Towing a caravan with a K11 Micra 1.0...picture content!

[Lewi Davison]

Well, the title suggests what you're gunna find here...wish me luck everyone, as tomorrow, i'll be setting off to malton in yorkshire for the weekend.



The caravan in question is a Superline Nova, weighing around 580kg (the max. towing weight of the towbar is 600kg) so...this should be fun!

[will]

Micra's are tough little cars and the caravan isn't massive. That said beware the tail wagging the dog on the down hills! Speed rather than breaks normally sorts that one out though I'd not be overly confident of a micra's (great as they are) ability to pull it up straight to be honest. Go easy and make sure you have some in reserve is the mantra for the overloaded hauler.
Making sure you are within your weight limits whilst pulling stuff that looks like a tug is also advisable

[joem83]

Hope it's a 1.3

[dave21478]

Jul 4, 2013 22:46:39 GMT will said:

...... beware the tail wagging the dog on the down hills! Speed rather than breaks normally sorts that one out ....

Don't do this. Ever.
Speeding up to stop weaving is a fairly guaranteed way to end up upside down in the ditch. It only works if your towcar is SIGNIFICANTLY heavier than the trailer and it has a massive amount of power to yank it into a straight line. Unless you are towing a trailer tent with a Range Rover than its just not going to happen.
If you get a weave on, take all feet off all pedals and let it slow down naturally.
Make sure any weight in the caravan is either over the axle of forwards of it. Have nothing heavy in the rear as it only amplifies the pendulum effect.

[Deleted]

I have to admit I'm the first person to use a small towcar but I wouldn't attempt that. My caravan was only a couple kg more than that and it still gave my Volvo S80 a workout in the hills! Careful how you load that as I bet the Micra only has a low nose weight

[VIP]

First thing that popped into my head...

[niwid]

I saw a guy on here once, had found an old Taunus Transit van in a field. Towed it a long way home, on a large car trailer towed by a 1.2 Punto. Good luck matey, rather you than me

[Darrel]

I towed a Puck with a Micra and it wasnt good. That was much lighter than the Silverlines. Max weight of the micra is 600kg. The cravan weighs 580kg so you have a 20kg limit for gas bottles, clothing, bedding, awning etc. You will be way over. Go very careful and hope you don't get pulled by Vosa or get sent to a weighbridge.
On the plus side I used to like the silverline. they were nice little narrow caravans.

[artstu]

A manual K11 1.3 has a braked towing limit of 750 kg, so I don't really see a problem with your 1.0 Micra at 600 kg which is the max allowed for the 1.0L model as you've already said. The 1.0 car is just as heavy orlight as the 1.3 car.

I tend to push with mine

[jimspolicev8sd1]

Id be more worried about strong headwinds!

[trouble]

Have you had to do a trailer test to tow with that?

[composimmonite]

I used to tow a small caravan with a D reg 1.0 Metro City ! It was within the manaufactures towing limit so thought I'd give it a try. Never had a problem although you could say I was experienced at towing. At the time I also had a X reg Cortina 1.6 GL estate and that towed no better than the Metro. In early 80's I towed a Sprite Alpine with a S reg Skoda 105S. A bit of a struggle on long hills otherwise OK.

Paul h

[Lawsy]

be very careful..

I had a 300kgs trailer tent on the back of a mk1 golf once - it was horrible, was well within the weight limits of the golf but vowed never again, put it on a mk3 golf estate and it was a dream to tow...

[ben711200]

Jul 5, 2013 9:21:34 GMT trouble said:

Have you had to do a trailer test to tow with that?

No, that would be fine without having to do the trailer test.

It needs to be under 750kg MAM or over 750kg MAM if that does not exceed the kerb weight of the towing vehicle and the combined MAM of trailer and kerb weight of the towing vehicle do not exceed 3500kg.

Then you'd need to consider the maximum you can tow braked and unbraked with the vehicle. I assume the caravan is braked and within the limits of the car.

That's not to say I'd want to try it though! I'm currently towing a trailer tent (braked, with a MAM of 600kg) with a 1.4 Rover 414 with a kerb weight of about 1100kg. The car can legally tow 500kg unbraked or 1000kg braked. I can't say I'd want to go bigger or heavier than what I have with that car.

[mjd]

That caravan must be at least as heavy as the car, which makes it a really bad idea to tow. Towing limits are based on what the car can physically pull, they don't tell you anything about how stable it'll be. In this case, "not very". The caravan club recommends a caravan no more than 85% of the weight of the car.

[artstu]

Jul 5, 2013 9:21:34 GMT trouble said:

Have you had to do a trailer test to tow with that?

The trailer test is something introduced for new drivers, I forget the year that rule came in, I'm OK because I passed my test well before the date.

[artstu]

Jul 5, 2013 10:53:46 GMT mjd said:

That caravan must be at least as heavy as the car, which makes it a really bad idea to tow. Towing limits are based on what the car can physically pull, they don't tell you anything about how stable it'll be. In this case, "not very". The caravan club recommends a caravan no more than 85% of the weight of the car.

The car is circa 850 kg, possibly 50 kg more, and with occupants and luggage a fair bit more. the caravan is 580 kg unladen as in the opening post.

[trouble]

Jul 5, 2013 10:59:02 GMT artstu said:

Jul 5, 2013 9:21:34 GMT trouble said:

Have you had to do a trailer test to tow with that?

The trailer test is something introduced for new drivers, I forget the year that rule came in, I'm OK because I passed my test well before the date.

Sorry, my question was to the person who started the thread

:-)

[trevorbrady]

I saw a mk3 fiesta towing a twin axle trailer with a VW T3/type25 on board once. Looked "wrong".

my missus had a 1.0 K11 Micra a couple of years ago until she stacked it and TBH, it wouldn't pull you out of bed in the morning, let alone a caravan. You're a braver man than I but I applaud you for it. God Speed

[Ratdat]

One of the factors that can make even a light caravan unstable is drag. The drag is on the upper part of the caravan, above the roofline of the car, which has the same effect as if you'd loaded all the weight at the back of the caravan. The result can be snaking and with a light FWD car that has little weight on the rear end anyway, it's quite easy to get into trouble. Keeping your speed down is the easiest way to help prevent it though. Go careful and you'll be okay.

I bought a diddy caravan a while ago on the basis of it being light enough to tow with almost any car I have. It's a Freedom Microlite which tips the scales at 470kg (590kg gross). It's only a 9ft body but surprisingly roomy inside.