Towing Car

[Yorkie808]

what is the best car for towing behind on the road Auto or manual make and model please

 

[Mikeco]

You really need to know how much your van is capable of towing before you can choose.

 

[Yorkie808]

ok thanks Mikeco I am compleate novis and just looking at vans and cars to tow

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Just my honest opinion, others will disagree but it entirely depends how you will use your prospective purchase, if you plan to mainly use full facility sites then I would buy a caravan. If you are thinking of towing on an A frame abroad it is illegal in many places so you would need to put the car on a trailer.

 

[Conal]

Lots of posts here and on other forums. Also the A frame manufacturers (if you go down that route) are very helpful. TAF in Chesterfield have a brochure which lists alternatives. We have a small classic car at 750Kg and are very happy with ours.
If you go on You Tube and look up Posh Cats, Robert Earnshaw and others (search for A frames) you will see that many small cars are popular. You have to be careful as some cars are not able to be used - including some versions of Smart Cars.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[the1andonly]

You also need to know if you need a car and why. The first question is what size van and where am i going to stay. To be slightly flippant if a romahome c15 is the right van then towing is a mute point .vw t5 or Bongo or a 9M Aclass.once you have a van (even on paper) you will know the payload and trainweight. Now A-frame or trailer, whats weight of trailer whats left 1100kg, well sir thats a VW up!.each answer brings up a new set of questions .
uk a-frame europe without. Try a trip or 2 without.ps i have a 6m C wiith up on aframe.

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[DJA]

We used to have an Automatic Toyota Aygo which was fitted with a Towtal A Frame with Overrun brake rather than Electric brake. It used to work very well however there is one thing you need to consider re Automatic vehicles. The Toyota Aygo and its other versions whilst Automatic were in fact an Auto Clutch setup so if you were to consider the Toyota IQ, secondhand as it is no longer made, then be advised that the automatic boxes in those vehicles are not suitable.

 

[Bailey 15]

Just my honest opinion, others will disagree but it entirely depends how you will use your prospective purchase, if you plan to mainly use full facility sites then I would buy a caravan. If you are thinking of towing on an A frame abroad it is illegal in many places so you would need to put the car on a trailer.

can I just ask out of curiosity what is ‘towing a car’ have to do with using full serviced sites?
Having a vehicle to get around visiting places is a great asset, also the comfort and stability in driving a motorhome and towing out weighs towing a caravan with a car immensely.
Respect your opinion but I am curious that’s all

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Many

can I just ask out of curiosity what is ‘towing a car’ have to do with using full serviced sites?
Having a vehicle to get around visiting places is a great asset, also the comfort and stability in driving a motorhome and towing out weighs towing a caravan with a car immensely.
Respect your opinion but I am curious that’s all

Many of us travelling on the continent will use "aires", free or low cost parking placed which are found in most towns and villages but which in many cases are not suitable for vans with trailers or towing cars. Same in the UK if you are "wild camping" it may not be practical to just park up discreetly with a tow car on the back.
Different for everyone of course but solely my view that if you are not touring around but using a single base or staying days on end in one place then you are probably better off with a caravan.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[David and Sally]

We tow an Aygo. Manual gearbox but servo controlled. Many auto boxes can’t be towed.

TAF are very helpful and we are pleased with their installation quality.

 

[Simbathecat9]

Many

Many of us travelling on the continent will use "aires", free or low cost parking placed which are found in most towns and villages but which in many cases are not suitable for vans with trailers or towing cars. Same in the UK if you are "wild camping" it may not be practical to just park up discreetly with a tow car on the back.
Different for everyone of course but solely my view that if you are not touring around but using a single base or staying days on end in one place then you are probably better off with a caravan.

Hi, We have towed our car with motorhome through France, Switzerland and Italy and also stayed at French Aires. 2 minute job to uncouple car and never been a problem with that. Big advantage compared with caravan and car that small car is ideal in many places compared with usually much larger tow cars. Also no set up required with Moho when arriving somewhere for an overnight. Apart from weight issues a trailer is a pain when on site, much bigger than people have for camping.
Having had car hire rip offs on a couple of occasions towed car (was Hyundai I10 now Yaris) and conversion done by Unibrake with an excellent controlled braking system works great for us. However no one has to my knowledge produced an EV which can be flat towed.

 

[Jonno1103]

With the new change in the legislation you can basically tow any car you like if you have the train weight.

Before this consideration you need to know what the towing capacity of the motorhome is, for instance ours is only 1000kg so the best we could hope for would be a VAG derived Up!, Mii or Citygo on an A-frame meaning we couldn't take it to Spain.

As an alternative why not consider a trailered Piaggio 3 wheeled motorbike which can be ridden on a car licence (2 front wheels). The trailers for them are transverse meaning your train length will be shorter?

 

[tonyidle]

Apart from weight issues a trailer is a pain when on site, much bigger than people have for camping.

We've been towing a Smart on a trailer for three years or so. We use a mix of CLs/CSs and full-facility sites with occasional wild camping nights. We're often on sites with caravanning friends so leaving the motorhome on site & using the car suits on those occasions. The trailer has caused no issues on any site - in fact we have often been able to leave it hitched. Even if separated it & the car take up no more (maybe less) room than a caravan with towcar and awning. My motorhome is 8M and the Smart is the only other vehicle we have - so not bought especially for use with the motorhome.

 

[Langtoftlad]

probably better off with a caravan.

A lot easier to tow [and safer] a small car behind a relatively large van rather than tow a relatively large caravan behind a small car!
Also - from my observation - still way more convenient pitching MoHo with TOAD than a caravan.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[eddie]

Just my honest opinion, others will disagree but it entirely depends how you will use your prospective purchase, if you plan to mainly use full facility sites then I would buy a caravan. If you are thinking of towing on an A frame abroad it is illegal in many places so you would need to put the car on a trailer.

We are currently sat on a site in North Norfolk, and are with our mates from Scotland.

We decided that due to the weather and us having a large plus 40 Kg dog with a dodgy hip, that we’d pick a base and have days out in the car or bikes ( and doggy trailer)

So we towed our little Terios 4 x 4 up on its Car A Tow A frame, with our bikes on the car tow bar.

Caravan? I’ve heard this argument many times, and If I could get a caravan to match our camper, we may consider it, but, Super King Sized bed, massive fridge freezer, 50 gallon black tank, same for great and fresh water, double slide outs, proper gas oven, electric oven, glass double glazed, massive payload, built in generator we run on the move for the ducted Air Conditioning ( for the dog )

So, occasionally, and it is occasionally, we use the camper as a base, and use the car to explore the wider area, it works well for us.

I wouldn’t take it abroad, but we don’t spend much time abroad in one place, so find the bikes a great way to explore, then we move on

Mind you, not been abroad since 2019

 

[Badknee]

We tow our car on a trailer for two reasons, it cannot accept an A frame fixings and we take it to Spain in the winter. Most places we stay we don’t unhitch the trailer at all and when we do it takes about five minutes.

 

[pappajohn]

Beware....many auto's can't be towed. Expensive gearbox damage will result
Stick to manual.

 

[stevewagner]

With the new change in the legislation you can basically tow any car you like if you have the train weight.

Before this consideration you need to know what the towing capacity of the motorhome is, for instance ours is only 1000kg so the best we could hope for would be a VAG derived Up!, Mii or Citygo on an A-frame meaning we couldn't take it to Spain.

As an alternative why not consider a trailered Piaggio 3 wheeled motorbike which can be ridden on a car licence (2 front wheels). The trailers for them are transverse meaning your train length will be shorter?

Only some MP3's can be driven on a car licence

 

[denisejoe]

Auto boxes with a torque converter cannot be towed a manual gear box that has been robotised in in to auto as many cars are now can be

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DJL220]

This is our setup 6 berth MH and Fiat 500 manual towed behind. We have just travelled back from Devon to Hertfordshire towing the Fiat and apart from a few moments of sharp braking today you would never know it’s behind. Also great when you get to site to have a small car to travel around in. We used to use buses or bikes when on site, the car has opened up a whole new outlook on our hols this year. Only towed in the UK so far and it’s been great. Do you research well and search these forums for answer. Good luck

 

[Jonno1103]

Only some MP3's can be driven on a car licence

Yes, the as mentioned Piaggio being one of them.

 

[stevewagner]

Yes, the as mentioned Piaggio being one of them.

Only if it has a foot brake which the early one’s didn’t