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One of the factors that can make even a light caravan unstable is drag. The drag is on the upper part of the caravan, above the roofline of the car, which has the same effect as if you'd loaded all the weight at the back of the caravan. The result can be snaking and with a light FWD car that has little weight on the rear end anyway, it's quite easy to get into trouble. Keeping your speed down is the easiest way to help prevent it though. Go careful and you'll be okay. I bought a diddy caravan a while ago on the basis of it being light enough to tow with almost any car I have. It's a Freedom Microlite which tips the scales at 470kg (590kg gross). It's only a 9ft body but surprisingly roomy inside. Freedom Microlite is a nice caravan. I found even my old 1971 SWB Land Rover (2.25 diesel with Range Rover diffs) made for slow caravan pulling due to drag. On the other hand I did many tens of thousands of miles towing cars on a transporter around Europe without a problem, albeit slowly ! Paul h |
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mjd
Part of things
Posts: 46
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The car is circa 850 kg, possibly 50 kg more, and with occupants and luggage a fair bit more. the caravan is 580 kg unladen as in the opening post. You are of course correct. I may have managed to look up the weight of a K11 and then get the 8 and 5 mixed up in my head. Apologies  |
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Bracey
Part of things
Posts: 208
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Take care and I reiterate the general advice to take it slowly (although I doubt you will be able to do otherwise).
I can understand the need to introduce legislation regarding towing, but while you're allowed to tow a small caravan with your small car, I wasn't allowed to tow my parents average sized caravan with my LWB diesel Shogun. I passed my test after 1997 and because the total maximum allowable mass (MAM) of car and caravan exceeded 3500kg by a few kg it meant that I had to use a wheezy petrol Mondeo instead.
So instead of having a big, heavy, stable tow car with big tyres and brakes, low gearing and big wide mirrors that could see beyond the caravan, I had to put a lot of strain on a much less suitable car. Towing in the Mondeo felt a lot less safe and was more stressful to drive and keep on the boil.
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People are spoilt nowadays.. Think what people used to tow with tiny British tin back in the day! Fairly large(in comparison), sheet alloy or steel caravans , possibly unbraked, Behind something like a minor... The micra will be fine. And 1.0 is more than enough. Itll probably just drink quite abit compared to what your used to. And wont like hills. Just take your time  |
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I had what was probably a fairly typical 70's family holiday setup... my old Sprite Muskateer behind my Renault 16TS and it was remarkably good for an old combo. You actually had to watch your speed with the Renault as you would find yourself doing 80mph on the motorway if you didn't! It was very stable too with no swaying at all BUT the Muskateer looked absolutely HUGE on the back of the R16. I think it was quite a heavy van too. Ultimately I sold it as it was just too big to pull with most of my cars.
I don't think I'd want to tow ANY caravan with a small, light car now. The smallest car I'll pull the Microlite with will be my '62 Datsun Bluebird but although it's fairly small, is also very heavy (separate chassis and THICK steel!) so I think it's be slow but stable. The height of a caravan is a very important factor which is one of the attractions of the Microlite or a folding caravan. If you can keep it low and further out of the airflow over the car then even if it's heavy you won't have much issue pulling it. I have to say that the caravan in the OP looks quite tall!
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Also don't forget ya towing mirrors. This has become a bit of a VOSA target of late, lazy or uneducated holiday makers make good cash cows.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,542
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable. |
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Just go for it. Life is an adventure, think you might be in for a slow one though. Hope you gave a good time.
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Toyota mk3 supra. retro goodness.
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doobie
Part of things
Posts: 271
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Heard on the traffic news that there are long queues heading towards Yorkshire so I guess you must be on your way |
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People are spoilt nowadays.. Think what people used to tow with tiny British tin back in the day! Fairly large(in comparison), sheet alloy or steel caravans , possibly unbraked, Behind something like a minor... At a much slower speed, with much less traffic and without massive trucks going past at 60mph.... |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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So drive slower. And who cares about other trucks and other traffic? Worry about yourself. Everyone else can look after themselves.
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You want to tow a big van behind a small saloon and you don't care about massive trucks over taking you at 60mph? sounds like good advice....
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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I'm with popup on this one, there was a time you could crawl hills in your own time.
People are in such a rush these days you do have to make progress or it can get dangerous. Especially in a vulnerable unit like the Micra/Van set up.
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So drive slower. And who cares about other trucks and other traffic? Worry about yourself. Everyone else can look after themselves. Until the slipstream from that 'Massive Truck' sucks the caravan off course ... dragging the 'small' tow car with it ..... |
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Towing limits are based on what the car can physically pull, Not quite ... more to do with what they can stop ........ |
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well it made it, 170 miles in total, and didnt miss a beat...was a slow 170 miles though, as it wouldnt go over 40mph on some parts of the a19! definitely need to do it again though, it was a laugh!
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Good luck, it'll be fine, don't listen to all the 'experts' on here.
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Jul 10, 2013 21:39:44 GMT
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Here's some real inspiration for you from this very site...  |
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1995 Range Rover 4.0
1995 BMW 320i Saloon
1989 BMW 325i Touring
1991 Mercedes 300TE-24
1991 Mercedes 190e
1970 Sunbeam Imp Sport
1966 Valiant 200 Custom
1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Station Wagon
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Here's some real inspiration for you from this very site... That looks fightening ! Reminds me of pulling my first 2 door Range Rover on a plant trailer with my 740 Volvo. Enough power to tow but trailer and Rangie weighed far more than the Volvo so a nightmare drive home. 30 mph max - anything more and unstable. Brakes marginal. Rather than a few hours to get home it took most of a night and I fully accept I was stupid. When I bought my second 2 door Range rover I'd learnt my lesson and had it professionally moved despite having a brand new Nissan Pathfinder (mates) to tow. Paul H |
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