Towing Advice / Capability

[speedy555]

Hi. We recently bought a 2008 Rav4 2.2d4d and are currently looking at a caravan! Ive looked at my v5 and other places and it seems the Rav weighs in at 1715kg though can tow 2000kg (As Im sure you already know...)

The caravan weighs 1500kg, is twin axle and about 24ft long! By my reckoning the Rav can tow that somewhere near caravan towing guidelines as it weighs around 87% of the cars weight.

So, am I technically correct?.....will it actually cope with something of this physical size?.....And would it just look plain daft? :)

Thanks

[Doosan]

Hi, I am towing at 80% and I find this is fine, so I would say that yours at 87% should be ok. I do find that when I am towing in France that I rarely get out of 5th gear.

If you need any help with your caravan or towing questions, think about joining http://www.caravantalk.co.uk a very friendly and informative forum.

Dave

[speedy555]

Thanks. On paper it all seems ok, and t/a are usually more stable than single, but would it look unsafe / the rav look tiny towing a long caravan? I cant find any pictures on google of how odd the outfit would look. I dont care much, but the wife is a different matter :)

[pmb]

Please tell me that 1500kg is the max weight of the van and not the mass in running order. Is the van a 600 in length or something? Welcome to this forum btw.

[speedy555]

Hi. The 1500kg is the max allowable weight, MIRO is 1200kgs. Its a bessacarr cameo 600gl which is 7.7m / 25ft long. Thanks :)

[enyajtrebor]

I am looking at a 2013 Rav with the 2.2 engine or a 2.2 Auto on a 62 plate at the local Mr T

Any obvious pit falls with using as a towcar and what's the 2.0 diesel like. I am thinking that may be underpowered ?

Any thought appreciated

Ta

[NORTHERN_LAD]

I tow a caravan with my RAV and I can say it is a very under rated tow car.

My caravan has a Max weight of 1420 kg and the car handles it with ease up or down hills, even the steepest of hills in the Pennines. My only problem is that Max torque is at 2000 rpm or 70 ish mph but I just change to 5th gear. (Power to spare)

I get 25 to 30 mpg towing and have had 56 mpg solo but that was at a near constant 55 mph.

My RAV is one of the first of the 150 bhp and I have had it for 10 months, it does not have a dpf (yes there are some out there) and it uses minimal oil. So far i am very happy with it.

[redlew]

My Mark2 was good at towing a horse trailer except for reversing generally and in particular in reversing up a slight incline . Are the mark 3s any better?

[NORTHERN_LAD]

Sorry but I don't have lot of experience at reversing a caravan as the angles are all wrong to get it on my drive ( garage is in the way). I have a motor mover on my caravan

When I have reversed onto pitches I have not had any problems but caravan parks tend to be flat.

Is your problem not enough power to push or is it that horse boxes tend to be twin axle like big caravans which I believe are harder to reverse / manoeuvre than single axle.

[Doosan]

My Mark2 was good at towing a horse trailer except for reversing generally and in particular in reversing up a slight incline . Are the mark 3s any better?

Reversing with a manual gear box especially up a hill is very hard on the clutch. I have a mover on my caravan and makes life much easier.

[ianfish]

Hi, I am towing at 80% and I find this is fine, so I would say that yours at 87% should be ok. I do find that when I am towing in France that I rarely get out of 5th gear.

If you need any help with your caravan or towing questions, think about joining http://www.caravantalk.co.uk a very friendly and informative forum.

Dave

i thought "Doosan" would be on here pretty quickly with some info! He's right, join http://www.caravantalk.co.uk it's a great forum. My Rav tows my caravan brilliantly, not as long as the op's one but it's great. Especially with retro fit cruise control for those long trips abroad.

[peterat8]

Got to agree with Doosan, join Caravan Talk. Plenty of good advice. There is also www.Caravanning4u.co.uk, another friendly and informative site.

Our Rav tows our Lunar Clubman with no problems at all.

Only thing that niggles me is that once hitch up we can not open the rear door more than a few inches as it will catch the caravan hitch handle. We put anything needed on the journey on the back seat.

We also use a mover as reversing up a slight incline will not do the clutch any good at all.

Peter