Small van and trailer

[Newapprentice]

I'm a landscaper and I'm looking at buying a van and trailer.

I won't need to tow the trailer very often, but when I do I will need to pull about 2Tonne of sand/rubble.

Obviously I will need something reasonably powerful like 1.9, or 2.0 litre I guess?

Would something like a VW Caddy 1.9 do the job? I only want a small van really, not a transit or one of the larger vans.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Peter.N.]

The problem is not so much the power as the weight, 2 tons is considerably more than the weight of the towing vehicle, you need to check the max towing weight of the vehicle, also I believe to carry two tons you need a braked trailer.

Peter

 

[Newapprentice]

A braked trailer? I guess a trailer with its own brakes?

Probably more expensive to buy, are there any other drawbacks?

 

[Peter.N.]

Yes, I would think so unless you can get a secondhand bargain but you might find its illegal to tow that much weight with a small light van as well as not being very safe.

These are the figures for the C5, vehicle weight 2,000kg app

Max towing weight 750kg unbraked 2000kg braked.

So it would seem that the max towing weight is equal to the vehicle weight which in the case of a small van would probably be about 1000-1500kg

Peter

 

[Newapprentice]

Thank you very much for your help.

Looks like I will have to look at a bigger van.

 

[Peter.N.]

You could get a C5 estate they are cheap enough you could probably carry half a ton in it.

Peter

 

[Inky Pete]

Buy whatever vehicle will serve the purpose you want it to 95% of the time.

Hire the appropriate vehicle for the job (flat bed Transit?) whenever you need to do something out of the ordinary.

No point buying and paying running costs, insurance etc on something which is bigger and more expensive than you need on a day to day basis.

 

[stuartturbo]

What about a landrover disco van like
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/97P-Land-...7?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item337289dd63

 

[timtheenchanter]

I don't know how old you are or when you passed your test, but check you can actually tow such a big trailer legally.
Maximum Gross Train Weight (ie gross(max) weight of both tow vehicle and trailer) is 3.5tonnes if you passed your test after (April IIRC) 1997

Also, if you had licence after this date, you CANNOT tow a trailer that weighs more than the kerbweight of your towcar.

 

[Newapprentice]

I'm glad I've been on here to check things out. I passed my test before 1997. I'm going to have to look into this a lot closer before I buy something.

Thanks to you all.

 

[Burnerman]

Most of the landscapers around me tend to favour the 4x4 trucks like the Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navarra, Toyota Landcruiser, Ford Ranger etc.....these are ideal for trailer towing, and for other storage the double cabs have their place - and a van vault fixed to the back takes care of the smaller tools.
John

 

[Mursal]

Yes, its illegal over here to pull a twin axle trailer with a two-wheel drive.

 

[Inky Pete]

I've certainly seen plenty of Irish over HERE pulling enormous great twin axle caravans behind two wheel drive Transits!

 

[Avocet]

I'm pretty certain that ANY trailer that can carry more than about 3/4 of a ton will need to have its own brakes. I can't think of any vehicles that can tow even 1 ton unles the trailer has brakes. Vans smaller than "Transit-sized" can tow up to 2 tonnes. I think the Mercedes Vito can, and I'm certain that the current shape Peugeot Expert / Citroen Dispatch / Fiat Scudo can. I imagine the VW Transporters will be able to as well.

 

[timtheenchanter]

any trailer over 50% of the kerbweight of the towing vehicle or over 750Kgs needs to be braked.
seeing as you passed your test prior to '97 you can pretty much tow what you like


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/DG_4022547

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_4022564