbs
Towball 90kg
Or a Tiguan 2.0 tdi Rline
Kerbweight 1655kg
85% 1416kg
138 bhp
Torque 236lb
Towball 100kg
even though the Tiguan could tow heavier (higher kerb weight) will it be underpowered only been 140bh?
Sorry for the very long post, its just a lot of money for usa nd i want to make sure we dont make a costly mistake, so doing loads of research before :0
We havent yet decided on caravan we will have a budget of about 7k for our van.
Comments
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First off welcome to the wonderful world of caravanning! Now onto the nitty gritty. The 85% weight ratio is simply a recommendation and has no 'weight' (deliberate pun) in law and Sur le continent is Unknown. However as a novice I wouldn't go too high but
do not get hung up on a few percentage points. I defy anyone to tell the difference in weight between say, 85 and 89%. There are many other factors that contribute to safe towing not least of which a towing course is in my opinion almost essential. Weight
location and balance front/rear and side/side, nose weight, correct tyre pressures, etc all contribute to safe stress free towing. However before doing anything You need to check if the Beemer is type approved for towing, not all BMW's are....... I am a VW
fan and both the Passat and Tiguan are available with a 170/177 hp engine and with 4 wheel drive too. I have just bought a Passat Alltrack and will be towing at 93%. I would also caution against relying too much on the CC matching
service, I and others often find errors with the data. Try Towcar which has numerous reviews too. So, check the Beemer out first and happy hunting.0 -
Hi
Struggling to find 170/177 bhp in my budget, does it make such a big diff to the 148bhp?
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My towcar is a touch lighter than yours - and I'm towing a 1400kg 4 berther fine. Just done a 300mile round trip with no problems whatsoever.
I did get it remapped though, and it has helped. From 142 to 192bhp (plus loads more torque). MPG has gone up by about 10% when towing as well.
BigFishTuning, in Stokesley. Not a million miles from where you are I think. £250 ish.
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Weight, and torque output of your Beemer are similar to my 2WD Kuga which has the 134BHP engine. I pull 1350Kg Abbey Vogue 470 without any issues. The only thing my Kuga has over your Beemer is noseweight and a shorter overhang. It'll do the job for you
and you can review changing later if you feel like it.0 -
Thank you so much for all your helpful replies. I would prefer to not change the car, however im worried about not having a spare wheel in the BMW run flats were removed and a full set of "normal" tyres put on.
I do have full breakdown so I presume if something happened they would tow the van and load the car up? (must check)
We did like the luna Ultima 540 but with a MTPLM of 1495kg its out of reach
Its such a hard process finding the right tow car with enough capacity to pull something heavier, without opting for the gas guzzling 4x4 which are not ideal for a familys everyday car
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"Its such a hard process finding the right tow car with enough capacity to pull something heavier, without opting for the gas guzzling 4x4 which are not ideal for a familys everyday car
"
Check out some 4x4s, CH, and you could be surprised. They are not all gas guzzlers - it's a myth. They are mostly superb tow cars and can make good family cars. Don't close your mind to them.0 -
True I should check them out. Our budget for car is about £17k but it needs to be econonmical to run everyday. I would ideally like it to tow at 85% 1400kg - Seems impossible. I only drive auto so i am a bit obsessed about the gearbox (one reason i love
BMW smoothest auto box ever used) And i dont want to go older plate - currently 2013.0 -
... but it needs to be econonmical to run everyday. ....
I supposed it depends on what you consider to be economical but IMHO an economical everyday car isn't going to make a tow car ..... there'll need to be a compromise somewhere. My towcar tows fantastic, but economical it ain't, but for a 2.3 tone 4x4 I think
it ain't bad, ranges from 21/22 towing to 34/35 if you driving it like Mother SuperiorAgree re the auto though
(not driven a BMW's though)0 -
See, this is exactly what I meant when I said the 85% ratio would put people off / make them overly worry.
I'm brand new to towing, and I'm towing 93% if you believe the guidance. But in reality, my caravan, fully loaded with everything is 1340 and not its potential max of 1400
And my tow car with just me in it, is a lot more than it says on paper. 1550 ish vs 1505kg. So instead of being 93%, I'm actually more like 86%
And then I add a fair chunk to the car when we're actually towing by putting a wife, child and Stuff in it.
It tows as steady as you could imagine.
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I cant understand why you need so much power to pull relitivly light caravans .When I started caravaning we used to pull a Sprite Major with an A60 Yes 60 BHP.The caravaning press said my 90 BHP Picasso was underpowered to pull my Sprite Alpine 2 .What a
load of rubbish it was an excellent tow with good MPG.0 -
I cant understand why you need so much power to pull relitivly light caravans .When I started caravaning we used to pull a Sprite Major with an A60 Yes 60 BHP.The caravaning press said my 90 BHP Picasso was underpowered to pull my Sprite Alpine 2 .What a
load of rubbish it was an excellent tow with good MPG.You don't NEED so much power, but it's nice to have it. You towed with an Austin A60 .... what weight was your caravan? And you weren't exactly going to break any speed records either with or without a caravan in any of the Austin Morris variants
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Thanks for all your help, suppose we will have to have a good think, everytime we find a caravan we like there over 1400kg!
lexon 1425kg
eccles 570 1457kg
need to do some thinking!
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Can recommend a Ford Galaxy, kerb weight of +1800kg so will tow bigger vans within the 85% guidance and the standard 140bhp 2.0 diesel is plenty powerful enough towing our 1600kg van. Great fuel economy solo and towing and and added bonus of huge luggage
space with 3rd row seats down and van like proportions with 2nd and 3rd row seats down. A real flexible family car and great to tow with.0 -
I used to tow with a 320d touring and have to say it was probably the best tow car I've had. As long as I kept the noseweight to 75kg towing was effortless and very stable. Used to be good on diesel too, i got around 30-35mpg towing and i assume the 318d
may be slightly better. I realise that the 320d has more horsepower and torque than the 318d but the passat I use now has 140bhp and 236lb/ft torque which is pretty much the same as the 318d and that easily pulls my sprite major 1336kg fully laiden. The only
thing about the BMW was that the boot is quite small for an estate, which was a pain when we were packing for a fortnight. I would stick with what you've got personally unless you decide on a heavy van.0 -
Thank you so much for all your helpful replies. It can quickly become a very very expensive hobby/holiday!
Not sure which way we will go with it all, its so stresfull deciding on car/caravan/cost/weights
We will own the car outright but will need to finance the van, then taking into account monthly repayments, insurance, servicing then site fees, feeling quite overwhelmed with it all.
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Stressful?! Crikey, I never found spending money, planning a hobby, holidays stressful....its earning the money and seeing all the tax I pay on it that creates stress! Get on with it and enjoy, you can't take it with you.....
I find spending money quite stressful. All the research, testing and then the unknown as to whether you've spent your hard-earned money correctly.
If only everyone else was the same, maybe we wouldn't have the debt crisis we have today.
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I would say you're fine with the car you've got, especially if you look at the lighter caravans - eg sprite.
We towed a 1330kg sprite major 4 with a 1.9tdi towcar 105bhp and that was a bit sluggish up hills (3rd gear sometimes needed).
Now I have a VW passat 140bhp (so similar to your 318d) and tow a 1500kg sprite major 6TD. I did discount the 3 series on weight (not power), so personally would cap your search at 1400kg with your current car.
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Back to the basic question. I tow a Bailey Ranger Series 6 GT 60, in theory a 4 berth as it has a fixed double bed and the dining area which makes a double or 2 small singles, MPTL 1360 kgs. My tow car is a VW Tiguan 2 ltr TDI 138 bhp 4 motion. Currently
in Italy (waiting for the sun to shine!) and have done a number of long continental trips. Excellent combination and I get about 45 mpg solo and 30 towing. Some will say that the 160 bhp engine is a better one for towing; maybe, but I find mine to be fine.0 -
Completely agree about the Tiguan the gearbox delivers loads of torque and it is no gas guzzler! Have to say finding the right van/car combination is not simple, it tok us ages but the Tiguan pulls my 2009 Lunar Freelander dead easy!
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I am towing with a 320d bmw 2007 towing a bailey unicorn Valencia 2015 had no problems with it pulls well even up hill
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I've been towing a Venus 540/4 with a BMW 320d and it's been pretty easy and pretty economical. However, it has over time pretty much destroyed the rear suspension and the car let me know by spectacularly failing its MOT! Something to be aware of.
I've now got and X1 18d and will be towing for the first time soon (just had the tow bar fitted). I'm expecting it to be a little better on stability - and the 320 was good - slightly less so on power - but on that the 320 was very good. On the other hand
it's a more modern efficient engine so I may not notice too much.
So to sum up, your 318 Estate should be fine, but keep an eye on your nose weights and check the trailing arms/springs for excessive wear.0
