What small car to tow and towing rig? (1 Viewer)

[Kerry9]

Hi All,

Our 2.7 litre Rimor Sailer has a tow bar. So, what is the lightesr used small car for towing, and what kind of towing rig would we need and electrical synching and steering synching? Thanks in advance and apologies if this has been asked elsewhere.

 

[Kerry9]

@MrsQFour thank you for this - where can one get these signs done please?

 

[Richard n Ann]

Just leave your table and chairs there if you can lock them up. If you just leave a sign someone will steal it

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[peterc10]

I'm sorry to contradict Kate, but we have been towing our toads, braless, for over 10 years

Moobs still bouncing about Brian ..........

 

[138go]

We haven’t lost anything! I guess it depends where you go. Amazon do personalised signs.

 

[Reallyretired]

We had a Smart but with two dogs found it too small. We now have a Suzuki Alto with the back seat permanently down so it's a two seater with a large dog carrying area. Tows fine on a caratow frame which has been used with three cars. It's very heavy but I believe their current frame is a lot lighter.

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[sdc77]

Be nice round Devon and Cornwall when you have to start reversing back up the road or even on Exmoor when you meet a skip lorry coming down the lane.

If you really must have a car you might as well tow a caravan IMO.

..

Today's PRIZE winner for the first towing caravan remark !


Don't think any if the cars listed above can tow caravans btw.

 

[Speve]

Why thank you QFour for your encouraging input, which has really cheered us both down.

It’s strange isn’t it? There is always someone on here when towing a car that knows better I wonder if they have even tried it? Everyone has their own requirements and this should be respected, not criticised we all know the positives and negatives of towing and make our own decisions and have our reasons for doing it.

 

[138go]

Our friends have towed a Smart car all over Europe. They are off to Spain and Portugal for the winter and are leaving the car behind. They have decided it’s too much hassle towing.

Mrs QFour

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[TCG]

We have recently sorted our toad, a Fiat 500 complete with a frame... the a Frame is a LNB set up which is excellent but pricey @ £2700
For the "why not tow a caravan" brigade, it really is quite simple, we used to tow a 2 ton twin axle caravan with a Jeep grand Cherokee. and the tail wagged the dog.. and it certainly was white knuckle time on teh autoroutes in France with an Artic either side of us, going down a 7% hill we then changed to a motor home and tow a <1000kg car so the dog wags the tail.. 4 ton pulling 1 ton
Much more stable, and i arrive at destination calm and relaxed, and to be honest i really do not want to be trying to park a 8metre motorhome in tiny French villages

 

[Speve]

Our friends have towed a Smart car all over Europe. They are off to Spain and Portugal for the winter and are leaving the car behind. They have decided it’s too much hassle towing.

Mrs QFour

That’s for your friends to decide there hundreds of us around that have towed all around Europe without problem and still do it, the OP was asking for positive advice he does not need to be discouraged just because your mates don’t like it.
Positive comments and requests are helpful and of use whereas all of your reply’s are negative and pretty useless to the OP.

 

[Spriddler]

I take it you have a trailer licence?

Crumbs! Didn't know you needed to take a test to tow a trailer. Have I been illegally towing caravans, box and motorbike trailers all over Europe for forty years?

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[138go]

I think when someone new asks about towing a car, it’s useful to give alternative views.

Mrs QFour

 

[138go]

We’ve not towed a car, as we cannot see any need for it. We prefer the convenience of being able to manoeuvre easily and the ease of parking on Aires and sites.

I really don’t miss having a car. We walk or cycle and when we’ve explored an area we move on. I much prefer seeing places on foot or from the bike.

We’ve also found that you can park a MH in a lot of places, where you would park your car. For example a supermarket isn’t generally a problem. We’ve also parked on the seafront in lots of places and it’s great to have your kettle, toilet, dinner all with you.

Anyway, it’s each to their own but that’s us.

Mrs QFour

I thought a towcar was a requirement so that if you drive off your pitch for the day you could leave the motorhome there otherwise if you have no small car and you use your MH as local transport, you list your pitch?

No you don’t lose your pitch. You simply tell someone you’re coming back and you just leave your stuff out on your pitch. You can get motorhome parked here signs as well. We do this all the time and it’s really not a problem.

Mrs QFour

@MrsQFour thank you for this - where can one get these signs done please?

We haven’t lost anything! I guess it depends where you go. Amazon do personalised signs.

That’s for your friends to decide there hundreds of us around that have towed all around Europe without problem and still do it, the OP was asking for positive advice he does not need to be discouraged just because your mates don’t like it.
Positive comments and requests are helpful and of use whereas all of your reply’s are negative and pretty useless to the OP.

Not all negative.....

 

[Ivory55]

Our friends have towed a Smart car all over Europe. They are off to Spain and Portugal for the winter and are leaving the car behind. They have decided it’s too much hassle towing.

Mrs QFour

I am thinking of getting a generator, what does your friends think ? Haha

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[138go]

I am thinking of getting a generator, what does your friends think ? Haha

Okay, so long as you don’t park close to them

 

[Speve]

I think when someone new asks about towing a car, it’s useful to give alternative views.

Mrs QFour

But you have admitted you have not towed so why comment on something you know nothing about.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Crumbs! Didn't know you needed to take a test to tow a trailer. Have I been illegally towing caravans, box and motorbike trailers all over Europe for forty years?

Do you know how old the OP is? If he isn't a fossil like me and you, then he may not have great-grandfather rights like me and you, and MAY have overlooked that an a bar is a >750kg trailer for legislation porpoises

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[peterc10]

Everybody can do whatever they want, and I would criticise nobody for that. But that applies to me too. And I am as entitled as anybody else is to express an opinion to an OP that offered an open question about towing a car. So please no complaints about this being "negative".

If I wanted to use the motorhome to arrive at a destination, as is often done with a caravan, then a towed car could make sense for me. But, for me, motorhoming is not the same as caravaning , and I have done both in my time. Instead I want to use my motorhome to arrive at lots of different destinations on the same trip. And often I do not know what the destination is until I arrive at it! For me it much easier therefore not to tow a car.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

@peterc10
To be a tad pedantic ( and I agree everyone can do what they want BTW) the original question was WHICH CAR TO TOW not WHETHER TO TOW OR NOT

I made the assumption that OP had already considered, for his personal usage, the need/desire/pitfalls/benefits of whether to tow

 

[peterc10]

@peterc10
To be a tad pedantic ( and I agree everyone can do what they want BTW) the original question was WHICH CAR TO TOW not WHETHER TO TOW OR NOT

I made the assumption that OP had already considered, for his personal usage, the need/desire/pitfalls/benefits of whether to tow

Other threads show he is a first time motorhomer with little experience and is very eager to learn. I know because I have tried to help him in another thread. Nothing wrong with that at all and nothing wrong with him hearing reasons why I do not think I need to use a tow car at all when motorhoming. I am sure the majority of other motorhomers who do not tow a car will have their own reasons for not doing so as well, and they are entitled to express those opinions as well without being accused of being "negative".

BTW my comment was not aimed at you.

I think I will now get the popcorn out. I suspect that many others on this forum will have different opinions to those expressed above about the legality of towing a car with an A frame in many other European countries. So this one could run and run.

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[Richard n Ann]

Get a scooter, much better

 

[peterc10]

Get a scooter, much better

I have and I agree. But because it is "better" for me does not mean it is better for everybody else ...........

 

[138go]

But you have admitted you have not towed so why comment on something you know nothing about.

The OP thought you had to have a car because you would lose your pitch if you drove away in your MH. I have advised him on that issue. I’ve witnessed people towing cars getting in a mess with reversing and just last week we saw a fracas on an aire. A MH towing a car had parked over the services as this was the only way he could get in. A very cross woman was taking photos, including his number plate. In the end he moved.

I think it’s reasonable and very helpful to discuss the pros and cons. We like our bikes but not everyone will want to cycle.

Mrs QFour

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[Speve]

The OP thought you had to have a car because you would lose your pitch if you drove away in your MH.

Seriously I think that was a bit tongue in cheek

 

[138go]

Seriously I think that was a bit tongue in cheek

It doesn’t read that way to me. We were all novices once.

Mrs QFour

 

[Kerry9]

No, it really was not tongue in cheek. My wife and I are completely new to owning and operating a MH so all my questions are absolutely geniune.
.I apologise if I have inferred otherwise.

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[peterc10]

I’ve witnessed people towing cars getting in a mess with reversing and just last week we saw a fracas on an aire. A MH towing a car had parked over the services as this was the only way he could get in. A very cross woman was taking photos, including his number plate. In the end he moved.

Witnessed something similar in a town centre Aire in mid France in the spring. Large French motorhome and car on a trailer turned up but could not get into any of the places reserved for motorhomes. Parked in middle of the car park in the way of all the cars that wanted to use it. They were having the market the next morning so the Mayor (think that was what he was) came out and explained that they could not park there overnight, but they could reverse into a spot next to the bourne. Then both the driver and eventually his wife spent half an hour going backwards and forward trying to get the thing in, getting more and more flustered. In the end they they had to unhook and push the trailer and car in by hand with the aid of the Mayor. Do I fancy that sort of hassle to stay in this lovely little town's Aire for one night ............ errr ............ no.

As we have just had confirmed by the OP, he is entirely new to motorhoming. He is doing on this forum exactly what I did 5 years ago when I was new to motorhoming, i.e. hoovering up all the advice I could get from those people on this forum who have been doing it for a while. He may well decide that towing a car is right for him. But he needs to do that with the knowledge about the "cons" as well as the "pros".

 

[Speve]

It doesn’t read that way to me. We were all novices once.

Mrs QFour

Sorry you are correct hush my mouth

 

[Speve]

No, it really was not tongue in cheek. My wife and I are completely new to owning and operating a MH so all my questions are absolutely geniune.
.I apologise if I have inferred otherwise.

Really? Well now that you know otherwise you need to consider whether you really need a tow car? With the expense that accompanies it?

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[Cheshirecat57]

No, it really was not tongue in cheek. My wife and I are completely new to owning and operating a MH so all my questions are absolutely geniune.
.I apologise if I have inferred otherwise.

Hi
Don't give it a moment's thought
Don't apologise....too many apologistas in the world already-.
For what its worth, towing a car for some of us seems a damn good solution to the flexibility issue/challenge. I agree not for all
Clearly if you want to spend 13 months of the year wild camping in a cul-de-sac (Cornwall) then it may prove a bit tricky
European travel poses certain legislative issues as well....although A Frames may yet to turn out to be the least of all challenges if you visit the United States of Brussels next year