Motorhomes towing cars
I really cant understand why people buy a moterhome and tow a car behind it, and then set there moterhome up for the week as a caravan I must be missing something, if I was touring abroad or round Britain and only stopping a couple nights then i could really see why people would choose a moterhome. europe seems more set up for them than Britain ie parking ect I noticed round east devon this time moterhomes were not welcome on car parks i wonder if thats why they tow cars because there is less parking availble for them I will probably come in for some stick from people for this article but surely the idea of a moterhome is so you dont have to tow in the first place
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Never done it myself but I can see some attraction. It gives flexibility. A couple I know tow a small car behind and if necessary they can unhitch and drive both between them (helpful when roads get narrow or go to stay at remote places/camp sites a car and caravan can't go!) They can of course park motorcaravan up on site and drive the car or even take the motorcaravan out for the day taking with them all the comforts required.
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It has advantages and disadvantages. If your MH is big you will be restricted on where you can take it and a toad is useful.
Why tow a car instead of a cvan? For one thing it's a lot easier to tow a small car behind what is effectively a commercial vehicle than it is to tow a large slab sided box behind the family car.
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It has advantages and disadvantages. If your MH is big you will be restricted on where you can take it and a toad is useful.
Why tow a car instead of a cvan? For one thing it's a lot easier to tow a small car behind what is effectively a commercial vehicle than it is to tow a large slab sided box behind the family car.
Write your comments here...to me it's just the large slab towing the car no differece
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And I understand from one MH tower that you cannot reverse with tow car behind - I wouldn't like that much! If the MH is big enough to tow a car surely it isn't going to get to any sites a caravan can't get too? I know someone who once said "they only
have motor homes as they couldn't cope with a caravan!" Not my words but I do wonder sometimes!
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There are all sorts of reasons for doing it and not doing it and our needs and reasons can change over time. We've towed a caravan with a car, towed a car on a trailer (very reversible, Pippah) with a largish MH, and now travel solo with a smaller MH.
As ever, it's what suits the individual.
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We tow a car behind our motorhome, we also tow a trike on a trailer, we have 2 ebikes aswell. The answer I will give the OP is that it depends where we are going, what time of year it is, how long a trip we are going to be away for. We go away for anything
between 1 day and 3 months. Sometimes we use just the motorhome0 -
We are considering a MH in the future. We don't do bikes, and do like to explore, so would likely want to take our Smart car with us.
I think if abroad, moving on frequently, we could do without it, but in UK, where MH parking is poor, or if planning longer stays, we would take the car.
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We tow a car behind our motorhome, we also tow a trike on a trailer, we have 2 ebikes aswell. The answer I will give the OP is that it depends where we are going, what time of year it is, how long a trip we are going to be away for. We go away for anything
between 1 day and 3 months. Sometimes we use just the motorhomeas TG says.....you can use the motorhome without towing the car.....cant use a caravan without a car....
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I am with the op on this I cannot for the life of me understand it. It makes no sense to me whatsoever and merely defeats the object of a MH. I have had vans and motorhome and can see the benefits and pifalls of both but towing a car behind a MzH is in my
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I can see the need to consider towing a small car if somebody has a large Tag Axle motorhome or an American RV. ---- Make perfect sense.
I cannot see the need for anybody with anything smaller needing to tow a car.
Smaller Coachbuilt Motorhomes and PVC's are able to be used every day to tour, shop and visit surrounding places of interest.
K
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As has already been said, we don't need to understand it as it makes perfect sense to those who do it. It matters not if we think it ridiculous or can't see the point, it suits them and that's the only thing that matters.
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Thanks Tinwheeler, totally agree, I have said it before on similar posts, personal choice! And yes we do tow a smart car worth its weight in gold. We also have the flexibility of taking the van on its own and taking van with bikes. With or without
tow car setup on site is minutes, storage of every conceivable item needed for any length of holiday is stored in the van all the time ready to go. The Smart is very cheap motoring once on site. And during the 47 weeks of the year when we have to go to work
we don't need a car that's suitable to tow a caravan. We wouldn't judge other members for choosing a caravan and a tow car, or a PVC or anything else, each to their own0 -
Thanks Tinwheeler, totally agree, I have said it before on similar posts, personal choice! And yes we do tow a smart car worth its weight in gold. We also have the flexibility of taking the van on its own and taking van with bikes. With or without
tow car setup on site is minutes, storage of every conceivable item needed for any length of holiday is stored in the van all the time ready to go. The Smart is very cheap motoring once on site. And during the 47 weeks of the year when we have to
go to work we don't need a car that's suitable to tow a caravan. We wouldn't judge other members for choosing a caravan and a tow car, or a PVC or anything else, each to their own....another really valid point....
for those who wish to use a largish caravan, there will need to be a commensurately largish, and expensive when new, towcar.
no doubt, these large cars cause issues themselves when driven solo as 'shoppers'.....
so, what next? get a small car as well, because the towcar insnt suitable for some types of driving, or indeed, some types of driver.....perhaps partners with less experience/confidence in a large vehicle..
we had a largish German estate car that, no doubt, would have made a great towcar, but OH found it just too unwieldy to pop to the shops....so, as there was just the two of us, and we only needed one car, we 'found a new home' for the Audi and we now run
a tiny Fiat 500....cheap as chips to run....we dont tow a car on our van, but if we wanted to, it would be ideal...
however, those who tow, have their towcar (to a degree) determined by their caravan.....and many have large vans....so, unless there is another car in the family, the large towcar has to be run (along with its large costs)...all year....
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ISTM to get a comparable amount of space in a MH to any caravan other than the smallest two berth caravan then makes the MH of sufficient dimensions to require a toad for pottering about. Setting up a MH is clearly quicker. There are pros and cons of both
routes and individual evalutations of the relative pros and cons will always differ.0 -
ISTM to get a comparable amount of space in a MH to any caravan other than the smallest two berth caravan then makes the MH of sufficient dimensions to require a toad for pottering about. Setting up a MH is clearly quicker. There are pros and cons of both
routes and individual evalutations of the relative pros and cons will always differ.I reckon you need to allow about 1.5m of length in a MH for the engine/dash etc....
a 7.5m MH will have roughly the same interior space as a caravan that has an internal length of roughly 6m....
however, that 7.5m MH doesnt need a 5m towcar to pull it, making the car/caravan unit (incl drawbar) roughly 12m....
IMHO, its the width of a MH (not just the length) that that can sometimes make it feel unwieldy, hence the popularity of the 'slimmer' versions....also the side effect is lighter MTPLM.
The main nub of this thread is whether the vanners feel the need for additional transport.....some manage with just the van (continentals do this all the time, in their opinion, thats what the MH is for....) some use bikes/electric bikes/scooters, and some
choose to tow a small car......either using an A-frame or a trailer...the thing with a MH is that there are a number of ways of 'doing it', each a personal preference.....
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When we were working we both needed cars, so we had a caravan, OH had the tow car I had a medium sized car. OH worked miles away so drove my car, while I worked locally. This arrangement worked well as we were able to keep both cars within reasonable annual
milage. After we retired 2years in fact, we realised we didn't need 2 cars, but didn't want to run around locally in a large tow car. Hence we moved to a motorhome and small car. The last 3 years it has worked well for us with what we have been doing, haven't
ruled out going back to a caravan in the future but it won't be a huge van, motorhoming has taught us we don't need one.0 -
Nice post, TG..
..similar experience to us with the (number and size of) cars situation...
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To me the motorhome is ideally used for touring (wild camping) not for towing a small car, and also used for the continent stopping one or two nights. I cannot see the point of a car behind a motorhome. Why not buy a a 4x4 and a caravan.
...I think you need to read the thread , that question has been answered more than once
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is touring in a MH 'wild camping'?....i didnt know that.
surely, touring is touring....whether in a MH or car/caravan.
we have stayed at some places just a single night and others for weeks....just as a caravanner might....no real difference as far are we can see...
yes, on the continent, stopping and parking is easier in a MH, but this doesnt dictate how we tour....rather, the other way round as we just feel the MH supports the way we like to tour.
in the uk, i think its a great idea to tow a car, a much more stable set up than a car/caravan i would have thought.
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I suppose it can seem a strange to a caravanner ( and I used to be one) seeing a motor home towing a car. Whilst I have not done that it must be easier than towing a caravan which I did for thirty years. With a motor home you have the freedom to choose whether
you go solo or with the car, an option not open to a caravanner.David
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To me the motorhome is ideally used for touring (wild camping) not for towing a small car, and also used for the continent stopping one or two nights. I cannot see the point of a car behind a motorhome. Why not buy a a 4x4 and a caravan.
...I think you need to read the thread , that question has been answered more than once
These are my views.
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To me the motorhome is ideally used for touring (wild camping) not for towing a small car, and also used for the continent stopping one or two nights. I cannot see the point of a car behind a motorhome. Why not buy a a 4x4 and a caravan.
Towing on the continent can only be done if the car is on a proper trailer. Most countries do not allow towing on an A frame but do have far better facilities for motorhomes which may make the car unnecessary.
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would the cost of hiring a car for the days you are away be cheaper than towing to your destination ,and the additional cost of buying a trailor or having the car modified ???
Haven't done enough motorhoming yet to say wether we would tow a car or not, probably not ,as we aim to tour and only stay a couple of nights in that area,
But i can see why some do and some don't
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