towing

[tomallen_2003]

good afternoon

I am about to buy a caravan for me and my girlfriend i have the landrover to tow it but i was thinking could it go behind the back of the marlin. Legally it can as long as its all braked. The van only goes 675kg so isn't that heavy but was wondering what experience other people have had? such as reinforcing the tow bar at the back or whether it makes them handle horribly etc.

all the best

[bbeech50]

Re: towing

It is my understanding that whether or not you can tow depends on the weight of your Marlin when compared to the gross weight of the caravan. It has nothing to do with whether the trailer is braked. I would say that if the trailer weighs in at 675kg, it is unlikely that you could tow it legally

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: towing

Brod,
The law requires manufacturers to state a towing limit for their vehicles. This is a bit difficult with kit cars as there is generally very little information and the tow bars are often self designed.
The recommendation from the Camping and Caravan Club is that one must never tow a trailer/caravan more than 85% of the tow vehicle's on the road weight.
Marlin owners do tow caravans and trailers though so it is possible.

[tomallen_2003]

Re: towing

Ive been have a chat to my dad who is ex traffic police and he believes it to be okay so i had a quick search of the interent and for everyones interest from the direct.gov.uk website says

Category B vehicles may be coupled with a trailer up to 750kgs MAM (allowing a combined weight up to 4.25 tonnes MAM) or a trailer over 750kgs MAM provided the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM

So which means to me as long as i got proof the car weighs so much, from the weighbridge, and is over 675kg i will be okay. I hope

Do you think im reading this right guys? there is abit bout matching your towing vehicle to trailer aswell but my thought is the engine will be more than powerful enough but as the brakes are off a vitesse should stop it aswell.

[keith_h]

Re: towing

The Caravan Club statement re 85% of the tow vehicles weight is worked out from years of experience. Legally it can be equal to your cars weight (and don't forget that is with the van loaded up - 675kg soon becomes 775kg's if you're not very careful). My Roadster weighs in at 850kgs but I think I remember some folk with a smaller engine only being around 750kgs. The other very important thing to consider is nose weight of the van and your ground clearance. I would suggest you have a word with Ben Caswell - he is an old hand at towing a light weight van.

[b_caswell]

Re: towing

As Keith says I tow a folding caravan of about 700kg but I have never weighed the car. The roadster with a six is around the 800 mark but all the weight is around the front.
I have a hybrid which can take quite a bit of nose weight from the van(which helps to keep the rear end under control) but this can delay the brake action on the trailer. The other problem would be how the Triumph rear end on your car would perform. I assume your license covers towing? But I would get used to the car first before sticking a large(in Marlin terms) trailer on the back.

[tomallen_2003]

Re: towing

The gross trailer weight is 675kg, I won it yesterday on ebay and its only 12ft long so weighs less than your folding one Ben. Well the plan is at the moment to go pick it up with the isuzu and put it in a friends field until April which is my first outing with the steam engines. I have an old landy which im gonna use for towing mainly but it was just an idea to see how people have got on with it.

With regards to your comments about my license there is so much rubbish that goes with modern licenses and restrictions. The grandfather rights (no offence) mean you can tow anything you like and drive 7.5 tonne lorries and trailers minibuses etc. Whereas for me to get to the same level I have to take 4 extra test £450 !!! that's just the test fees. I am though taking my trailer test over the winter so I can tow more than 750kgs as would be useful with the steam engines and also towing the tractors with the landy. But for this caravan i dont need any extensions as its gross is under 750kg.

Ben did you reinforce your towball as to me that scaffold bar at the back dont seem totally up to the job.

Good news as well all the electrics are now finished on the car

[b_caswell]

Re: towing

Most roadsters have the factory option of a welded ball on the standard bar. My car has a bolt on hitch but the bolt holes were sleeved and welded into the bar. The bar itself is not reinforced and has been OK.
I didnt realise the cost for the extras on your licence was that much. I was lucky I even gained my HGV by the fact that I was driving Fire appliances when the HGV licence was introduced in about 1970.

[tomallen_2003]

Re: towing

Being cheeky but any chance of a picture? Tell me about it the license costs are a joke. To match yours i need to take
1- car and trailer
2- LGV
3- LGV with trailer
4- Minibus
5- and one more but cant remember.

Just another way of getting more money from us but o well cant grumble. no ne ever listens lol.

Marlin is coming on nice all the front end is on and had running for quite a while then run out of fuel just a few little things then off for an mot.

[b_caswell]

Re: towing

I will try and attach a pic here but will also send email