Towing with the Caravelle - anyone done/doing it?

[Ivo]

I LOVE my Multivan and think they are a great vehicle but I think you need a different tow vehicle.

96kw is the small motor.........and you want to have all seven seats filled with kids and tow a caravan that may weigh 1450kg but by the time you load it up with all you need for 7 kids it will be closer to 1750kg. Good luck getting up a big hill with that load. If you have an Auto it just going to get expensive. Try getting that fixed when you in the middle of no where.

My parents are grey nomads and do several trips a year all over Oz, they have had 8+ caravans and towed with everything from a Subaru Forester, BA falcon sedan and wagon, diesel Jackeroo and a diesel Pajero.

You can rearrange your load all you like to get 0kg ball weight but that does not matter to the insurance company when things go wrong. Its the compliance plates that count. If you go over those limits you run the risk of not only wiping your cover but who knows if someone dies as a result of you overloading. My parents have heard to many horror stories on their travels to justify the risk.

Buy a 7 seat Landcruiser.
or
Buy a 128kw manual VW van and get a lighter caravan and a few tents.

[Sunny43.5]

I agree weight distribution is critical I remember towing a car trailer years ago with my Ford Ute mongrel started to fish tail was just lucky I had some spare power to pull it out of trouble. Howard

[Tornado T5]

Just looked up a brochure for the MY2008 T5's and all models had a 2500kg braked/750kg unbraked towing limit. Why would today's T5's "lose" 100kg of tow ball capacity?

[twincab]

The 100kg ball weight probably relates to the light hook style tow bars they use in europe. Our square tube bars are far more substanial.

Pete

[Ivo]

Plenty of UK guys seem to be towing with the small motors:
anyone tow large caravan with remapped 84? - VW T4 Forum - VW T5 Forum