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[Andy B]

....... Even averaged 19.8 mpg on a run to the Isle of Wight

My best .... or worse, however you look at it, when we went to Cornwall the other year.

[MickAP]

My 5 berth is somewhere around the 1700Kg mark IIRCC and my 3.0 tows it without missing a beat... Even averaged 19.8 mpg on a run to the Isle of Wight

You're on the limit there, miggy weighs in at 1700+kgs depending on what model you have.

...... Caravan Club recommends a max of 85% of car weight

That's just for the inexperienced isn't it?

That's a guide to safe towing, don't tow a caravan or anything really that exceeds 85% of you towcar weight.
My van weighs in at 1460kgs which is ok for my TD estate.
Wouldn't feel safe towing anything over that weight no matter what the engine size/power is to be honest.

Mick

[Seth]

The 'MIRO' - mass in running order of the caravan, should not exceed 85% of the kerbweight of the car - you're quite correct!
This is a safe and recommended car/caravan weight ratio.

I tow a 22ft Bailey Ranger with the tractor - safe, stable and with no problems.

Previously towed with a 2.0 auto. It coped reasonably well, but wasn't a happy chappy. Wish I'd known about the gearbox ECU upgrade at the time, but it still returned 22mpg whilst towing. Getting it to stay in lock-up mode was difficult - still 'water under the bridge' now!
I did, however, fit a Kenlowe 'box oil-cooler - well worth doing.

[Andy B]

The 'MIRO' - mass in running order of the caravan, should not exceed 85% of the kerbweight of the car - you're quite correct!
This is a safe and recommended car/caravan weight ratio. ......

It's a Caravan Club guide line, you can tow weight for weight if you want to.

[Entwood]

Legally you are allowed to tow to 100% of the vehicle weight ... but the laws of physics have not read those laws .... the closer you get to 100% the more chance of an "upset" ... especially when going downhill at speed ... if the trailer weighs more than the towcar .. which has control

These are the main reasons for the suggested 85% ratio ... ignore the manufacturers waffle .. that is what the car will pull up a hill from a standing start .... no mention of the "stopability" !!!

My 3.2 Saloon has a kerb weight of 2200Kgs .. I tow a van with a plated max weight of 1600 Kgs  = 72%  

Weights are on pages 223 and 224  of

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.reynolds983/Manuals/Omega2002Manual.pdf

HTH

[philhoward]

My 2.0 Auto has no major problem with my 750kg van but stuggled like hell with a twin axle car trailer on the back - the gearbox was hunting like the gentry on the first day of the grouse season...hence the reason why i'll probably have a TD by the weekend. Only tow my van once a year (and then only a round trip of 40 miles) but tend to tow other stuff more frequently.

The MPG figure towing the trailer would have made it cheaper to borrow my dad's Range Rover (and i wish I had have done)..

My next door neighbour used to tow his van everywhere with his 2.2 Auto though..must be a combination of that little extra torque and it being a few years newer..

[MutantCav]

My fully laden 3.0 manual estate towing another Omega behind on an a-frame returns about 26-28mpg which I have to say I'm happy with...think its because it isnt troubled at all by the extra 1.6 tonne weight its dragging behind...the 2.5 struggled to return 20mpg when towing and you could tell you were towing when going up most hills...the extra torque makes a lot of difference  

[Seth]

Legally you are allowed to tow to 100% of the vehicle weight ... but the laws of physics have not read those laws .... the closer you get to 100% the more chance of an "upset" ... especially when going downhill at speed ... if the trailer weighs more than the towcar .. which has control

These are the main reasons for the suggested 85% ratio ... ignore the manufacturers waffle .. that is what the car will pull up a hill from a standing start .... no mention of the "stopability" !!!

My 3.2 Saloon has a kerb weight of 2200Kgs .. I tow a van with a plated max weight of 1600 Kgs  = 72%  

Weights are on pages 223 and 224  of

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.reynolds983/Manuals/Omega2002Manual.pdf

HTH

That's right - you could end up with 'the tail wagging the dog'!

[joff]

we have a 2.2 Dti and we get 29-30 mpg on my old 2.5 td i got 19 mpg and was with 1400 kg on the bar

[Martin_1962]

Mine is at least 1200kg loaded - might be more but definately under 1500kg.

Performance is fine I can maintain road limits easily along the A30 through Devon and Cornwall (including up hill).

Worst ever consumption Falmouth to Okehampton BP 11mpg on LPG strong head wind and booting it.

[Tawfield]

Caravan Club 85% of veh exworks weight not car fully loaded anything over and your over stressing the towing veh,some of you have LPG conversion and that is part of load your veh has a max load limit go over and your liable for a nick or a lot of grief if checked out by VOSA at the roadside,getting every thing right is a bit of a nightmare.
Just checked out my Estate 2.5 Elite 1788 +sunroof +tow hitch part of load another 44 kilo that is before I put another 10% fuel and 3 passengers in and luggage so is now close to max weight for veh.
And as for towing close or over the limit,used to tow trailers around the south with a Long w/base L/R 2.5 TD one  of them a large brick on two axles  anything over 50mph and the trailer took control lost it first time out on the M4 luckly no other traffic all three lanes to get it under control .    

[Lazydocker]

I'll be checking the weight in the book tomorrow now

I used to recover 44 tonne Artics so I'm not exactly inexperienced when it comes to towing

[Entwood]

I'll be checking the weight in the book tomorrow now

I used to recover 44 tonne Artics so I'm not exactly inexperienced when it comes to towing

An artic behaves totally differently to a caravan behind a car..  for many many reasons .. not least of which are ..

Position of "hitch" ... artic: forward of driven wheels, ....caravan , behind
Brakes ... artic:driver controlled air brakes .. caravan, overrun shoes
Trailer Wheels .... artic : at rear of trailer (no pendulum effect, all the weight is forward of the wheels)... caravan, midpoint of trailer .. potentially large pendulum effect, especially if badly loaded.

I have several friends who came from LGV to towing with the "I've done artics" approach ... to severly frighten themselves .. .. I went the other way .. I'd been towing a 'van 25 years before doing the LGV/PCV stuff  

Not a criticism .. just a view ..

[Lazydocker]

I'll be checking the weight in the book tomorrow now

I used to recover 44 tonne Artics so I'm not exactly inexperienced when it comes to towing

An artic behaves totally differently to a caravan behind a car..  for many many reasons .. not least of which are ..

Position of "hitch" ... artic: forward of driven wheels, ....caravan , behind
Brakes ... artic:driver controlled air brakes .. caravan, overrun shoes
Trailer Wheels .... artic : at rear of trailer (no pendulum effect, all the weight is forward of the wheels)... caravan, midpoint of trailer .. potentially large pendulum effect, especially if badly loaded.

I have several friends who came from LGV to towing with the "I've done artics" approach ... to severly frighten themselves .. .. I went the other way .. I'd been towing a 'van 25 years before doing the LGV/PCV stuff  

Not a criticism .. just a view ..

All valid points... But I used to recover them which makes the whole thing a different kettle of fish again

Equally, I have always done a lot of trailer work in various forms with cars/vans and, as you rightly say, none of it is the same as pulling a 'van.

I made sure I knew the safe limits of my setup and stick to them The great thing is that the Omega is such a stable tow car, as long as you load the 'van correctly

[Tawfield]

Good towing veh the Omega,
B piller drivers door is a label.
Mine as printed
2330  KG
3980  KG     Max allowed MIRO I think

1-1080 KG   front axle  
2-1275 KG   Rear Axle