Towcar for Motorhome
Any ideas for car suitable to tow behind a motorhome? Needs to have space in back to take a dismantled electric disabled buggy. Plus any one have experience of using unibrake tow system?
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Comments
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I would start by considering the capabilities of the motor caravan to tow something.
The capacity of the rear axle and tyres to take the downward moment of the trailer; the capacity of the engine to start movement on a hill with trailer attached; whether a certified towbar is available for the underlying chassis and whether the motor caravan fitments leave space for the towbar to be added; the distance between rear axle and towbar (think leaving hump bridge), are all factors to look at closely.
That will give an indication of how large a car can be towed. Remember, while in UK it seems accepted if not totally legal to tow a car on its own wheels, a trailer will be required in other countries.
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Nav has summed it up. Towing with a MH can be a minefield of legalities and potential problems and he has mentioned most.
If you have an Alko extended chassis, that will add to the issues.
Check, too, the entitlement of your driving licence. See the club's driving licence info in the Advice and Training tab.
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There are a few on here with experience of towing a car with their motorhome so hopefully they will be along to offer their thoughts. I might be handy to give details of your outfit. Have you looked on YouTube? There are often useful videos on there that can help.
David
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I can't comment on the practicalities of towing a car, being a newcomer to motorhoming but as far as a suitable car for towing behind is concerned, I'd recommend a Corsavan. They are relatively small, light and whilst I appreciate that it's not strictly a car, having regard to your requirment to fit a dismantled buggy inside, you should be able to do that with ease. I get around 44-45mpg over a year so not expensive on the petrol either (Corsavan 1.2 petrol engine not diesel)
One possible downside is insurance. Be careful how and with whom it is insured. Most insurers regard it as a commercial van and rate it accordingly. However, Direct Line insure my Corsavan under their car policy for under £200 comp nil excess. When seeking an online quote, ignore the van question and select Corsavan on the dropdown car menu.
The only other possible pitfall I'm aware of it road tax which is payable at van rates and not car. For me, its worth paying the extra because I consider the van superior for my purposes to that of a car.
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I also tow a Toyota Aygo with no problems. The rear seats fold down which could help you with your load. You are probably looking for a so called city car, the Peugeot & Citroen equivalent to the Aygo, or the VW Up, which is also popular. The Hyundai i30 comes with a 1.2 litre engine for a bit more umph.
Have a look at the Tow bars for Tow cars website. They sell A frame converted cars to give you an idea and are very helpful, although booked up now until August I understand.
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The i30 is more medium sized. Did you mean the i10. The i30 has a kerb weight over 1400Kg. The lightest TOAD seems to be the Peugeot 108 at around 850Kg
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I do not tow a car but I have owned two of the vehicles mentioned above. I had an Aygo for 7 years and it was wonderful. My wife drove it along with our two sons. It was bought new as a 57 plate and in the 7 years suffered a leaky gasket on the water pump and an iffy glovebox catch. Super build quality.
This was traded in for a VW Up. These, as do Skoda Citygo and Seat Miu suffer from a clicky clutch pedal and that's about it. Super visibility, excellent on space for my 6' 4" mate, good in the back with seats folded and genuinely a big car feel and ride. This has stylistically aged better than the Aygo that has been blinged up and I would happily buy another.
Colin
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Have a look at the Tow bars for Tow cars website. They sell A frame converted cars to give you an idea and are very helpful, although booked up now until August I understand.
I second this company, got my second A-Frame from them fitted to a Suzuki Celerio. I looked at the Aygo but opted for the Suzuki it being a more roomier vehicle with a more suitable boot and a lower boot sill.The latter is important if you want to make lifting of heavy objects into a boot easier. The Celerio weighs about 850Kgms.
peedee
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Towbars2Tow have brought a whole feet of cars for sale to the Peterborough show. As an aside they are working on solving the problems of towing electric cars. I was told they are not quite there yet but they had one, a Peugeot 108, on show equipped with one of their frames. I couldn't get any more than that out of them.
peedee
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We have towed a Peugeot 107 behind our 2.3l Ducato based Dethleffs for 12 years, firstly with a Smart-Tow electronic system and later with a newer 107 using a Towmaster A frame. The later Towmaster is much easier to hitch up as the A frame is more adjustable and easier to set up.
The 107/C1/Aygo are great little cars to tow as they are light and with the back seats collapsed provide plenty of space for bulky items you can't get in the van. Our new 107 is zero road tax and we get about 60mpg. One piece of advice through - don't expect to be able to reverse more than a few yards and do fit a camera so you can keep an eye on the car while travelling. We also have a TyrePal tyre pressure system on the van and car as it is unlikely that you will detect a puncture on the car while towing. There is a good market for tow cars - we bought our first 107 in 2009 for £6,000 plus £1,500 for the A frame and sold it for £3,250 in 2020.
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