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General Towing with a TwinAir 4x4

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General Towing with a TwinAir 4x4

MaltbyPanda

MaltbyPanda

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Hi all,
Recently taken delivery of a 2020 4x4 TwinAir which we love.
We are thinking of purchasing a GoPod mini caravan or Freedom Discovery (750kg max laden weight).
Anyone have any experience towing either of the above with a 4x4 TA or towing similar weight with one. We are experienced caravanners (mainly larger Vans and Land Rover Disco Td5 as a tow car) but have recently downsized.
Any opinions or experiences greatly received
Thanks
 

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When the Goyt reservoir looked fit to burst its banks, my caravan was on a site in the Gout Valley. The river burst its banks and flooded the field, the caravan had at on stage been about 2" from floating away... My Bravo diesel gear box had started making noises and it had been sold leaving me with just dear Noop my Twin air Waze 4x4 to do the necessary. I packed up and hooked up and Noop pulled the 1200KG load up the out ramp in 6" of liquid mud without so much as a blink. Off we set up the M56 to a safer location 30 miles away in Cheshire and it pulled the lot with ease and was capable of 50mph easily. Above this speed the hastily and badly loaded van did feel uneasy and as we were 50% above its limit I just stayed quietly in the first lane. I have no doubt that a properly loaded Pod would be quite happy behind the twin air and that you would get the benefit of the 2015 Tow car class winner! I tow a trailer 6x4 regularly and the only worry I have is inadvertent overloading and getting stopped for speeding as well. Off road I have towed at least 2 tonnes and weight is not an issue the low first gear being very helpful.

Go for it.

You should have no worries 85Hp is plenty for a small van. I am very tempted to get one myself as my old van was ruined by last years heat and I scrapped it.
 
Wow, that's pretty impressive! Thanks for your reply that's very encouraging and helpful, we also have a 1.3multijet 169 Panda (2wd) , so may use that sometimes to tow as well, that has bags of torque for such a small car!
 
The Panda Nut said:
When the Goyt reservoir looked fit to burst its banks, my caravan was on a site in the Gout Valley. The river burst its banks and flooded the field, the caravan had at on stage been about 2" from floating away... My Bravo diesel gear box had started making noises and it had been sold leaving me with just dear Noop my Twin air Waze 4x4 to do the necessary. I packed up and hooked up and Noop pulled the 1200KG load up the out ramp in 6" of liquid mud without so much as a blink. Off we set up the M56 to a safer location 30 miles away in Cheshire and it pulled the lot with ease and was capable of 50mph easily. Above this speed the hastily and badly loaded van did feel uneasy and as we were 50% above its limit I just stayed quietly in the first lane. I have no doubt that a properly loaded Pod would be quite happy behind the twin air and that you would get the benefit of the 2015 Tow car class winner! I tow a trailer 6x4 regularly and the only worry I have is inadvertent overloading and getting stopped for speeding as well. Off road I have towed at least 2 tonnes and weight is not an issue the low first gear being very helpful.

Go for it.

You should have no worries 85Hp is plenty for a small van. I am very tempted to get one myself as my old van was ruined by last years heat and I scrapped it.
Click to expand...

I may have mis-understood you, are you saying that you illegally towed 1.2 tonnes for 30 miles on a motorway ??
 
varesecrazy said:
Needs must etc

When I got my 1.4 tipo..
It had new brakes..and was in need of a clutch

Towed a twinaxle caravan 150 miles after the proper tow vehicle was stolen..
Insurance wouldnt supply a towcar
Click to expand...


"Needs must etc" is no good when for example you can't stop it for whatever reason and run into a small family car full of kids..:mad:
 
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MaltbyPanda said:
Wow, that's pretty impressive! Thanks for your reply that's very encouraging and helpful, we also have a 1.3multijet 169 Panda (2wd) , so may use that sometimes to tow as well, that has bags of torque for such a small car!
Click to expand...

I previously had a Bravo 1.6D and it had a mere 105HP. It was the most capable towcar I have ever had by a pretty huge margin in terms of towing capability and returned around 39mpg towing the caravan. It made my Previous Golf 2.0TDI look ordinary in comparrison. The only issue was the failure or the start of the failure of a gearbox bearing which ended up seeing it part exchanged. After 106000 miles the actual cause of the failure is of course unclear. I would recommend changing your gearbox oil regularly if towing to ensure it is never an issue. Having changed two of the Pandas this week smell and colour of the old oil alone suggests the oil is far from the long life spec stated by Fiat.

I have not towed the caravan sufficient distance to know about how hot the car runs, but the 2015 Tow car of the Year win for the Panda did not raise any issues. I believe that was a diesel. I suspect the Panda 4x4 TA would make a very competent tow car and would not hesitate to tow a Freedom Van with mine. I am still keen, but my wife is not a committed caravanner so I expect I have lost that one....
 
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I have a 2013 TA 4X4 Panda and I tow an Eriba Puck Caravan (all over Scotland) 700kg approx weight unladen. the Panda manages the caravan No Problem. If you are an experianced tower and pack your caravan correctly you will have no issues,the lower first gear is fantastic for low speed maneuvering on site. O and be prepaired for lots of positive attention.
 
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