New Member - Towing

[davebertie]

Hi

Just bought a T3-s D4D tourer on a 03 plate, great so far.

Does anyone tow a caravan with an Avensis, haven't seen may with a towbar, let alone towing?

Thanks for any comments.

Dave

[andy54]

hi i have just bought an 02 avensis 2ltr cdxi est

just done a short weekend away in it towing my

caravan, and im not a happy bunny it tows like a heap of ****

even went to Halfords and got spring assisters made very little

difference. going back to the dealer tommorow and going to tell

him where to stick the car

[TheNissanMan]

Not being funny but when you say you are returning the car on what grounds are you returning it, did you specifically ask your sales person what weight you required the car to pull and have you weighed your caravan loaded.

I know it sounds funny but working in the motor trade not all sales people ask a lot of detail which may be relevant to the use of the car. Salesman should get a full picture if they do their jobs correctly I agree but you should take some responsibility for doing your homework when buying a car for a specific purpose.

From what I have heard from my Avensis customer it tows his caravan quite nicely, but then it is a small one!

[michelangelo]

Used to tow with a pre-vvti engined 1.8, and this was a pretty good tow car. Only slight gripe was that the rear suspension was quite soft.

I haven't towed with my 2004 Avensis, but as the suspension is much harder than previous versions, this shouldn't be a problem. Couple this with a diesel engine and you should be laughing (assume you keep within 85% weight ratio?)

[andy54]

yes the weights are ok caravan is 1060kg car 1300kg so well within

safe limits, the dealer knows what we wanted the car for we partexd a 4x4

as we found with our new caravan we did not need such a big car

and he was told this when we did the deal.

[matty2767]

could there be a problem with the shocks on your car? can the dealer check their travel

[andy54]

dont need the dealer to check the shocks i have been in

the motor trade for 30years as a mechanic / mot tester/

service manager/ and salesman/garage owner

the car is not fit for the use it was supplied for

therefore they have to do something about it

or i will reject the car

spoke to the dealer tonight he says its between me and

the finance company i think he is in for a suprise when

mr trading standards rings him tomorrow i had already spoken to

them and the finance company. finance has been put on hold untill

its sorted out 1 way or another.

[andy54]

dealers have now agreed to fit gas struts to rear of the car,

now tows great, makes a world of difference with them fitted,

well pleased with the car and the dealer :D

[davebertie]

dealers have now agreed to fit gas struts to rear of the car,

now tows great, makes a world of difference with them fitted,

well pleased with the car and the dealer :D

Andy

Which make / type of gas strut was fitted and how much?

Am I right in saying that your car though is pre-2003 new shape?

thanks

Dave

[andy54]

kyb gas shocks

i think they were £56 each

has made a big diference to the car its now what i expected it to be

[davebertie]

kyb gas shocks

i think they were £56 each

has made a big diference to the car its now what i expected it to be

Andy

Is your car pre- 2003 (new shape) model as the dealership thinks that there is no need for uprating the shocks.

Thanks

Dave

[davepi]

Hi

Just bought a T3-s D4D tourer on a 03 plate, great so far.

Does anyone tow a caravan with an Avensis, haven't seen may with a towbar, let alone towing?

Thanks for any comments.

Dave

I tow with a 52 plate 1.8vvti and it's fine, but am thinking of buying a larger caravan which will mean I'll need a heavier car and more power etc.

I have looked at the new Avensis D4D but notice that there is a very low nose weight limit of 52kg which you may find limiting. For this reason, I am thinking of getting a Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0 TDi which is looking like a much better proposition.

cheers

Dave

[popsi]

Dave,

I've been doing some research into towing weights for the new Avensis as we need a more powerful car for towing a caravan. The nose weight for all models of the current Avensis (hatch, saloon and tourer) is in fact 75kg. This was confirmed by my local dealer - I got them to look in the Owner's Manual of a new 2007 Avensis to confirm this.

I believe the figure of 52kg comes from the Practical Caravan website and this has been quoted on other forums. I've emailed Practical Caravan to let them know the error.

Incidently, other figures I've got for a 2007 2.2 D4D T3-X Hatchback are:

Kerb Weight 1455kg

Gross Train Weight 3270kg

Gross Vehicle Weight 1970kg

Hope this helps.

Popsi

[davebertie]

Dave,

Hi Popsi

Yes you are quite right, that a 2007 Avensis (facelift) has a drawload of 75kgs, but the pre-facelift is only 52kgs according to the owners book.

Thanks

Dave

I've been doing some research into towing weights for the new Avensis as we need a more powerful car for towing a caravan. The nose weight for all models of the current Avensis (hatch, saloon and tourer) is in fact 75kg. This was confirmed by my local dealer - I got them to look in the Owner's Manual of a new 2007 Avensis to confirm this.

I believe the figure of 52kg comes from the Practical Caravan website and this has been quoted on other forums. I've emailed Practical Caravan to let them know the error.

Incidently, other figures I've got for a 2007 2.2 D4D T3-X Hatchback are:

Kerb Weight 1455kg

Gross Train Weight 3270kg

Gross Vehicle Weight 1970kg

Hope this helps.

Popsi

[tubaman]

I tow a 1000kg folding camer unit with my 2002 1.8 VVTi without problem - ideally, could do with a little more low end grunt but still tows okay & noseweight limit on my car is 75kg