Towing With Avensis 1.6 Tourer

[rjdavis]

I would like to know if you can tow a single axle caravan with a 1.6 avensis tourer or does it lack power?. Can anybody help with this.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Found one review here -

http://www.towcar.info/gebruikservaring.php?merk=Toyota&serie=Avensis

[jenshusband]

You need to check your log book to see max towing weight first.

I tow with a 2.0l Avensis and it's no problem but max braked tow weight is 1300kg

[Druid Boy]

This would be one of those 'it depends' answers. It depends on what sort of terrain you wish to tow over. Nice flat Holland type of terrain? No problem. North Wales via B or unclassified roads? That would be a bad thing. Long motorway/dual carriageway miles with plenty of lanes to allow others ease of overtaking whilst you pootle at 50mph and you aren't too worried about fuel consumption? No problem. Sinlge carriageway winding A roads? ok if you can put up with the huge queue trying increasingly desperate overtakes.

If you are worried about fuel consumption then lose the caravan.

[perdaniel]

Found one review here -

http://www.towcar.info/gebruikservaring.php?merk=Toyota&serie=Avensis

It is no wonder that he wouldn't recommend the 1.6 for towing when he used a 1780 kg caravan, that is 380 kg more than even my 2.0 vvti is rated for. The only Toyota models that I know can tow such a weight is Landcruiser, Hilux, and some RAV4.

[silvergull]

I tow a 2008 Swift Challanger and have had no problems. My Tourer is an automatic and I have towed in normal "Drive Range" and in Sport mode and in manual mode shifting gears. The site we go to is a 3 1/2 hr tow from our home and the tows wonderfully.

[perdaniel]

I tow a 2008 Swift Challanger and have had no problems. My Tourer is an automatic and I have towed in normal "Drive Range" and in Sport mode and in manual mode shifting gears. The site we go to is a 3 1/2 hr tow from our home and the tows wonderfully.

It may work even if the caravan is heavier than the allowable towing weight, but you might run into trouble not only technical trouble, but also financial and legal trouble (at least here in Norway, I haven't been able to find clear UK rules for this).

[theoilburner]

I tow a 2008 Swift Challanger and have had no problems. My Tourer is an automatic and I have towed in normal "Drive Range" and in Sport mode and in manual mode shifting gears. The site we go to is a 3 1/2 hr tow from our home and the tows wonderfully.

It may work even if the caravan is heavier than the allowable towing weight, but you might run into trouble not only technical trouble, but also financial and legal trouble (at least here in Norway, I haven't been able to find clear UK rules for this).

Yes, in the UK things are fairly clear on this. The car's V5C registration (and official technical documentation) states the maximum braked load you can pull. If you exceed this, you're breaking the law, and probably struggling to make the thing move anyway.

Not suggesting that anyone here is being daft, but it's always worth checking the data before buying a caravan or new tow car. It's some kind of expensive mistake to find out afterwards...

I know the Caravan Club in the UK also recommend not exceeding towing more than 85% of the cars kerbweight (assuming that's less than the towing limit), which I think might be a bit conservative, but makes a good rule of thumb all the same.

The Caravan Club also recommend towing with around 40 bhp per ton, based on the total of the car being fully loaded and the caravan also at its MLTPM. You can probably get away with less, but steep hills are going to cause you some headaches from time to time if you do.