Newbie and hi to all. Quick ? Caravan towing

[Davie]

Hello to all,
Thought i would join and see if i could get advice on my motor. I am no mechanic and leave that to others but if you want your house rewired give me a shout. I have a 2001 E320 4 tronic W210 no tow bar but i have a caravan i would like to tow MGW 1 I/2 Ton at full weight the norm for it is about 200kg. I would like to fix a rack on the back if it can be done for putting a 250kg motor bike on the back with a counter weight at front bringing the towing weight up to about 700kg. Can this be done or am i being nuts thinking about this. Thought i would leave it to you clever minds. Any help welcomed even if it is to say i am nuts. Remember i am not an engineer and a tow bar still has to be fitted to my new motor.

Thanks
Davie

 

[brandwooddixon]

Do you wish to put the motorbike on the back of the caravan and then tow it?

I guess whether it is possible would be down to how strongly the caravan chassis is constructed.

I would doubt that it would be possible to mount anything heavier than a scooter, especially considering that most caravan bodies are very lightly constructed.

One possibility may be to attach another trailer to the caravan for towing the bike.

You can get aftermarket towbars, which are substantially cheaper than the MB ones, which I think are Berr (or something like that).

Remember that the recommended tow hitch weight is somewhere in the region of 60-80Kg.

 

[Andrew23]

Hi Davie.

Think I would have to agree with brandwooddixon re being able to fix a bike carrier to a caravan. I am not sure the body would be strong enough to take the weight. If your caravan is modern it may well have GRP or similar back panel which will not take much weight at all. If you do manage it, you will still have to be very careful not to exceed the noseweight recommended for your car or caravan (have to stick to the lowest - for my car that is 75kg).

Not sure what the law relating to a trailer pulling a trailer would be. Perhaps someone like the Caravan Club (http://www.caravanclub.co.uk) may have some technical info you could use.

I tow a 1400kg caravan with my Merc - 2002 C220CDi. The towbar is a Brink swanneck. They also make a detachable one, but it is more expensive than the fixed one. I think (but am not 100% sure) that Brink are one of the OEM towbar manufacturers used by MB.

Hope that is of some help.

 

[Jeepman]

I tow a 1500kg caravan with my 270cdi auto no problems...I keep the noseweight about 90kg...I had a Witter bar fitted because it is the only bar approved for use with a dropping plate which is handy for height adjustment...not so sure re mb bracket, it would have to be fixed to chassis ( I would have thought at least up to the axle) and a lot of bracing to stop bike breaking away...you really should seek pro advice on that...a usful tip to stop your bumper being damaged is to fit a stong overun bumper protecter ..I bought an 8mm thick one, because on other cars the tinplate ones just fold up and squash against the bumper anyway...

 

[oigle]

Interesting to read about towball weights when towing caravans in Europe. Here in Oz, it is considered almost obligatory to have the ball weight between 10% and 15% of the van weight to keep stability on road and stop "tail wagging".
My van weighs around 1600kg and the ball weight is 200kg. I know the maximum ball weight allowed for the ML is way under that but I use a very common "weight distribution kit" made by Hayman Reese here. It takes the weight off the back axle and transfers whatever percentage is required on to the front axle. This does two things - firstly it relieves excess load from the rear and secondly it places enough load back on the front to regain normal steering and braking. The tow vehicle sits nice and level and the load is shared across the vehicle. End result is a very stable "rig" under any conditions. A very informative article appears in the following website, for those who may be interested.
http://www.goseeaustralia.com.au/ar...a_GoSee_TravelSmart_Club_Towing_Weight_Guide/

 

[*Thumper]

You cant put that much weight on the back of your Caravan .............. you'll make the nose light. and end up in a ditch ............. what caravan do you have, I'll work out the outfit match for you.

One your through the back panel .... your in to wooden framing .......... so it would be difficult to hold that weight anyway.

I think your mistaking your Caravan for a Motorhome. .................................