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Grooming Trailers - Cars For Towing


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hi there, i was wondering if anyone has a mobile grooming business and if they would know if a 1.6L car would tow a 300-400kg trailer easily? ie. Suzuki Vitara, or Daihatsu Feroza. Looking at downgrading my car

Thanks so much fo your help

Edited by :) Happy :)
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You should be fine if your using a light weight fibro trailer.

My car is a Manga V6 and towed my trailer ok. But my trailer is an Alpaca float built to my specs. I wouldn't use a small car to tow my trailer.

Ed: caus I can't spell.... :rofl:

Edited by Lisa M
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I towed my mobile business with a SAAB. Just a regular one if that makes sense. No dramas. I also towed it with one of those new Ford XR6 ute turbo thingymajigs and found it chewed through the petrol :rofl: or maybe that was just my driving... :eek:

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400kg is not very much. But any car will pull that or more,occassionally, but they are not made too, and do it everyday then good luck!..........It is not safe too either, You should ring a mechanic or somethign to find out, as you will be booked to tow on a small vehicle............V6 is the only way........what you save in petrol on a small 4 cylinder will cost you when you blow up the engine on the small one..........

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Go onto the car manufacturers website.

They list the towing capacity of vehicles. You can take a car and trailer over a public weighbridge (ask Roads people where a public one is), subtract the car weight (which you get off the manufacturers site) and whats left is the trailer weight. Make certain that the car specs say that weight can safely be towed. Make sure you take a fully laden trailer to measure the weight. My "assorted stuff" weighs heaps! :eek:

If the trailer is too heavy for the vehicle, then the trailer can actually "drive" the vehicle with its weight, throwing your vehicle stability out of whack. That means it won't corner properly, or brake properly, and in the event of an accident, if you have an "over-tow" situation, your insurance company has fineprint (probably - mine does) that says they will not pay.

Personally, wouldn't tow any trailer with a 1.5 or 1.6 car. Doable - yes, but at what cost? Would probably rip the goolies out of the car motor and, cost a fortune in petrol. 1.8ltr turbo diesel would be my minimum.

Oh and, not sure if this is relevant, but a smaller car has a lower towhitch point than a taller car. Assuming here a grooming/washing trailer, that would have water in a tub when parked. If dipped down to a low towhitch, would the water be level? Might this be a potential problem? (Sorry :rofl: Just the way my mind works!)

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Go onto the car manufacturers website.

They list the towing capacity of vehicles. You can take a car and trailer over a public weighbridge (ask Roads people where a public one is), subtract the car weight (which you get off the manufacturers site) and whats left is the trailer weight. Make certain that the car specs say that weight can safely be towed. Make sure you take a fully laden trailer to measure the weight. My "assorted stuff" weighs heaps! :p

If the trailer is too heavy for the vehicle, then the trailer can actually "drive" the vehicle with its weight, throwing your vehicle stability out of whack. That means it won't corner properly, or brake properly, and in the event of an accident, if you have an "over-tow" situation, your insurance company has fineprint (probably - mine does) that says they will not pay.

Personally, wouldn't tow any trailer with a 1.5 or 1.6 car. Doable - yes, but at what cost? Would probably rip the goolies out of the car motor and, cost a fortune in petrol. 1.8ltr turbo diesel would be my minimum.

Oh and, not sure if this is relevant, but a smaller car has a lower towhitch point than a taller car. Assuming here a grooming/washing trailer, that would have water in a tub when parked. If dipped down to a low towhitch, would the water be level? Might this be a potential problem? (Sorry :laugh: Just the way my mind works!)

Hi Everyone,

I bought a car today, it's a Subaru Liberty AWD 2.2L wagon, so everyone was very helpful and I'm sure I've made the right decision! It's an auto too, so I no more 'scares' of rolling back or stalling (by accident of course! )

Thanks so much guys!! :D

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I towed my mobile business with a SAAB. Just a regular one if that makes sense. No dramas. I also towed it with one of those new Ford XR6 ute turbo thingymajigs and found it chewed through the petrol :laugh: or maybe that was just my driving... :D

An XR6T will burn through fuel, a normal XR6 goes through about 14L/100km so the T should do a bit more.

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If you look in the owners manual of a car it will tell you the cars towing capacity. I have a Nissan Pulsar Hatch and tow my 4 berth dog trailer with it no problems at all (prob. 400kg when loaded) My car has a 900kg towing capacity so I am way under. If you have the tow bar fitted by a professional you will have no problems at all.

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