Can you tow with a classic car?

Think back, for a minute, to your childhood days spent vehicle-watching through the windows of your parents’ car. Do you remember which cars you would commonly see hauling caravans or heavy trailers around the British countryside?

The chances are that, depending on the era, cars like the Rover P6, Range Rover, Ford Granada and Triumph 2000 / 2500 were the load-luggers of your youth: big, powerful saloons that provided plenty of torque and pulling power. And, if you can pick them up, cars like these will still make great tow vehicles to this day.

Cars like these, when driven sensibly and backed up with classic car insurance, could be your ticket to happy towing adventures.

What makes a good tow car?

Let’s look at a few of the essential characteristics of a great towing vehicle. And first, we’ve got a scenario for you. You are towing your caravan down a hill. The wind is blowing right across the road. You have a quick check in the rear-view mirror, and… the caravan is starting to display a slight but noticeable side-to-side sway. Experienced towers call this phenomenon ‘snaking’ – and it’s definitely something to avoid. Failing to get the caravan under control could steer you towards a serious accident.

How to prevent ‘snaking’, then? Briefly, through a combination of sensible driving and a very stable tow car. But how do you keep a tow car stable?

It’s largely about weight. The ratio of the car’s weight to the caravan it’s towing is an important one: The Camping and Caravanning Club recommends that the caravan you tow weighs no more than 85 per cent of your car's kerb weight.

It follows, therefore, that a heavy car will be a more stable, better tow vehicle than a light one. If the tow car doesn’t exceed the caravan’s weight by that all-important 15 per cent, you risk what is known in caravanning circles as ‘the tail wagging the dog’ – i.e. the caravan doing more of the steering than the car!

Beyond weight, a few other factors come into play when choosing a good tow car. A decent distance between the front and rear axles also adds to a car’s stability, and is another reason why big cars such as those we mentioned at the top traditionally made (and still make) great tow options.

Strong low-revs power

Towing a caravan is hard work for your car’s engine and gearbox, so a punchy engine is also a must. Here, torque (pulling power, especially at low revs) is the key statistic to look for, rather than peak high-revs power. Torque is measured in lb ft and will be much more important to you while towing: you don’t want to be pushing your classic’s engine up into the redline whenever you need to overtake or pull up a hill, for example.

Torque across low revs (1500rpm to 2500rpm) will be a real asset, especially when you’re manoeuvring, pulling away at lights and so on. When it comes to low-revs torque rather than high-revs power, a lot of the older cars will score over today’s models, which typically deliver their power at the higher end of the rev range.

Finally, check that your car can legally tow whatever caravan or trailer you plan to match it to. The car’s legal towing limit will be found in the handbook or VIN plate – or ask around on forums of the relevant owners’ club.

Diesel for pulling power

If we’re talking strong torque at low revs, it follows that diesel will be a good option. Not only do diesels offer more torque than their petrol counterparts, they also tend to weigh more, which is a boon when it comes to stability and that matching ratio. You’ll also typically get better fuel economy, too.

Offset against this, for classic car fans, is the fact that there is less choice when it comes to diesel cars. Diesel engines only really became popular in production cars in the 1990s, so you do have a reduced field to pick from, especially if you like your classics from the 1980s or earlier.

However, there are some desirable exceptions. The handsome Peugeot 604 introduced its turbodiesel format in 1979, Europe’s first production turbodiesel. PSA Peugeot Citroën were still at the vanguard nine years later when they introduced their XUD diesel engine into the 1988 Citroën BX and the 1989 Peugeot 405. Around the same time, the Germans were putting diesel engines into their executive cars, such as the second-generation BMW 5 Series (E28), or the Mercedes W123, the 1970s/80s forerunner to today’s E-Class. The second-generation Audi 100 introduced a diesel model from 1978, too.

Back home in Britain, Austin’s Montego came with a two-litre turbo diesel from 1988; the Ford Sierra got a diesel option from launch in 1982, and an upgraded turbo diesel in 1989.

What about 4x4?

Four-wheel drive is a popular option for many tow car drivers, which is why you’ll see the likes of the Land Rover Discovery or Toyota RAV4 towing a sizeable portion of the caravans on UK roads today. It’s obviously not indispensable, with plenty of two-wheel-drive cars proving to be excellent towers, but it can provide one or two advantages.

Essentially, a 4x4 can displace all of its power through the four wheels more easily than a front-wheel-drive vehicle – and, with a heavy caravan or trailer weighing down the rear of the car, that becomes even more true. Couple that with a 4x4’s typical weight gain over its two-wheel drive rivals, and it becomes clear why 4x4s make excellent, stable tow cars.

RWD or FWD?

There may be slightly fewer diesels to choose from in the classic car world: what classics do offer, conversely, is a great choice of rear-wheel drive (RWD) vehicles, with RWD being the default choice for most production cars until around 1980. And, happily for us classics lovers, RWD can offer distinct advantages over front-wheel drive (FWD). The combination of a long wheelbase – useful for that stability we mentioned – plus RWD focusing weight onto the rear wheels, and a short rear overhang (the part of the car that protrudes beyond the rear wheels) will all combine to prevent the tail of the car dipping beneath the weight of the tow vehicle.

Which classic cars make great towers?

Quite a few, in fact. To start with, we’d single out any of the early diesels we mentioned – 1980s BMW and Mercedes, plus the PSA duo of the Citroen BX and the Peugeot 405. The latter in particular was a great car, and a deserving European Car of the Year for 1988. It was very popular in this country, and only partly because it was built here at Ryton in Warwickshire: it was also reliable, sporty, great to drive and, for a sensible family saloon, really very good-looking.

After that, we’d recommend quite a number of heavy old classics. The V8 Rover engine that found its way into several Rovers of the 1960s and 1970s had plenty of pulling power, so any big Rovers / Land Rovers from the era – the P6, the SD1 in 3500 mode, the original Range Rover – would make great choices. A classic old Jaguar or Daimler with a V8 engine will also do the job extremely well. And the potent Ford V6 engine that Reliant put in its Scimitar GTE hatchback / estate also delivered great torque, so these marques will make for fine tow cars.

Casting the net wider, big Vauxhalls, Fords, and Triumphs from the 1960s and 1970s will tow well. Going back a little earlier, Humber’s sturdy models such as the Hawk (1945-67) and Super Snipe (1938-67) are big, heavy, well planted on the road – and deliver their power well at low revs.

Among classic 4x4s, we’d point you towards a Toyota Land Cruiser (any generation)… and then, this still being a relatively new sector, we’d look at Nineties/Noughties SUVs that are now well on their way to becoming classics, such as the Mercedes ML, Lexus RX300 and first-series BMW X3 and X5.

Lastly, you’ll want to base your choices around what you are planning to tow – bearing in mind that 85 per cent rule we mentioned. In fact, some caravanners will tell you that, when it comes to classic cars, the caravan-to-car weight ratio should be adjusted to something nearer 75 per cent. After all, the classic car in question will probably be of huge value to you, and may not be as robust either as it once was, or as some of today’s towing workhorses.

This is just one of a handful of measures we’d take to ensure your experiences of towing with a classic are happy ones: another step we’d definitely take is to make sure that your classic car insurance is equipped to cover you against whatever duties you are putting your classic through.

Top tips for successful caravan towing

• Check your driving licence

Towing allowances are measured in maximum authorised mass, or MAM. As the NI Direct website explains, if you passed your test on or after 1st January 1997, you may drive a car of up to 3,500kg MAM while towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM, making for a combined total weight of 4,250kg. Or, you can tow a trailer of greater than 750kg MAM – as long as the combined MAM of the car and trailer doesn’t exceed 3,500kg.

If, however, you passed your test before 1997, it’s a very different scenario: you may tow a combined weight of over 3,500kg – in fact, anything up to 8,250kg.

• Check your insurance will cover you

You should make sure that you are insured to tow a trailer or caravan. Your general car insurance (or classic car insurance) policy may cover you, but it’s worth contacting your insurers to let them know that you’ll be towing. They’ll then be able to tell you whether that’s covered within your existing policy. It may be, for example, that your car is still covered – but not the caravan.

• Load your caravan correctly

Aside from a good robust tow car, another thing that will help caravan stability is to distribute its weight evenly – so, when loading, try to make sure those loads are spread equally on the caravan’s right and left sides.

• Secure everything before towing

Before you move off with the caravan in tow, make sure everything in there is secured. We’re talking about windows and skylights, lockers and doors – but also make sure your fridge, if you have one, is fastened shut. You really don’t want milk toppling out and spoiling your caravan carpet.

• Fill up before you hitch up

It’s a good idea to fill your car with fuel before you get the caravan on, as manoeuvring in and out of petrol station forecourts with a caravan in tow can be a delicate exercise.

• Check your tyres

Before you set off, check your caravan tyres as well as your car tyres. Make sure the pressures are correct, and that they are in decent condition.

• Fit towing mirrors

Towing safely and legally means being able to see well behind you when you’re on the road. Essentially, you need to be able to see your caravan (to check that it’s moving stably), but also well behind, to see other road users behind you.

The law states that you must be able to see 20 metres behind you and four metres to either side, so try a few tests by placing objects at these distances before you head out on your towing adventures.

• Go slow, swing wide

A simple yet crucial piece of advice. A large part of successful, stress-free towing is down to the stability of your car and caravan, and driving at a slow but road-legal speed will go a long way towards ensuring it.

Remember, too, that you are steering a large pair of vehicles and so, when turning, you need to swing out wider, and give yourself a larger turning arc than you would in a normal car.

Classic car insurance from Lancaster

A caravan holiday is as much a part of British motoring heritage as the many classic cars that we love to insure here at Lancaster. If you take out classic car insurance with us, benefits can include:

• Choice of repairer
• 24-hour claims helpline
• Two-year agreed valuation
• EU cover up to 90 days

Get in touch with us today to find out how we can insure your classic in time for your next touring holiday.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.