Motorhome for towing a race car?

[Edmundo2]

I posted in here recently about using a T5 to tow a race car however I'm now contemplating a motorhome as the family seem to like the idea of using it to get away outside of race weekends..

So my question is what should I be looking for?
I need,

- 4 berth with 4 belted seats,
- rear wheel drive is better for towing?
- 3500kg to drive on normal licence
- tows race car/trailer of around 1600kg combo
- can't be huge as parked in single width drive
- as compact as poss but fitting the above.
- as good as can be for about £30k

My thoughts were something like this could fit the bill.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354935954838?hash=item5...

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Ed

[Yazza54]

I really don't know what people's fascination is with T5s, I think they are garbage.

I know you want something that can be driven on a normal licence but the 7.5t licence is easy and not too expensive, would open up a lot of options.

I think the main thing for me would be make sure you get something with plenty of grunt. Loading everything up and towing your race car all over the country is draining enough as it is at times without doing it in something that won't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

[Edmundo2]

Yazza54 said:

I really don't know what people's fascination is with T5s, I think they are garbage.

I know you want something that can be driven on a normal licence but the 7.5t licence is easy and not too expensive, would open up a lot of options.

I think the main thing for me would be make sure you get something with plenty of grunt. Loading everything up and towing your race car all over the country is draining enough as it is at times without doing it in something that won't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

I wasn't stuck on a T5 but merely meant a camper of that ilk, ( movano etc ). Original thinking is they could be had for around £20k and weren't too big. However if the family are keen then by upping the budget to £30k a small motorhome is an option. As mentioned I don't really want to go above the 3500kg as they tend to be bigger so my question was whether a Motorhome as in the link would be suitable?

Cheers

[Yazza54]

I'd imagine it would be suitable, hard to say how it would tow. I used to borrow a friend's 2.2 transit but it was a shorter wheelbase camper rather than a full blown motorhome, that thing probably weighs a ton more.

What kinda car will you be towing?

A few people I race with have the citreon/fiat type motorhomes 2.3 turbo diesel, under 3.5t that they tow with, but our cars are 470kg and they use fairly lightweight trailers.

Edited by Yazza54 on Wednesday 30th August 06:51

[Edmundo2]

Potentially looking to tow a Hillman Imo race car in an Eco shuttle or similar...likely to be around 1500/1600kg combined..

Cheers

[Yazza54]

Edmundo2 said:

Potentially looking to tow a Hillman Imo race car in an Eco shuttle or similar...likely to be around 1500/1600kg combined..

Cheers

Probably be ok, I've seen another people towing similar weights with similar vehicles. Must be someone on here with some first hand experience.

My only thought on the licence was you could go for something in-between a full on motorhome, like a bigger camper on a larger van platform. I've seen 5 and 6.5T camper converted iveco vans come up for easily half what they want for that transit and externally they aren't actually any bigger really. Just built on a heavier duty platform.

[adsvx220]

Take a look at the Roller Team Zefiro Sport. I have one on order mainly for karting due to the huge garage. Sits on a Transit chassis and can tow 1500-1600kg with the manual gearbox.

[ribiero]

Yazza54 said:

I really don't know what people's fascination is with T5s, I think they are garbage.

I know you want something that can be driven on a normal licence but the 7.5t licence is easy and not too expensive, would open up a lot of options.

I think the main thing for me would be make sure you get something with plenty of grunt. Loading everything up and towing your race car all over the country is draining enough as it is at times without doing it in something that won't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

Love my T5, driving it feels like driving a tall Passat
used to tow to track with a V70 which was fine, but T5 is a step up, you feel the trailer less and both easily have the power.

[Mikey G]

I'm in a similar situation to you but with half the budget, not a racecar but would like to do trackdays next year with my kit car so only a lightweight trailer needed. I also need a large underbed garage space for tyres and tools but the tyres could go on the trailer if needed. I would like it to be off grid also and minimum of a toilet is a must due to health issues from cancer treatment, I dont like to be caught short with nowhere to go

Having lots of previous towing experience I would say the main issue with a typical motorhome would be the rear overhang from the rear axle with heavier towball loads so trailer balance could be more critical. Could make the front end of the tow vehicle a little lighter if not set right.

I'm looking at a typical panel van conversion for my camper in particular the Ducato/Boxer/Relay as the LWB versions seem to have less rear overhang from the wheels to the back which also helps with my layout reducing the wheelarches into the living space design. I'm not too bothered about the FWD layout as I feel the only advantage with RWD will be on soft grassy paddocks.

You see plenty of motorhomes towing smaller cars and trailers but what would the weight plating be on a coachbuilt motorhome and the calculated MAM?

[tedblog]

Edmundo2 said:

I posted in here recently about using a T5 to tow a race car however I'm now contemplating a motorhome as the family seem to like the idea of using it to get away outside of race weekends..

So my question is what should I be looking for?
I need,

- 4 berth with 4 belted seats,
- rear wheel drive is better for towing?
- 3500kg to drive on normal licence
- tows race car/trailer of around 1600kg combo
- can't be huge as parked in single width drive
- as compact as poss but fitting the above.
- as good as can be for about £30k

My thoughts were something like this could fit the bill.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354935954838?hash=item5...

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Ed

If you are going to tow a 1600Kg trailer you,ll be over 3500kg anyway? But not sure if the licence is an issue.
Some motorhomes can be replated to over 4000kg and obviously still the same size, cheaper Ved too.
Some motorhomes only have a 1200kg max tow capacity so do your research before you buy .

Edited by tedblog on Thursday 31st August 09:09

[nagsheadwarrior]

Any 3500kg Fiat/Peugeot Clone will tow a minimum of 2000kg and the engines will map up fine for more than the factory 130
The transits like the Burstner were normally 140 and share the Peugeot engine loosely
Rwd might tow a little better but tend to be the iver 3500kg vans as a rule
Fitting a towbar is expensive and specialist on a voachbuilt so bonus if you can find one already done

[nagsheadwarrior]

ps- Those Nexxo are decent, motorhome depot are just a broker who sell vans for private sellers and add their £2k plus commission to the price they give the private seller while offering nothing to the buyer to speak of in return so treat anything as a private sale, make sure you damp check the van yourself with a meter, don't trust the seller, broker or even a recent habitation report, tho tbf Burstner of that age are less likely to be damp than a lot of others but you do see it still.
Shorter the overhang the better for towing behaviour

[r3g]

Edmundo2 said:

I posted in here recently about using a T5 to tow a race car however I'm now contemplating a motorhome as the family seem to like the idea of using it to get away outside of race weekends..

So my question is what should I be looking for?
I need,

- 4 berth with 4 belted seats,
- rear wheel drive is better for towing?
- 3500kg to drive on normal licence
- tows race car/trailer of around 1600kg combo
- can't be huge as parked in single width drive
- as compact as poss but fitting the above.
- as good as can be for about £30k

My thoughts were something like this could fit the bill.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354935954838?hash=item5...

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Ed

When did you pass your car test and do you have any other entitlements? If it was after 1997 then you could well be limited to 3.5 t GVW (includes trailer) which means you're not going to be towing 1.5 tonne of car trailer with a van unless you do your C1E.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

[tedblog]

nagsheadwarrior said:

Any 3500kg Fiat/Peugeot Clone will tow a minimum of 2000kg and the engines will map up fine for more than the factory 130
The transits like the Burstner were normally 140 and share the Peugeot engine loosely
Rwd might tow a little better but tend to be the iver 3500kg vans as a rule
Fitting a towbar is expensive and specialist on a voachbuilt so bonus if you can find one already done

They might be able to tow a minimum of 2000kgs, but check your gross train weight as most will only let you tow up to 2000kgs.

[tedblog]

nagsheadwarrior said:

ps- Those Nexxo are decent, motorhome depot are just a broker who sell vans for private sellers and add their £2k plus commission to the price they give the private seller while offering nothing to the buyer to speak of in return so treat anything as a private sale, make sure you damp check the van yourself with a meter, don't trust the seller, broker or even a recent habitation report, tho tbf Burstner of that age are less likely to be damp than a lot of others but you do see it still.
Shorter the overhang the better for towing behaviour

Definitely get a habitation report, i would never let Jo Public loose with a damp meter in the van.

[WilliamWoollard]

r3g said:

Edmundo2 said:

I posted in here recently about using a T5 to tow a race car however I'm now contemplating a motorhome as the family seem to like the idea of using it to get away outside of race weekends..

So my question is what should I be looking for?
I need,

- 4 berth with 4 belted seats,
- rear wheel drive is better for towing?
- 3500kg to drive on normal licence
- tows race car/trailer of around 1600kg combo
- can't be huge as parked in single width drive
- as compact as poss but fitting the above.
- as good as can be for about £30k

My thoughts were something like this could fit the bill.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354935954838?hash=item5...

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Ed

When did you pass your car test and do you have any other entitlements? If it was after 1997 then you could well be limited to 3.5 t GVW (includes trailer) which means you're not going to be towing 1.5 tonne of car trailer with a van unless you do your C1E.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

You're not limited to 3.5t including trailer any more. You only need a C1E if you're towing with a vehicle between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes. You can tow up to 3.5 t behind a 3.5 t van on a car licence, providing the vehicle is rated to tow it.

link said:

You can tow a trailer that weighs up to 3,500kg MAM.

[Edmundo2]

Thanks for the info. I passed my test pre 97 so ok..

TBH I'm still wondering whether the extra I'd spend on a motorhome vs a camper is worth it.

I still need to sell my Lotus before being able to buy racer/tow vehicle so can research further but will likely be a T5 LWB or something like the nexxo..

Thanks

[stevemcs]

Motor home is way better than a t5, at least with a motor home you get a bigger fridge, a toilet and you can stand up in it.

[nagsheadwarrior]

tedblog said:

nagsheadwarrior said:

Any 3500kg Fiat/Peugeot Clone will tow a minimum of 2000kg and the engines will map up fine for more than the factory 130
The transits like the Burstner were normally 140 and share the Peugeot engine loosely
Rwd might tow a little better but tend to be the iver 3500kg vans as a rule
Fitting a towbar is expensive and specialist on a voachbuilt so bonus if you can find one already done

They might be able to tow a minimum of 2000kgs, but check your gross train weight as most will only let you tow up to 2000kgs.

That's what I meant a minimum of 2000kg gtw , we have a maxi chassis ducato van conversion 2017 in stock with a 3000kg gtw , never seen that before always 2000kg or 2500kg