You can tow it with a car

[RobertRyan]

Not all Australian Touring Caravans weigh 8000lb, there are lightweight single axle models, like this 4,200lb , 22ft version that can be easily towed by a car.

[RobertRyan]

Slownsy wrote:
RobertRyan which USA pickup are you referring to whit downrated tovrating in Australia I have not com across this exept for price and purpose of registration ETC by importers.
Frank.

Quite common Frank. Shonky Importers quote the US statistics, as a PR thing or not at all. Many quote the much lower 1.5 times the Tare weight towing ability as a realistic figure. If you have an accident then you will be liable if you exceed the 1.5 times tare figure.
That is why the Silverado 2500HD was quoted as having a towing figure of 9,900lb much lower than what would be mentioned in the US.
See the advertisement below.
Silverado 2500HD towing statistics in Australia.

With a payload of just over 1200Kg and capable of towing 4500Kg on the Towbar or over 7 Tonne using a fifth wheel/gooseneck configuration

[Slownsy]

RobertRyan which USA pickup are you referring to whit downrated tovrating in Australia I have not com across this exept for price and purpose of registration ETC by importers.
Frank.

[Alan_Maschek]

On the Australian tow limits for the Kia Sorento. I do know the US Sorento is manufactured in the US. I do think even our Korean manufactured V6 Sorento has a lower tow limit than the diesel Sorento.

So, I don't know if there are some slightly different design differences between them.

I did follow a diesel Sorento towing a tandem axle 20' caravan here and he was travelling at about 115kph or a bit over 70mph up and down hills.

Someone mentioned unitary constructed tow limits as well. The new Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel or Hemi V8 powered ones can tow about 3 500kg or 7 800lbs and they are a unitary constructed vehicle.

[RobertRyan]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
In the interest of accuracy, and while I do agree wholeheartedly, those words are "Burbman's" not mine

Sorry Francesca.

[Francesca_Knowl]

RobertRyan wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:
This issue was raised before here on the forum by a member who visited Europe on vacation. How can caravans towed by cars with 2 or 3 % tongue weight not sway? The RVs are better designed and better built.

Not quite

:h

In the interest of accuracy, and while I do agree wholeheartedly, those words are "Burbman's" not mine.

[RobertRyan]

jerem0621 wrote:
My Kia Sorento is rated to pull 1650 lbs in the states. In Australia it's rated to pull over 4000 lbs.

Except for a diesel option exactly the same vehicle.As a result of the rating given in the US, you would be extremely wary about exceeding its tow ratings in case you were in an accident and insurance refused to pay. although it would be as capable of doing that same thing as in Australia, depending on the hitch fitted.
As I mentioned earlier US Pickup ratings are very much downrated here. The PR spin that is part of the Pickup culture in NA does not exist , so US Diesel pickups lose thousands of lbs in towing ability when rated here. They are much more conservative when it comes to commercial use vehicles.
From Caravanners forum

That would mean complying with the rule dictating that the trailed mass(Not US basic weight, but water etc) shall not exceed that of 1.5 times that of the towing vehicle.

Subject, of course to the towbar manufacturer's restrictions and the requirement for the prescribed brakes etc.

[jerem0621]

md2lgyk wrote:
Sorry, but I do not believe there is any car sold in America (vans and SUVs excluded) that's rated to tow 4,000 pounds.

My Kia Sorento is rated to pull 1650 lbs in the states. In Australia it's rated to pull over 4000 lbs.

[RobertRyan]

Burbman wrote:
This issue was raised before here on the forum by a member who visited Europe on vacation. How can caravans towed by cars with 2 or 3 % tongue weight not sway? The RVs are better designed and better built.

Not quite as others have mentioned earlier,unibody cars used to tow Travel Trailers in the past quite happily. European Caravans are designed to be towed by cars which is correct, but this US hybrid was not. Anyway as like in the past this was towed across the US by a Holden Calais(now being sold in the US as a Chevrolet SS).

[flash82]

Francesca Knowles wrote:


The RVs are better designed and better built.

Bingo

[atreis]

My minivan, which handles quite nicely towing, is not substantially different from a Toyota Avalon. I've no doubt the sedan could do the job too, with appropriate coolers installed. (Transmission cooler is standard in the US on the Sienna but not the Avalon.)

The "unibody/frameless vehicles can't tow" thing is a myth, as evidenced by several unibody vehicles on the market today with very high tow ratings: VW Touareg is a unibody vehicle and has a tow rating of 7700 lbs.

In the 70s my grandparents towed a much heavier, longer, trailer with a car with about 1/2 the horsepower, shorter wheelbase, lighter weight than my Sienna, and using a hitch with no WD or sway control. They liked going out west, and took it through the mountains many times. Going uphill was slow, and sometimes required rolling down the windows and blasting the heater to keep the engine cool. Not ideal, but it did it. (I've not gone out west with mine, but it does fine in WV, NC, MD, etc...)

People today want to be able to behave as if they're NOT towing something, when they are. Same speeds, same behaviors. Have to wonder if it's not the cause of some accidents - people not being careful because they think their vehicle is so capable that they can ignore the trailer.

[Francesca_Knowl]

BurbMan wrote:



This issue was raised before here on the forum by a member who visited Europe on vacation. How can caravans towed by cars with 2 or 3 % tongue weight not sway? The RVs are better designed and better built.

Exactly the point I tried to make earlier.

[BurbMan]

RobertRyan wrote:

This European Caravan is 26ft long and has a max weight of 4,400lb.

The problem with towing is not with the car it is with the RV here in the US. We have to have 12%+ tongue weight and that it just too heavy for a car's suspension to handle, so we are forced to used trucks and SUVs.

Look at the trailer in this picture and see how far forward the axles are.....the trailer is balanced to 5% or less of tongue weight, same in Europe. The cars can pull the weight of the trailer, they just can't carry the weight of a heavy tongue. If the RV was designed to towed by a car, ie with a manageable tongue weight, then we could do it. RVs made here in North America are very tongue heavy and therefore cannot be towed by cars.

This issue was raised before here on the forum by a member who visited Europe on vacation. How can caravans towed by cars with 2 or 3 % tongue weight not sway? The RVs are better designed and better built.

[The_Dung_Beetle]

RobertRyan wrote:

The Dung Beetles wrote:
Ahhhhh! Like that concept a lot! We are going to hit the Seattle RV show in Feb 6-9. I hope they have some display units there with this concept. Hub would love to get a better look at that. I'm a super cautious/wary driver but... bad things can and do happen fast. My hope once I retire is to be RVing at least 3 -4 months out of the year. It never hurts to have as many safety features as possible when on the open roads. Thanks!

What you describe applies to so many retirees new to RVing.

Well...we are "new" to luxury RVing, but not RVing. I guess you could call us highly seasoned "boondockers". We have spent years camping in remote, back country areas. Our campers were not self contained, and the only people we saw were each other, or a few people who ventured in with us. It was peace and quiet personified. We always hauled in horses (even had one horse designated as the "fishing horse"). She was a very reliable mare who carried in alllll the fly fishing gear including two partially inflated float tubes. She was quite the sight.

It was quite the education for us to go to true RVing by today's standards. In the beginning we struggled to adjust to sooooo many people packed in such a small area. We have encountered some flaming idiots, but we have also met some wonderful free spirited people and we have made great friendships along our way. We met some "full time RVers" on one of our short outings that were from the E. coast of the USA. We live on the far W. coast of the USA. We had a great time with them, and in passing we mentioned where we would be the following month (and where we would be parked). They backtracked from their original plans and met us a month later at a large kite festival. We had another great round of fun with them. I believe we will stay in contact with these people for the rest of our lives. THAT part of the new RVing has been extremely enjoyable for us! Soo many fun people out there enjoying life!!

My husband is already retired, and I hope to retire in the next year or two. Time will tell.

Maybe we'll bump into you... LOL

Safe Travels...
.

[mowermech]

My first experience with seeing a trailer towed was a 22 foot TRAILER HOUSE (no, not a "travel trailer") being towed from Billings, MT to Hungry Horse, MT by a mid-40s Chevy half ton pickup. It did the job just fine.
when I got my first TT (15 ft, no idea what it weighed) I towed it with a 1975 Ford E150 with a 351 V8, auto tranny. Our second TT, 19 foot, again no idea what it weighed, was towed with either a Jeep Wagoneer (1970), or a 1977 Ford E150 or a 1976 Dodge W200. I had to use a WD hitch on the Wagoneer, but not on the other tow vehicles.
Yes, I have seen a lot of TTs in campgrounds (even in the mountains) towed by mid-size and full size sedans and station wagons. Also some pop-ups and Hi-LOs towed by smaller cars. It CAN be safely done!