Towbars and towing

[eltax91]

Hi all

I'm wandering dangerously into the caravaning world just now as i'm being gifted one to use for a year or two whilst the kids are small. I'm 35 years old so i'm on 3500kg towing limits. The car and van combination has a MAM of 3450kg so all good there. I would most likely tow it with my wife's Qashqai, as my Accord Tourer is an auto and i've read a few stories of owners suggesting the addition of an oil cooler is necessary so the auto box doesn;t suffer damage?

The qashqai is 1431kg kerb weight, so 85% of this is 1216kg, the caravan weighs 1200 in running order so i'm ok for the 85% recommendation (i know it's not a rule). The van is twin axle so i think this helps with stability? If i evenly load the personal effects between car and van then i should stay ok from a stability standpoint.

The question is, what towbar to get? As i'm inexperienced at towing i assume going for something that has anti sway etc in it? Is there any particular brand to go for? I don't know anything about caravans and brakes, I assume there's some form of weight switch in the caravan which applies the brakes when the weight transfers forward?

Any useful infomration about towbars or towing greatly appreciated.

[eltax91]

Sixpackpert said:

Get a witter towbar.

What age is the caravan and what chassis is it on?

The 'anti-sway' is usually built onto the caravan hitch and consists of friction pads that grip the towball.

The caravan brakes activate when the hitch compresses, ie you are braking. As the hitch compresses the brakes on the caravan are applied.

The caravan is a 1996 Swift Conqueror 550. It's in great condition as my father in law has used it for the last 5 years (in summer) in place of hotels when he works away 3-6 weeks at a time. He runs a small engineering firm and so they give it the going over regularly. I don't think this van has any anti sway feature in the tow hook though, the fella who tows it everywhere said "get a tow bar with anti sway".

[eltax91]

akirk said:

Even if you don't need a tow test - it would definitely be worth getting a lesson or two - towing is not as simple as it looks:
- reversing
- hitching up
- turning sharp corners
- stopping the caravan from snaking
- managing the extra width / length
- driving in urban settings
- motorways
- etc.

issues with caravans come from lack of experience / knowledge / ability
if you are taking young children, make sure you know what you are doing

If i get lessons i guess i might as well spend the £400 and pass the towing test! Lessons will surely come to half that for 3-4 hours

[eltax91]

velocemitch said:

I would double check the weight. These were a pretty big van. You need to try and make sure the maximum permitted weight of the van is lower than the cars kerb weight. Or %85 if you can.

The weight in working order doesn’t cover anything inside, such as pots and pans, crockery etc. You might expect another 200 kg at least for that.

The maximum permissible mass of the van is 1500kg. The kerb weight of the qashqai is 1431kg..... So the plated MAM of the van is ever so slightly more.

In reality the qashqai will have human beings and luggage in it, so will weigh maybe 1600-1700kg and the van will weigh less than 1400kg with the 200kg you suggest for personal effects? Still under the recommended 85% (1650kg x 85% = 1402kg)

[eltax91]

A.J.M said:

I would take your B + E test. I sat mine a couple of weeks ago. £350 all in for lessons and test fee.

It’s not hard to do, just common sense for a lot of it really. Then yup don’t have to worry about weights etc.

I would book soon as the company I used was booked through till mid July for getting tests sat. It may vary from location though.

Witter tow bar for the car. Unless Nissan have a good factory option you can find on eBay.

Whereabouts are you? I’m struggling to find it locally for sub £500

[eltax91]

WilliamWoollard said:

eltax91 said:

Whereabouts are you? I’m struggling to find it locally for sub £500

You have PM. I provide trailer training and can offer a PH discount.

Great. I’ll look out for the PM

[eltax91]

nxh66 said:

As someone said already the towing weights of the Cashcow are much lower than you may think.

Most are 1200-1400 range with some as low as 1000kg. More powerful diesels with 4wd can be up to 1800kg.

Yes. After a bit of research is seems I might actually end up with a bar on the Accord. It’s mam is almost identical (just a touch higher) to the cashcow but it’s tow capacity much higher.

[eltax91]

WilliamWoollard said:

eltax91 said:

Whereabouts are you? I’m struggling to find it locally for sub £500

You have PM. I provide trailer training and can offer a PH discount.

Your PM landed in my spam mailbox. Found it this morning and sent you an email directly.