Towcar of the Year - Pick-Up Catagory
I note with interest the inclusion of a new class (Pick-Up Category) in the annual tow car competition. These vehicles are classed as LCV which for those who don't know means Light Commercial Vehicle. This addition causes me some confusion because in the Warranty section of my 2016 Lunar handbook it states that the caravan "should not be towed by a commercial vehicle". It fails to say why, and does not mention any consequences if towed by a commercial vehicle. It also fails to define 'commercial vehicle'. (At a guess it maybe something to do with commercial vehicles having stiffer suspension that may cause damage to the 'A' frame.)
I am not aware if this warranty statement is applicable to all makes of caravan, especially those fitted with an ALKO chassis.
For those with this type of vehicle it may be worth checking your caravan warranty.
Perhaps the Club staff could provide clarification and guidance on this subject. Maybe get an answer from ALKO to clarify what they mean by a 'commercial vehicle'.
Comments
-
Commercial vehicles historically had leaf/cart springs at the back which were considered a bit firm for a caravan's A frame. I wonder if my neighbour realises that his Hilux has cart springs at the back when he's towing his caravan 😕
0 -
I have attached two screenshots of statements from my 2016 Lunar Clubman handbook. One from chapter on Towing Code and the second from chapter on Chassis.
0 -
I can see that a vehicle designed to transport weighty cargo as opposed to a rear seat full of passengers with their normal luggage requires heavier duty rear springing, irrespective of the technology that suspension uses.
That "stiff rear end" will not be as compliant to the dynamic movements the van hitch inflicts on the tow vehicle, with the result of increasing the loads from those movements and the induced stresses in the van's chassis.
I used a "Shock-link" to attenuate this issue when using Land Rover 110s for towing caravans.
If the "pick-up" is purely a style vehicle with much the same load carrying as its base saloon it is not an issue, it is those with high load carrying suspension that cause this extra harshness to the van's chassis.
0 -
Swift don't seem to have a problem with Ford Rangers as seen on swift talk
ShaneWe do not allow commercial vehicles, which a transit van clearly is. A Ford Ranger is more of a passenger derivative vehicle although it is a bit of a grey area I agree, but we have to draw this line somewhere and we do allow these types of 4x4 vehicleAndy0 -
Whatever your, or my, opinion is regarding the definition of a 'commercial vehicle' it is the opinion of the caravan manufacturer that counts. As we all know in life any large company will 'quote the small print' when faced with a warranty claim.
All those pick-ups, maybe considered to be 'style vehicles', but they are officially classed as LCVs!!
Therefore commercial vehicles.
0 -
All relevant information on this subject has been sent to the Clubs Technical Department for advice. Hopefully they can contact the caravan and chassis manufacturers to get clarification regarding towing with LCV's.
I will post the responses here when I get them.
0 -
On the M11 last Thursday I saw a large HGV with 2 new twin axle caravans on board and a 3rd being towed. On our Journey back on Tuesday, again on the M11 I was doing 60mph and was overtaken by 2 Transit type vans towing new caravans the Vans (doing about 70mph) were sign written. it was the Marquis group
Maybe it only applies to the end user and not the caravan trade
0 -
Twin Cab or single Cab pickup trucks are most definitely commercial vehicles.
Any Mitsubishi L200's I've seen, have cart springs-------------.Even the trusted "Transit" style commercial vans have proper suspension. Towing a caravan with a vehicle with really hard rear suspension can, under poor road conditions put undue strain on the Caravan chassis.
I believe that CMC allow commercial vehicles on their sites, they never used to, but I'm sure that rule was relaxed.
K
0
