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Is there any one out there who could recommend a good car (preferably recent 2nd hand) that will tow a large horse box and also be a pleasure to drive for every day use, seating 7 or 8. All opinions welcomed!
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JE,
Toyota Landcruiser Amazon, 7 seats.
QED
regards
Mike
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I noticed you said car .I would think there is no car that can legally tow a double horse trailer or a single for that matter.You will not find many cars that can tow over 1500kg gross weight.You really need for the safety factor alone a hefty 4x4,a goood cheap by is a Ford Explorer oryou can go to Discovery or mitsubishi but these will cost a lot more
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I bet your right in most cases Andy but I do know as a fact several people who use Volvo 7/940s to tow horseboxes with no problems. Still, you can no longer buy them new and maybe the newer Volvos are not heavy enough?
Dan
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You'll find that the max recommended towing weight for on-highway is 85% of the vehicle weight. Therefore, work out the weight of your trailer, and go from there. I think you'll find that the only things that will conform to this weight recommendation is a large 4X4. These generally weight about 2 tons, therefore, you are able to tow up to 1.7 tons without too many problems.
I know that most 4X4's have a max towing limit substantially higher than 85% of their own weight, but this is the absolute max that can be towed, taking into account chassis strength etc. The rozzers won't take to kindly to you towing more than this recommended 85% limit with something that clearly isn't suitable for the job.
The only vehicles that really cover all your criteria are the Land Cruiser Amazon and Nissan Patrol.
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Actually it is not 85% of the vehicle weight egFreelander all models 2000kg gross CR-V 1500kg.Explore 2500kg discovery 3500kg Defender 3500kg Patrol 2500kg pajero 2500kg .this 85% is only rule of thumb and you must look at the manufactures data and you must also allow 16% under for safety ,plus the tow bar on most cars is 50kg down weight and on hefty 4x4 is 100kg.
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I do not think there is a 'legal' weight for towing. Most informed bodies, eg caravan club, make a recommendation that a novice tower stays within 85% of the vehicles gross weight, and up to 100% for exprienced towers, both properly loaded. It is recommendation, not law. There is a restriction (I think) on unbraked trailers. Common sense does, or should, prevail though. Car manufacturers publish max towing weights, but they are based on the ability of the car to pull away on a prescribed gradient with such a load, not legal requirements.
regards
Mike
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It is a legal requirement under a EU directive that the UK signed upto,The UK police use these figures and were in fact used and noted at the recent tragic land rover/rail crash.The figures in the vehicle manual are derived from a set formula that all manufacturers must use in the EU.I will bet if you have an accident the insurance companies are quick to quote if you were over loaded and not pay out.Any accident involving a trailer the weights of the vehicles are noted by the police and checked.Tower Beware
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The British police will use the 85% of vehicle weight, irrespective of what the manufacturers state. But as I said before, they will disregard this if the combination looks acceptable. ie a Land Cruiser towing a reasonable sized mini-digger (probably pikies anyway), but not a fiesta towing a 4 berth caravan, even though both are over the 85% rule by about the same amount.
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Also remember there are new trailer towing licence requirements for anyone who has passed their test since Jan'01, they may affect the choice of vehicle.
The new regs are complicated, look at......
www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/dl_towing_trailers.htm
David
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Sorry that test date should have been 1st January 1997.
I can't find the thread but we gave this topic a real thrashing last year (Summer?).
Further to the licence requirements I mentioned above my understanding now is....
The 85% figure is a recommendation only, not a legal limit. It was devised by the caravaning organisations to give a decent power to weight ratio for safe towing.
However you can legally tow up to the car manufacturer?s towing limit. This might be in excess of 100% but only if you passed your car driving test before 1/1/1997 or have taken the extra tests if passed after that
This change of regulations in towing is one reason why we decided to use the old Land Rover for our occasional heavy trailer work.
Despite only 60hp (and virtually 40 years under its belt) the old Series II Diesel has a manufacturers approved tow weight of 2000Kg.
David
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Sorry to be a multiple posting pain but I've just laid my hands on the statement of law as defined by the Department for Transport.....
"In the case of trailers less than 3500kg maximum laden weight, there is not any specified relationship in UK law between the weight of the towing vehicle and the weight of the trailer.
For motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, and comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, the maximum permissible trailer weight is quoted by the vehicle manufacturer and if this is exceeded it is possible that the Courts or Insurance Companies may take the view that this constitutes a danger."
Seems clear enough.
David
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Dave ,I think that is what I said ,the vehicle towing weight in the handbook is the EU standard and has to be adhered to,thereare no ratio towing weights and it is this weight in the book checked by the police and insurance companies
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You did indeed Andy. I wanted to check, and then post, to dispel any thoughts that the 85% rule was in any way legal.
David
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Be aware how much extra weight a 'fancy' horsebox has over a standard box, if you are intent on using a car avoid boxs that have front loading as well as the standard rear loading, even a grooms door adds extra weight. Also when towing do fill up the petrol tank, the extra weight in the car helps to control the box and you should not be pulling away briskly with a horse in the back anyway.
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I don't think anyone has suggested:
A) go to a point-to-point meet and look in the parking paddock
B) the humble Landrover 110 Station Wagon!
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Well I mentioned the defender which in my book encompasses the both the 90 and 110
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