Towing vehicles

[David Peck]

I raise this subject with some trepidation. The last time I raised it in the old Yahoo forum it seemed to cause some strong feelings amongst members as to whether 4x4 vehicles were necessary to tow a cape cutter.

I hope to tow my cape cutter from the UK to Brittany and also Holland next year. I believe I need the option of 4 wheel drive when launching and retrieving on the slipways but have no intention of otherwise using the vehicle off road. For 95% of the time it will just be used for general car use and carrying boating equipment etc. I therefore believe that the minimum requirement for the "max vehicle towing weight" required is 2000kg. As a result I am looking to buy one of the following diesel powered vehicles (in current order of preference):

1. Honda CR-V (2000KG max towing weight)
2. VW Tiguan (2200kg max towing weight)
3. Toyota Rav 4 (2000KG max towing weight)
4. Nissan X-Trail (2200kg max towing weight)

Does anybody have any experience of towing a cape cutter with any of these vehicles or have any opinions as to their suitability?

Regards
David Peck
CC 94 "Whistling Rufus"

[Chris Wicks]

Hi David,

I can't answer you directly, but I am sure any of the vehicles you are considering would do a good job. I use a Suzuki Grand Vitara 2 litre petrol (2004 model). For me this vehicle is justified as I need it where we live in Greece with a lot of off road work. Regular visits to Uk in winter also make it a very reassuring vehicle crossing the alps etc.

I chose the Suzuki however as because it has low ratio transfer box giving fabulous pulling power up steep slipways and indeed my unmade drive to the main road. If you feel you need a 4x4 for a particular job of course it makes a lot of sense and for the important environmental issue of course the lowest CO2 emissions are the important factor in your choice, not how many driving wheels you have.

Chris Wicks
cc67 Kaliope

[Simon Head]

Hi

Although not one of the suggested vehicles.....

I tow with a Mitsubishi L200. Fantastic vehicle- selective 4WD- tows a Cape Cutter like a dream (3 tonne capacity) due to its long wheel base. Has full leather interior, 4 seats and a massive luggage area. I have been camping with a full 6 man tent, all the rest of the parafanalia of a camping holiday and with a Cape Cutter behind....

Also the road tax is only £180.00 per year as its a commercial vehicle.

I only use it for private use.

They are also pretty cheap motors.

Regards

Simon

[GRIMSHAW]

The experience of my CC19 colleagues at Rutland is that the RAV4 is a no no ; it may be powerful enough but it proved to be too light on a short trip up the A1 with the tail wagging the dog too much. The X-Trail which replaced it was fine. I use a Freelander Mk 1 ; perfectly adequate if a little underpowered and the auto gearbox tends to hunt. The Mk II would be a great improvement if a little pricey.

[Dennis]

Hello David

I tow a caravan about 3000 miles per year, much more than I tow my Cape Cutter. I am also a member of the "Caravan Club" and also the "Camping and Caravan Club". Both institutions spend much time advising on suitable car/caravan pairings. The point being that these clubs (each with about 100,000 members) are very experienced in this matter. The caravan I have towed for the last two years had a MTPLM of 1790 Kg and I reckon I was towing an actual 1750 Kg laden.

The caravan clubs advise that for safety, the ideal weight to tow is 85% of the kerb weight of the towing vehicle. Although they also state that under certain circumstances it is possible to tow up to 100% of the kerb weight of the towing vehicle. The circumstances take into consideration the towing experience of the driver, the type of vehicle, the trailer nose weight etc.
However they categorically state that under no circumstances should the mass being towed be greater than the kerb weight of the towing vehicle.

All this is no help whatsoever if you do not know the laden weight of your capecutter on its trailer. In my experience boat builders are (very) optomistic when stating the weights of their products. But I estimate that my capecutter loaded on trailer is producing an all up weight close to the 1800 kg limit of the trailer. This is based upon the performance of my car on hills (virtually identical with caravan or boat).

I have checked the kerb weights of the cars you are considering and came up with the following:

Rav4 1485 Kg
Tiguan 1510 to 1684 Kg (dependent on model)
CRV 1543 to 1660 Kg (dependent on model)
X-Trail 1637 to 1733 Kg (dependent on model)

Based on this the Rav4 is obviously too light and the others are maybe possible, but still near (or over) the recommended limit.

The car manufacturers stated towing limits are simply the mass that the car can restart on a 12% incline and do not represent a mass that can be towed with safety.

One of the big advantages of towing with a 4x4 is the ability to use the low ratio tranfers box for recovery up steep ramps etc. Unfortunately, none of your chosen vehicles has that facility.

For what it is worth, I tow with a Land Rover Discovery 3. Kerb weight 2,500 Kg, towing limit 3,500 kg. Needless to say, it is well up to the job. Flawless stability and recovery up steep slippery launching ramps is never a problem. In low ratio first gear I do not even have to use any throttle to pull the boat out of the water. The 800 mm wading depth of the car means I can also get the trailer well into the water to float the boat on/off.

My apologies for such a long rambling reply.

Cheers

Dennis

CC19 #100 Mary Ann

[David Peck]

Chris,

Thanks for your reply.
I had not even thought about a low ratio transfer box! Do you consider this necessary when launching/retrieving on a slipway especilly in say Brittany where they may be steeper due to the large tidal range?

Regards David Peck

[David Peck]

Hi

Although not one of the suggested vehicles.....

I tow with a Mitsubishi L200. ......
Regards

Simon

Simon,

Thanks for your information. This could, perhaps, be an option if were to use and tax an older one just for towing and keep it off road when not required.
Regards, David peck

[David Peck]

[quote="GRIMSHAW"]The experience of my CC19 colleagues at Rutland is that the RAV4 is a no no ;


Thanks for that information. A Rav4 is now definitely off my list!

Regards
David Peck.

[David Peck]

Hello David

I tow a caravan about 3000 miles per year, much more than I tow my Cape Cutter. I am also a member of the "Caravan Club" and also the "Camping and Caravan Club".......
CC19 #100 Mary Ann

Dennis,

Thanks very much for your trouble in giving such a comprehensive reply. As you have probably gathered, my experience in towing is zero.

You raise the question about a low ratio transfer box (also raised by Chris). In your experience, is this necessary?

Regarding weights of trailer and vehicle, I agree the towing weight of boat and trailer is likely to be around 1850kg indicating from the "Caravan Club" recommendations a much heavier towing vehicle is required. This will mean a combined weight of well over 3,500kg requiring a suitable licence group which is not automatically given to anyone passing their driving test after 1997 or renewing their licence after the age of 70 years. What do "Caravan Club" members do under these circumstances? Also there is the question of "Tacho requirements" becoming a possible issue. I was trying to look to the future in keeping the combined weight around 3500kg.

Regards
David Peck

[Dennis]

Hello David

There a number of strategies you can use to ease the situation.

First I would reduce the weight being towed by carrying as much in the car as possible, e.g. Outboard motor, anchor(s) warps, spare wheel etc.

I would also suggest that you take your boat/trailer to a public weighbridge and find out what it really weighs, I intend to do this with mine before the start of next season. Under no circumstances should you load it so that it weighs more than 1800 Kg. That is the plated capacity of the trailer and it is illegal to load beyond this figure.

With regard to the 3500 kg limit, in my experience most caravan owners are in the 50+ age bracket and have driving licenses which permit total mass in excess of this figure. However, it is possible to have a reasonable sized family caravan with a MTPLM of around 1300 Kg which requires a towcar of only 1530 kg kerbweight to comply with the 85% recommendation. This sort of combination is well under the 3500 kg limit.

The good news is that a Capecutter should be more stable than a caravan of the same weight. It will have a lower centre of gravity and less side area to be influenced passing HGVs etc.

I have recently replaced my caravan with a slightly smaller one (MTPLM 1600 Kg), which means my Capecutter is now the heaviest thing I tow. When I replace my Land Rover Discovery 3, I will probably downsize to a Freelander 2 (kerbweight 1775 Kg) in the interests of economy. Although I will miss the low ratio transfer gears.

It is not essential to have as low ratio box, but it does save wear and tear on the clutch when hauling out. I would suggest that if you buy a car without low ratios an automatic gearbox is a good idea.

You might struggle to find a good stable combination with a total rolling mass of less than 3500 kg.

Hope this helps


Dennis