Fun tow car
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Discussion

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
Hi all,

I posted a similar thread in SP&L, but as this is really a 'what car' thread, I thought I would get a better response here.

I have a Toyota Celica hillclimb car I would like to be able to tow to events.

- The car weighs 1330kg wet
- I probably take another 100 - 150 kgs of kit to each event - spare wheels, jack, tools, fuel etc - this will probably go in the boot of the tow car
- A suitable trailer to take a celica will weigh 500 - 600 kgs?
- There will be one or two people in the tow car

This adds up to a fair bit of weight (could be as much as 2250kg?), so I am looking at options for a tow car that can comfortably and legally cope with the load. Normally the default option would be a 4x4, for which information about towing capabilities seems to be fairly easy to find. However I quite like the idea of a fast 4wd estate, e.g. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a... The 4wd would be useful for muddy paddocks, the 'fast' bit because it would be my daily driver when not towing and therefore should be fun smile


I have been trying to find suitable vehicles, but finding accurate figures for the following is not proving to be easy (from SP&L sticky):
- Unladen or Kerb weight
- GVW - the max weight the vehicle can weigh when fully loaded
- GTW - the max weight the vehicle and trailer can ACTUALLY weigh when added together. This does not refer to the total of the vehicle GWV and trailer MAM weights.
- Towing capacity - this is the ACTUAL weight that can be towed by the vehicle - it does not mean the trailer MAM weight.

I also believe that a car has to be homogolated for towing, rulling out things like the Audi RS4.

Lets say budget was £15k or lower (cheaper the better) - any ideas?

Thanks,

Adam

PS: as an example of the misinformation out on the interweb, this site lists the RS4 as being able to tow! http://www.uktow.com/towing%20capacity.asp

the_lone_wolf

2,622 posts

217 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
It's a bit close to the edge but V70 T5 and a light trailer?

My D5 has maximum towing mass of 1800kg - The T5 should be similar. Tows very nicely and without the trailer is brisk enough, if not "holy sheeeet" Audi RS fast...

V70 is the default "I need a proper estate" choice, if not the most dynamic or the car for keeping up with the Jones'

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
I can't find many V70 T5's for sale - looks like it was replaced by the V50?

Anyway, I think I would prefer something a bit faster smile

HustleRussell

26,662 posts

191 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
There isn't a lot out there that'll tow 2250kg happily and be 'fast'!

R0G

5,036 posts

186 months

Friday 15th March 2013
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What licence are you to be towing under .... B or BE ?

Benbay001

5,895 posts

188 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all

the_lone_wolf

2,622 posts

217 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
ad_p said:
Anyway, I think I would prefer something a bit faster smile
Fair enough, I don't know how many faster cars there are that will tow what you're asking for though...

V70 has been produced every year since ~1998, four or five different models and a facelift, currently twenty old style T5s and a few 2007 onwards T6s on Autotrader all well under 15,000

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
R0G said:
What licence are you to be towing under .... B or BE ?
I passed my test in 1999, so I believe I will have to take the B+E test before I can tow the race car.

si_xsi

1,324 posts

226 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
I'd just get a cheap old rangie like Chris Harris and spend the rest on another fast daily driver.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

221 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
This isn't 4wd, but should I think be ok with the weight. It is however fast and huge fun.



5.4 litres of supercharged V8 goodness cloud9

Prices tend to range from 9-16k.

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
the_lone_wolf said:
Fair enough, I don't know how many faster cars there are that will tow what you're asking for though...

V70 has been produced every year since ~1998, four or five different models and a facelift, currently twenty old style T5s and a few 2007 onwards T6s on Autotrader all well under 15,000
Ahh - I only searched for T5, not T6.

Legacy is a choice I hadn't considered - anyone know the official towing weights?

Truckosaurus

13,299 posts

315 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
ad_p said:
I can't find many V70 T5's for sale
Indeed, most buyers switched to the D5 models or went up a size or 2 and bought XC90 SUVs.

AllNines

346 posts

213 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
So your car on the trailer will give a towed weight of about 1850kg. (A Brian James Clubman trailer with 1400kg capacity being about 450 so I've added a bit of a margin.)

Spares in the boot plus passenger will come out of the max weight of the towing car, so you don't need to worry about finding a car capable of towing 2250kg as such.

You need to do some sums based on a shortlist of cars, using manufacturer data. There should be plenty of options.

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
si_xsi said:
I'd just get a cheap old rangie like Chris Harris and spend the rest on another fast daily driver.
Yes- we could replace my wifes clapped out ford focus with a 4x4 of some sort. She quite likes the volvo xc90, but the towing figures I found for it seemed low compared to the Land / Range Rovers. I might be wrong on this though?

I have an st205 Celica GT-Four as my daily driver at the moment, so I would just keep that for a while. It's always nice to explore the options though - I did quite fancy the RS4 / S4 smile

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
AllNines said:
So your car on the trailer will give a towed weight of about 1850kg. (A Brian James Clubman trailer with 1400kg capacity being about 450 so I've added a bit of a margin.)

Spares in the boot plus passenger will come out of the max weight of the towing car, so you don't need to worry about finding a car capable of towing 2250kg as such.

You need to do some sums based on a shortlist of cars, using manufacturer data. There should be plenty of options.
Indeed - it is the Gross Towing Weight figure (combined tow car and trailer) that seems to be the most difficult to find though.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

229 months

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Original Poster:

125 posts

258 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
This isn't 4wd, but should I think be ok with the weight. It is however fast and huge fun.



5.4 litres of supercharged V8 goodness cloud9

Prices tend to range from 9-16k.
Not sure a pickup is for me, but did they do a Monaro / VXR estate? smile

Benbay001

5,895 posts

188 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
ad_p said:
Legacy is a choice I hadn't considered - anyone know the official towing weights?
2000kg for the UK spec b (the 3 liter 6 cyl car) so i guess the same for the GT spec B?

RizzoTheRat

29,081 posts

223 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
If it's the number of seats that puts you off a pickup a mate of mine is selling this which would tick the rest of your boxes
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

I think you're going to struggle to find anything to tow that weight that's not a 4x4, in which case if you want power American is the way to go.

Though as others have said the alternative is a dirt cheap tow car and enough left over sor something fun.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

221 months

Friday 15th March 2013
quotequote all
How about one of these then, pretty rare in the UK and you'd have to check the tow weights. But a 4.3 turbocharged V6 is pretty funky.