Good day. Would just like to find out if it will be possible to tow a 1982 Jurgens Champion B Caravan with a 1.9TDI polo. Have never owned a caravan and would like to buy this caravan if I can tow it.

Thank you

Johan, welcome!

If I can remember correctly the specs of your car would allow you to tow the van. I do not know the van, best is to check the weight of the van and see if you will be towing legally.

Don't have the stats anymore, but I was looking for a Cross Polo 1.9tdi to tow my Sprite Swing and can remember that the torque was more than enough to do the job.

 

Thank you for your reply. Will have a look at weight then

By trafic regulations the Gross Vehicle Mass(GVM) of the Caravan may not exceed the Tara weight listed on the license disk of the tow vehicle.  This however is difficult for the authorities to enforce, because of reasons I am not going to bore you with now.

What the traffic authorities do use at a weighbridge is the actual specifications of the vehicle as supplied by the manufacturer.  This is the weight specified by the manufacturer that the vehicle may tow.  To determine that, you need to find the information plate/sticker either in the enjin compartment or in one of the doors. On this plate/sticker the Gross Combined Mass(GCM), Gross Vehicle Mass(GVM), Front Axle Load and Rear Axle load is displayed.

All you need to do is subtract the GVM from the GCM and that will tell you what the vehicle is capable of towing.

Remember that it is not only the enjin power that determine if a vehicle can tow a trailer but the weight limitations as provided by the manufacturer are the biggest factor.  Due to the fact that very small cars have diesel enjins with turbos and so on providing more than enough power to tow a caravan but its the weight isue that makes a combination relatively stable or not.

Thank you that helps a lot

you must remember that any vehicle has the power to tow any caravan. it is the stopping power that should concern you. clearly the smaller (lighter) the tow vehicle the less stopping power it will have.

Just of some interest to you. And I stand to be corrected but the caravan you mention does not have a A frame that connects to the tow vehicle. It has a "disselboom" single pole like structure protruding from the front of the caravan that attaches to the tow vehicle. Thus you should recieve two arms about 1meter long that looks like a leafspring with a cable or chain attached to one end. You should also ask for the special towball that attach to you vehicle and can accomodate the two arms to act as stabilizers. Hope you get all parts as they are not that easily available.

That is correct yes. The guy told me about the stabilizing bars and said he will give it to me free with the caravan.

Thanks

I wonder if the stopping power being less on a smaller vehicle is really a concern. Most vehicles have very good brakes and I would think the caravan does it"s own braking.
Some time ago I read some tests where a car and caravan combination actually stopped in a shorter distance than the car alone. It thus seems the brakes on the vehicle is not meant to stop the caravan. This could well be applicable if the caravan brakes are not working as they should.
Is my assumption correct???