[image] Since many people seem to believe you can't tow with cars, here's roughly what dutch people end up doing on vacation.
[image] Since many people seem to believe you can't tow with cars, here's roughly what dutch people end up doing on vacation.
I still find it frustrating to see the exact same vehicles get significantly different tow ratings here vs Europe.
The other day the dealer tried to warn not to tow my utility trailer with my car as it would hurt the transmission (trailer was empty by the way). I pulled up an article from the UK where it was in the top three of best towing cars for this year.
Dealer looked at me like his brain needed to reboot, after which he told me the cars in Europe must be built differently or get different transmissions and left it at that.
It's truly baffling that manufacturers here hold that towing capacity hostage for arbitrary reasons.
Once at work I said "My Audi sedan has a towing capacity of over 5,000 lbs, isn't that crazy?" A coworker said "That's almost as much as my Tacoma!" (Early 2000s model). Turns out 5,000 is closer to his combined vehicle weight + towing capacity.
I remember my grandfather using the Grand Prix to tow and pull out stumps and stuff instead of the work truck.
if you saw the sheer scope of trailers, campers, Tour Bus RV's, custom toy haulers etc that invade the coastal areas of where I live, you would realize the problem isn't the semantics of tow vehicle size. the whole "adventure camping" myth when two people bring a 800 square foot Motorcoach with a car in tow makes me want to vomit. its like a car brain with sepsis. leave your fucking house at home.
Been there as a kid in the 90s. Sitting in the back my my parents Toyota Carina with my 2 siblings, while we were towing a caravan.
That car had a 2l, 4 cylinder petrol and got through the Alps and Pyrenees. Iwas more comfortable touring that way than going by tent only. Now I'm in Australia where I'm gobsmacked by how much shit people "need" to go camping. All while I'm exploring the same locations and actually spending more time camping in the bush as I tour on a tiny, economical 125cc motorcycle.
Almost to prove a point, I took that little thing to Cape York and will take it RTW next year, partly to show that you don't need much.
Just yesterday I was towing about a half to 2/3 of a cord of a wood with my wagon. Folks assume you need a giant truck to tow anything. Full disclosure though I was pushing the limits of my car, it pulls this weight without issue but stopping it risky and I have to drive very carefully and keep huge buffers between myself and the next car.
The excuse for buying these compensators is they need them to tow. And yet I've rarely seen one ever used to tow. I saw this juxtaposition in my local area:
You can tow with anything. The question becomes, how long can you tow with it. If I'm buying a car and it has a hitch on it, I'm not buying that one unless it just had a transmission put in it or I got it cheap enough that I can put a new transmission in it.
True, but the reason in the US is different is because of laws.
My camping setup fits in some boxes I have on my 650cc motorcycle. Don't even need to tow anything.
Cars and trucks can fuck off, and most pick-up truck owners are fooling themselves by buying into a lifestyle they don’t actually live, but I still would not recommend towing any significant distance with a Golf. You can tow with a hatchback, but it’s not really that safe and your speed is very limited, making you a huge annoying moving obstacle for the rest of us cursed to live in this world designed for cars.
Something interesting about a camper like in the picture in Europe, to me, is where the axle is. It looks much more centered than the campers I see in the US and I have no idea why. The way the axle is in the picture certainly reduces tongue weight on the car. I wonder if the trade off is less stability at high speed? Genuinely curious!
Me and my family used to go camping. We always towed with my father's car.
I have no issues towing my caravan - although I tend to keep to 80kph and pull over if I see someone behind me. The caravan does have electric brakes though, weights 800kg unladen.
I used to tow in the UK with a Chrysler Voyager ( American Made, 7 x Seater SUV ) it did pretty well.
Fully ladden, all seats occupied + a dog, 2 x Roof Boxes and towing my massive Trailer Tent.
Even came back from one holiday on Three cylinders cus of a HT Lead fault and yes we went up some pretty steep hills, just needed to get a bit of a run at them that's all, lol.
Great Fun 😊
Aw man, no way 50 horses could pull this, gotta have at least 500.
I had a 2005 Camry which broke down last year, so I replaced it with a 2015 Mazda 5. The towing section of the manual for the Camry said something along the lines of "Well, this car is not really intended for towing, but if you must use it for that, here's what you have to do…". For the Mazda, the manual just says that it is not recommended to use the car for towing at all.
This actually the reason why I really don't like it how so many folks take tow hitches off of antique cars as I'm told they used to be on damn near every car during the 50s and 60s today while yes today they are quite impractical but like you don't have to have a trailer on a hitched car 247 but still your making a already impractical car and making it slightly more impractical
