Conference terri::cars_uk

    > Anybody any idea how a fiesta would handle towing a trailer_tent or
    > small (700 k) caravan?
    
    trailer_tent shouldn't be too bad as long as it's light, because of the
    low profile.
    
    I personally wouldn't recommend a caravan, the fiesta is too light to
    handle a high sided encumberance in any sort of wind....

    
    I think there's some law relating a car's weight to the maximum weight
    it can tow.
    
    Steven

    There's a recommendation of no more than 85% of the car's dry
    weight, but I don't think there's a law at the moment; the
    police can "advise" you as to the safety of your rig, but that's
    about it (source: Horse & Hound 26/3/92 article on towing).
    
    JJ.

    
     My sister-in-law tried towing a small caravan with her XR3i - then
     she went out and bought an old Landy to tow with.....
    
     I agree with -2(?) it can probably manage, but you would have to be
    careful not to go out when the wind is blowing, and choose your route,
    so that you avoid any hills!

    
    I can speak from recent experience about the perils of towing.  I towed
    a fairly heavy trailer behind an Audi around the M.25 around Xmas time.
    When going down hill, the trailer got bored and decided to wave the
    Audi around a bit.  The result was the trailer overtook me, and spun
    the car right round so I ended up facing into the traffic.  Several
    pairs of underpants were ruined on the M.25 that day.  No serious
    damage was done, and I mention in my prayers every night the anonymous
    chap in the lorry who stopped the traffic in the outside lane so I
    could turn around again.  
    
    I'd kept my speed well below 50 Mph for this trip - It was a steep
    downhill that got me.  The speed started to go up, I put on the brakes
    (just a touch) and the whole thing started to snake.  Now armchair
    experts have told me subsequently that I could have accelerated out of
    this situation, but a crowded M.25 does not allow much margin of error,
    and its not something you can rely on.  They also talk about making
    sure the weight of the trailer is distributed towards the front, which
    seems to be good advice, but.....
    
    The bottom line is this.  If you are going to tow a caravan behind a
    Fiesta, please tell me where and when as I would like to be somewhere
    else. 
    
    I don't want to talk about this any more or I shall start to whimper
    and will have to be taken somewhere for quiet lie down.
      

    
    re -1 I have great sympathy for you! - I had a similar incident happen
    to me, again on the M25. In my case the 'weave' was initiated by a
    large bump in the road as the hill started to level out....
    I've never seen three lanes of motorway clear so quickly! I was towing 
    with a Landy, and I wasn't spun round - we just lurched back and forth 
    across the road, until I managed to accelerate, and then pull over 
    to the hard shoulder to recover a bit before continuing...... This
    happened with an old, heavy trailer, with not-very-good brakes,
    (compared to modern ones). We now have a new trailer which is lighter,
    and very well behaved, and I will tow this with a car, but if I've any
    doubts about weight/behaviour of the thing to be towed, I'll take the
    Landy! 

    
    As already mentioned, no law currently in UK, but I believe France has
    a law covering this.
    
    Certainly, beware the snakes. These can be caused by weight
    distribution, bump in road, moderate wind, suction from passing
    lorries, & lack of pull (going down-hill). Stabilisers will increase
    the road speed at which snaking will occur, but they will not stop it.
    Once you go, you will be unlikely to recover. Dont rely on accelerating
    to recover stability, if an outfit is unstable to start with it will
    not recover. Owners of heavy vehicles may recover from snakes caused by
    freak conditions, but with a Fiesta you have no weight advantage that a
    Land-rover benefits from. If the snake is caused by air turbulance
    accelerating will make it worse. If the snake is caused by the pendulum
    effect pray your trailer is 85% the weight of your car or less.
    
    I would steer clear of a caravan with your car unless you want to
    travel at 45mph or less. Trailers present less aerodynamic problems.
    
    I would suggest a 1-ton car for caravanning as a minimum. Beware
    manufacturers towing claims. These are based on the cars ability to
    pull away from stationary on a slope, & have no bearing on the dynamic
    effects of wind & moving mass.
    
    I've never experienced a snake. The nearest I came was being blown off-
    course on the M5. This was at 35mph & the front wheels wrer forced
    side-ways. Caravans make wonderful sails !
    
    Thats the grim side, but I've also enjoyed over 10,000 miles of caravan
    journeys across Europe. Just pick the right car.  8<)

    Even a small trailer will benefit from a stabiliser andan adequate
    amount of nose-weight.
    
    Try asking this question in the caravanning conference......

    Re -1 ....
    
    Try TRUCKS::CARAVANS_UK

                                              <<< Note 1735.9 by LARVAE::CLEMENTS_D >>>
Thanks for the pointer to the caravanning notes file, and your accounts of you not-too-pleasant experiences of towing.

Looks like the 85% rule is the one to go with and to drive slowly.

thanks,

Maura