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whats the most youve towed (safely)?

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andycaca

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hi guys :)
im going to have a towbar fitted soon, but not sure what type to get. i have parking sensors on the rear but i also want a fixed towbar. i just dont trust the removable type, even tho they must be safe

anyway, whats the most youve towed? i plan to tow my racecar at approx 1300kgs and also the brian james A series trailer. i reckon this is over the 1500kgs that honda advise...

recommendations on towbars, if they interfere with the parking sensors and any other information would be cool. oh, what kind of electrics do i need for the gen 7? is it a simple "wire into the rear lights" job like on my bmw, or is it more complicated than that?

i only want to do this job once, and do it right! :)

thanks
andy
 
I would think your going to be well over the recommend towing weight by the time you add the weight of the trailer tbh ( It kind of depends on how recommended is defined ) , is it just recommended or is it the maximum safe towing weight ?

As for tow bars removable ones are very good these days as long as you stick to the main brand names. I use fit tow bars plus build trailers years ago and I would only fit witter or brink bars.

The wiring should be fairly straight forward as long as you don't have a bulb failure warning system.
 
thanks for that steve
following your advise about removables, i fancy this witter one now: http://www.pfjones.co.uk/honda-accord-saloon-2003-2008-detachable-tow-bar.html

i guess if this towbar/car isnt upto towing my car/trailer combo ill borrow a works van off my brother in law for the 6 events per year and use my car for towing my mx bike and trailer about :)

anyone else have something to contribute before i go ahead and buy the above this weekend?

andy
 
I tow a caravan and I keep to 87% of the kerb weight.
This brings the max weight to around 1350 KG.
A trailer with brakes I would tow up to the max in the book and no more.
Also you have to consider the load you carrying as well
 
Towing race cars with cars is common, i see it all the time with other race series in the paddock.

Ive pulled accords with accords, an although theres little power available, it does it fine. A diesel is even more suited with the extra low down torque. Just watch that clutch. And pump the rear tyres.

However the difference between legal limit per car and safe is alot. The towing weight max has a lot of safety margin factored in.
 
Let's put it this way the safety limits are put there for a reason.If you were to have an accident your insurance would be invalid.
Guys I fill very strongly about this as I tow and iv seen to many accidents with drivers over loded.Also your breaking affiency would be not be up to spec in an emergency stop
 
I'm an experienced tower ( scores of UK tours and several Foreign ones ). Honestly you are well over with 1500kg. Its not about power, its braking/stability that matters.
With that mass behind you..you're in jack-knife territory. :ph34r:
 
Thanks your on my wave length as well lol
 
If you use one of the proper car trailers, which have brakes, and linked to tow car brakes then braking force is brought backup to a reasonable level. You got 6 extra braking wheels.

DVLA says 3500kg is max around legally. 1300kg Row car + 1300kg Racecar + 500kg Trailer = 3100kg Got 400kg spare.

Having said that, i agree with the others its not the safest way to transport a car so if you can do it a more proper way, then do so. A bigger more heavy duty tow is best, but then you may be over that 3500kg limit.
 
TheHole said:
i think something like this will happen if you really do plan on towing a stupidly unsafe weight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPEkKYJEZT0
Click to expand...

Wow... I was really considering getting a trailer to tow any eBay/autotrader bargains with my Accord, but seeing that video is pretty terrifying, that kind of force could so easily pull you into the oncoming carriageway. Question for experienced tow drivers, would trying to power out of that have helped? I understand often the worst thing to do (albeit an automatic reaction in emergencies) is to brake when you're loosing control of the trailer, as you wind up with the trailer trying to 'overtake' the rapidly decelerating tow bar it's attached to...

Josh
 
The maximum of 3500kgs is the combined weight of the trailer and the load but only if towed by something like a large four wheel drive that has a safe recommend towing weight to match. Say a landrover disco weighs 2500kgs plus the trailer and load of 3500kgs ( braked ) that's still a lot of weight if you have to stop it in a hurry . As well as spending a bit of time fitting tow bars and building trailers ive spent most of my working life as a marine engineer which has taken me all over Europe towing boats on trailers ( most of which were at the max towing weight 3500kg ) beleive me even with a four wheel drive in some of the driving conditions I've driven in I wouldn't call it safe.
 
Just to add to my last post . The trailer that you are using need to be plated for its maximum load and gross weight too ( just because the coupling may say for example 2700kgs doesn't mean to say the axles have the same rating ).

If the police think your set up looks over weight or unsafe they can have you taken to a weigh bridge and inspected ( I know this as it has happened to me due to the amount of towing I've done over the years ).
 
Josh luckily iv nether been in any trouble when towing as I always keep to the limits.
Even so it's still possible in certain conditions.If you ever get in trouble the best thing to do is let the car slow down on its own.do not brake or make any movements on the steering
 
thanks for the input guys. the trailer itself is fine for this, its a brian james clubman A series, twin axle and 4 wheel braked and has done many miles with my race car on the back.
i think its the towcar and towbar thats the limiting issue here. lots of food for thought in this thread, cheers :)
 
lol at that video. the car was being towed FAR too fast. ive seen that happen to idiotic caravan drivers too (mostly in the SW!)
i tend to stick with the HGVs when im towing. im in no rush because i get to the venue a day early and stay overnight...
 
update: last year i towed my 1320kg race car and twin axle brian james trailer to several meets and probably did 2k miles under tow conditions. no problems whatsoever, cruising along with the HGVs in the slow lane.

the witter detachable towbar has been problem free. this thread can be looked back upon if anyone else needs to tow a car in the future. :)
 
ebod said:
Honestly you are well over with 1500kg. Its not about power, its braking/stability that matters.
With that mass behind you..you're in jack-knife territory. :ph34r:
Click to expand...


^ This.

My own view is simply if towing with a car and going above 1000kg even with a braked trailer, it's time to get a Land Cruiser or similar.
 
andycaca said:
thanks for that steve
following your advise about removables, i fancy this witter one now: http://www.pfjones.co.uk/honda-accord-saloon-2003-2008-detachable-tow-bar.html

i guess if this towbar/car isnt upto towing my car/trailer combo ill borrow a works van off my brother in law for the 6 events per year and use my car for towing my mx bike and trailer about :)

anyone else have something to contribute before i go ahead and buy the above this weekend?

andy
Click to expand...

Very good tow bar, Andy. I have this on my car and it tows the 1100kg caravan very well, and can pull a 2 or so tonne no problem (when moving things around on the driveway, you don't want to go over the 1.5 tonne weight limit else you'll get nicked) If you have a type S splitter you can't see the tow bar has been fitted. Very, very happy with it. It is most certainly rock solid.

Also, well worth buying to correct Honda loom for electrics.

I fitted myself. We really easy.
 
jakey.goodman said:
Very good tow bar, Andy. I have this on my car and it tows the 1100kg caravan very well, and can pull a 2 or so tonne no problem (when moving things around on the driveway, you don't want to go over the 1.5 tonne weight limit else you'll get nicked) If you have a type S splitter you can't see the tow bar has been fitted. Very, very happy with it. It is most certainly rock solid.

Also, well worth buying to correct Honda loom for electrics.

I fitted myself. We really easy.
Click to expand...

Woops, just noticed the date. Sorry!
 
judging from the work needed on my drive shafts and clutch i think my car was hauling this at some point

l3.png
 
My caravan and no problem at all.
Just keep to your limits 85% of your kurb weight recomended by the caravan club
 
Has anybody fitted helper springs to their car to aid towing a caravan? or does the 2007 I-CTDi Tourer not need anything??
 
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