Your Questions Answered

Our Technical Expert, Barry Norris, puts his extensive knowledge at your disposal.

Email your questions to: askbarry@caravanninganswers.co.uk.

I will soon reach the age of 70 when I understand my driving licence has to be renewed

with some loss of driving categories. Will I still be allowed to tow using my Land Rover Discovery?

David Gillespie


	A

Yes. When you renew your licence at 70 you have the option of keeping your original

entitlements by submitting form D4 to the DVLA, as completed by your doctor to show you meet certain medical criteria.

If you do not submit this form, you will lose your C1 and C1 + E categories. However, this has no bearing on your eligibility to tow a caravan as it will leave you with categories B and B + E.



	Categories are explained on the back of your driving licence.

		The first of these permits you to drive a car with a maximum authorised mass (MAM) of up to 3,500kg and the Land Rover Discovery (and virtually any passenger car) is within this limit. The B + E category entitles you to tow any trailer (e.g. caravan) of a weight appropriate to your towing vehicle.

I have just bought a 4 x 4 tow vehicle with a rear door mounted spare wheel, which

gets in the way of the caravan’s Al-Ko stabiliser handle when I’m trying to hitch up. Is there a way around this that falls short of demounting the spare wheel?

Alex Stubbs

I’ve been looking at caravans with a view to using my Vauxhall Zafira 2.01 diesel as

a tow car. I’ve never towed a caravan before and, to my surprise, dealers have been telling me my Zafira has an abnormally low towing limit. Is this true?

Chris Doherty


	A

Normally I would expect a medium size MPV with a 2 litre engine to make a reasonable

towcar for a small caravan.




	Your particular Zafira has a kerbweight of 1505kg and as a beginner, you are recommended to tow a caravan which, when fully loaded, is no more than 85% of the car’s kerbweight. Normally, this would allow you a fully loaded caravan weight (or Maximum Technically Permitted Laden Mass) of 1279kg. HOWEVER, Vauxhall has set the towing limit of this particular Zafira at only 1050kg and the manufacturer’s recommended limit overrides the normal rules. This will severely limit your choice of caravan and you can look up the MTPLM figures in the New Caravan Buyers Guide section of this magazine to find out which new models your Zafira can safely tow. Choices that spring to mind are the Adria Action 361, Caravelair Ambiance 390 and Antares 425, the Elddis Xplore 302, and the Lunar Ariva.

Lunar’s Ariva doesn’t need a big towcar

Also worth a look might be the lighter end of the Tab and Sterckeman ranges, the Carousel range of folding caravans and ‘pop-top’ models from Eriba and Trigano.

For second-hand caravans you’ll need to ask the dealer for advice and double check what he tells you by looking up the MIRO and MPTLM on the caravan’s data plate.

I’m sure it won’t comfort you to know that more recent Vauxhall Zafiras, with the smaller 1.9 litre diesel engine, have a higher towing limit of 1300kg.

My husband and I are looking for a reliable gas level indicator device for our caravan gas

cylinders. Can you point us in the right direction?

Mrs. V. Bennett

The simplest and most reliable gas level indicator is the Gas Trac, which is only available

on Calor’s Patio Gas cylinders and their Calor Lite lightweight gas cylinders. For more information, visit www.caravanning-online.co.uk/calorlite/gas-trac.htm.

This is a common problem and one that Al-Ko has addressed by introducing a special removable

handle. This is only available for AKS 2004/3004 stabilisers and NOT for AKS 1300/2000/2500 or 2700 models.

For other types of cylinder the best, but most expensive add-on device is the sophisticated Truma Sonatic, which operates by means of ultrasonics and was developed for use with 6kg propane or 7kg butane cylinders.

The sensor unit sits under the gas bottle and relays a ‘percentage remaining’ reading to an LCD panel inside the caravan. The unit can be powered by its own 9v battery, or by the 12v caravan battery. In the former case you get an ‘on demand’ reading by pressing a button. In the latter case, the unit can be set to give a permanent reading.

A much cheaper device from Gaslow achieves satisfactory results and has the added benefit of leak detection.

You simply remove the standard red handle (take out the fixing screw using the Torx spanner provided in the new handle kit) and push on the new handle in its place. The replacement handle grips onto the stabiliser lever arms by means of spring-loaded ball bearings to give it ‘push on’ and ‘pull off’ convenience.

It fits in the gas line (normally attached to the regulator) and gives colour coded readings on a gauge. Green indicates there

is plenty of gas left; yellow indicates you should keep an eye on the supply and red indicates the cylinder is almost empty and ready for changing. This device is affected by ambient temperature and the readout gauge deals with this by having scales for ‘Cold day’. ‘Cool day’ and ‘Hot day’.

You use the new handle to raise the lever arms to 45°, then pull the handle off and lift both lever arms to the 90° position for clear access to the towball coupling.

After engaging/disengaging the towball coupling, you simply pull the stabiliser lever arms back down to the 45° position and then push on the new handle before applying downward pressure to engage the friction pads.

A more recent Gaslow introduction is the Electra 1000 - a version of the above which has an electronic contact within the gauge that sends a signal to a battery powered receiver in the caravan.

The new handle should be removed once the friction pads have been engaged and MUST NOT be in place whilst travelling.

Further details, including current price, are available in the ‘online shop’ section of Al-Ko’s website (www.al-ko.co.uk) under ‘stabiliser accessories’.

This displays a warning light to tell you when gas is running low. Visit www.gaslow.co.uk for further details.

Least expensive of all (less than £10) are magnetic stickers that you attach to the bottom half of the gas cylinder.

We are considering buying a new car to tow our caravan. Are cars with automatic

gearboxes suitable as tow cars and, if so, do they need an additional oil cooler?

Ken and Christine Bolitho


	A

I tow with an automatic and find this especially enjoyable when traveling on winding country

roads because the automatic changing enables me to concentrate on the road.

If modern automatics are driven well within their towing limits they will generally be fine without an additional oil cooler. However, some older automatics may require an additional cooler and, regardless of the car’s age, if you plan on tackling the Pyrenees in mid-summer, you may be well-advised to fit an additional cooler.


	Whatever car you are considering, check the handbook for details of additional gearbox oil cooling requirements because its always better to be safe than sorry. Also note that some automatics have a lower towing limit than their manual gearchange counterparts.


		Auto gear shift is ideal for towing and doesn’t normally need extra oil cooling.

	For further information, visit the website of the Federation of Automatic Transmission Engineers at www.fedauto.co.uk.

Once the gas is switched on, the colour of the bar changes to give an indication of how much gas is left. I have not found these to be very successful. Visit www.caravanning-online.co.uk and click on ‘Caravan shop’ and then (from the list at the end of the page) ‘Gas lockers’.

You can also find them in most caravan dealer accessory shops.

My car has a towing limit of 1800kg, but a friend has told me I am legally limited to a

maximum of 85% of this. Is this true?

Barry Gellinder


	A

This well-used towing limit of 85% of the car’s kerbweight is a recommendation only and not a

legal limit.

The National Caravan Council publishes a Towing Code which recommends that novice caravanners should keep to the 85% ratio, but that experienced caravanners are permitted up to 100%. See technical advice at www.nationalcaravan.co.uk.

In practice, regardless of your experience level, its always best to keep the caravan weight as low as possible relative to the towcar. Also, whatever the car/caravan weight ratio, you still have to comply with

the car manufacturer’s towing guidance, which has legal implications. In addition, you must comply with the restrictions set out in your driving licence and, if you took your test after 1st January 1997, you’ll need to take an additional one to tow a caravan.

For further information, read the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Matching Car and Caravan data sheet at www.thefriendlyclub.co.uk.