best van for towing car trailer...

[Spark plug]

This is why ifor Williams started to plate trailers at 2.7t so Japanese 4x4's could tow them.

There is only a hand full of standard vehicles that can tow a 3.5t trailer legally.

 

[BrokenBiker]

There is only a hand full of standard vehicles that can tow a 3.5t trailer legally.

thats why i started this thread really...i will have to find out what my mates trailer is plated at and thn just find a van that has a towing rating above that i think

 

[Aaron_]

You find thing that can take a load vans/pick ups can tow less there's a lot of transit that the train weight is only 3.5t -5ish my narava can only tow 2.6t where you get a disco or ML etc what can tow 3.5t

 

[Spark plug]

Unfortunately the ones vans I know of are generally the lwb models, transit, sprinter and them Iveco what they called's.

As for 4x4's they ain't many either, defender 110 and 130 with high load suspension, mercadies g waggon, land cruiser Amazon, Isuzu d-max made after 2014, and for some unknown reason daihatsu fourtrack witch barely have enough braking cappacity to stop them selves never mind 3.5t of trailer.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Discovery1 is 3.5t tow rated, as is the range rover classic.

Pretty sure the disco 2 and the p38 are as well.

Disco 3 and 4 I'd be very surprised if they're under 3.5t rated, along with the newer full size range rovers (sport of all models, no clue).

i like the RR clasic and p38 but not very good for moving house...although i could just buy a decent sized trailer and use that instead eh?

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Rather than a van what about a tow-a-van ? I had one and massive capacity - almost Luton sized.

 

[colnerov]

Right, if the van weighs 2t it can still be rated to tow 3.5t.

If the plate says 2t trailer, putting a 3.5t plated trailer behind it is asking for trouble whatever it's loaded to.

If a trailer is empty, you may get away with 'empty transport', you may not.

Is the cpc instructor a DVSA representative and qualified to give such advice?

Hi, Each CPC module is scripted, then is presented as it would be to presented to a class in front of the DVSA for approval. Then they have to stick to the script and the DVSA do unannounced spot checks periodically.

Colin

 

[colnerov]

Hi, You need to check the vehicle individually for its capacity Which is on a plate usually in a door shut. Normspanners bought a Discovery a while ago that had nothing on the plate so he couldn't legally tow anything. He put up a thread about it which ended up going on for quite a number of pages.

Colin

 

[colnerov]

Well, I'll stick to my interpretation of my licence which has never been questioned in the 20+ years I've had it.

I've been stopped plenty of times, been checked and never contravened any of the towing regs or been cited for insecure loads - which is more than I can say for some of the 'professional' drivers who were getting spot checked at the same time

So, on that note I'll let everyone make up their own minds...

Hi, I agree to a point then I will shut up. It is not really what you think is right if a DVSA officer doesn't agree. I've posted this before, on my last CPC module the instructor was saying that the previous day he had a number of DVSA officers in doing theirs. He said it was all going well until at one point they were arguing amongst themselves about some point in the regs and they are supposed to know. If an individual officer doesn't know what chance have we got? He only needs to convince his superior to continue with a prosecution.

Colin

 

[colnerov]

Yes that's right, you need to be very sure of your ground and stick to the rules. No winging it at the side of the road nowadays.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i do find it a bit daft that you cant tow a 3.5t plated trailer on a 2 ton rated vehicle even if there is only a ton in the trailer...surely it should go based on what is in there when you get pulled rather than what you could put in there etc...

anyway, i cant be bothered with a car trailer now, its all far too complicated so im just gonna look for a decent van to get us moved then sell it afterwards and buy something fun...finally looking like me and the mrs are able to save a decent amount of money each month now so going to make the most of it and get what we need; reliable cars, decent house and once thats sorted maybe a holiday.

 

[octo0072000]

But, you can't hitch up a 3.5t rated trailer even if it's only 'loaded' with an apple.

I've known a couple of people get caught with overweight trailer even though the GTW wasn't exceeded - "but the van is empty"...

you can that law has changed now

 

[BrokenBiker]

you can that law has changed now

when was that? when i did my B+E last summer i was told something along the lines of you can only tow a trailer that has the same top rating as your vehicle...

 

[octo0072000]

there has been a thread about on here
could have been in normspanners thread
or it's the lad that's a driving instructor that teaches towing trailers and caravans

 

[Wedg1e]

Just having a bit of fun BB, but it sounds like the van you need to 'tow' your Megane would be a Transit dropside; the car would fit in perfectly with the stolen pushbikes, knackered washing machines and rusty bedframes...

In serious mode, don't look at Transit Connects. Even the old LWB only has the towing capacity of a Sinclair C5 - in fact if you put the C5 in a 4'x3' Erde trailer from Halfords it'd be over-weight

I have two towbars for Connects for sale; little used...

 

[Wendelspanswick]

My old VW T4 was ex AA and had uprated rear springs and an air bag system allowing it to carry 1100KG.
2.5L 5 cylinder turbo diesel with 105 bhp.
The tow limit was 2500KG unless you went up hills over a certain gradient then it dropped to 2000KG.

 

[moose]

Our volunteer group has just decided to buy 4 new vans over the next two years, the choice was either Transits or Iveco, the vans are special order and they then get sent to a conversion company etc for work in side, double sliding doors etc.

The transits can only tow 2000kgs but the Iveco is rated to tow 3.5t we are now opting for the Iveco, as I have said before at the moment our present 4 transits one 5 speed and 3 x 6 speed, the 5 speed can only tow 1500 and the 6speed can tow 2000kg, but from the outside you could not tell there was a difference!

Regarding towing vehicles one of the few disco's that cannot tow 3.5 was the MPI, it had the Rover 2lt, really a vehicle for export (tax and import reasons?), they were going to put a turbo on it (same as the Rover car) but it never happened.

 

[CornishPete]

you can that law has changed now

if you look at the dvla website there's a quick look up tool which implies if you have just a cat b license you have to go by the mam (max authorised mass) of the vehicle/trailer regardless of the actual mass whereas if you have a cat b+e licence it goes by the actual mass.

based on the following example the website implies:

vehicle mam-2000kg max towing capacity 2000kg
trailer empty-500kg
trailer mam-3500kg

if you tow the trailer empty on a cat b licence that's illegal as you exceed 3500kg mam total (5500kg) even though you actually only weigh 2500kg in total.
but if you tow the trailer empty on a cat b+e license that's legal. Seems a bit daft really but that's the situation as I understand it.

 

[dannyp]

the disco mpi chouldnt keep its engine in one piece without a turbo with one that'd be like a genade without a pin,

i think most 3.5 T vans can only tow 2Ton unless they have a tacho. most trailers a car will go one are 500 - 700 kg you might run out of weight as i bet the megan is heaver than youd think for

 

[Turbo]

I looked into this last year, I even started a thread on this forum. In my research I discovered that most of the swb transits are not rated to tow a 2000kg weight unless you get an ex RAC or AA van that have uprated brakes & axles.

The best solution I came to was either a VW transporter or a Renault Trafic/Vauxhall Vivaro, though I ruled that out due to reliability issues.

I would recommend the VW transporter T4, I used to drive one and you could easily live with it as your daily driver. Nice to drive and you can buy a decent one for £2k.

Here's the thread.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/recommend-a-van.53756/