Nuevo towing

I have a Nuevo Es on a 2.0 Peugeot boxer base on a 53 plate. I wish to fit tow bar and tow a trailer with a small car like s smart four two. The manual specs say I could tow ip to 2000kg but has or is anyone towing on a Nuevo like this and confirm or otherwise suitability and what issues if any?
Many thanks
John

As noond has replied I will rephrase this.
I have checked the wrights etc and am ok to tow a small trailer and smart car but what I want to know is whether I will have enough power
In the Peugeot boxer 2.0 hdi (but chipped so it performs like a 2.2hdi) to tow this and be able to drive at reasonable speeds?
I would love to hear from other owners on this!
John

Hi John

Can't help directly as we don't tow a trailer, but this might help.

We tow a Skoda Citigo on an A-Frame, and apart from more frequent gear changes on hills, more to protect the clutch than from lack of power, I have no problems at all. It makes the steering very slightly twitchy, but I guess that's to be expected if you are dragging something heavy, but you soon get used to it. The mpg suffers a bit of course, but it rarely drops below 30mpg from a usual 34mpg when solo.

Have you considered an A-Frame? I ask because in many ways it's much more convenient than a trailer - and without the considerable additional weight of same. We can be hitched up and away in about 5 minutes, whereas with a trailer you have all the loading, strapping down, hitching up etc., which takes more like half an hour - plus possible storage problems on site and/or at home etc..

If you don't want to take the car abroad I find an A-Frame far preferable, and verified reports of people having problems with police, even in Spain, are very rare. I have towed a trailer (plus trike) abroad, and it was a pain in the backside on the sort of touring holiday many of us take. Good in the UK where you tend to go to a site and stay for several days at a time.

Hope this helps.

You may not find many people here that do this - it's still ~fairly~ rare to see motorhomes towing cars, and I can't recall ever seeing one being towed by such a small van.

Typically the rule will be more complicated than just "it's Ok to tow up to 2000kg", because normally the limit is defined as a max Train Weight. This means that you need to add together the van, the van's payload, the weight of the trailer and the weight of the towed vehicle to get a figure that must be within the Train Weight figure (which is usually the second figure down on the van's load plate).

To state the obvious, you will be towing a load that is roughly an additional half of the van's normal unladen weight, so a 2 litre engine is not going to win you any speed records - but they are designed as goods vehicles, so the performance will probably be just about adequate.

One other factor that people tend to forget: when you get on site, you have to find somewhere to put the trailer while using the car! This may be a further case for an A frame rather than a trailer...

David and mojo,
Thanks for your responses. We are considering an a frame in U.K. And trailer abroad as the wife doesn't drive and therefore up the creek if plod insists on uncoupling...
I know van is small but we have done many years Europe aires and stellplatz
and getting a little fed up moving van to look Around area, so a smart car would be great, and we don't wNt to revert to caravan...
Cheers
Jkhn

Langfordj1 wrote:And trailer abroad as the wife doesn't drive and therefore up the creek if plod insists on uncoupling...
I know van is small but we have done many years Europe aires and stellplatz

That's the crucial point to ponder John. Mrs Gromit does drive, but it wouldn't be much of a holiday if we had to drive "His" and "Hers"!

Another consideration might be to get electric bikes?? Everything is a compromise with motorhomes (and caravans) but e-bikes do tick a number of boxes. We have found ours invaluable, and the "e" bit makes the difference between using them or not when there are hills to contend with. 

Hi John

I do like the Nuevo and an considering downsizing as I have a 23ft fixed bed mh at mo and towing my smart car, van is 2007 on a 2.3 ducato multijet (130 bhp) which has no problem at all towing. Usually i get 30 mpg solo and about 22 mpg when towing. The a frame from Car-A-Tow is probably the simplest, cheapest and most reliable and fitted for about £1100 , google it to find a dealer / fitter. Dont be taken in with the Smart System with the electonic box, keep it simple. Hope this helps. cheers Rob.

yammy wrote:The a frame from Car-A-Tow is probably the simplest, cheapest and most reliable and fitted for about £1100 , google it to find a dealer / fitter. Dont be taken in with the Smart System with the electonic box, keep it simple. Hope this helps. cheers Rob.

And strictly speaking it's illegal - not that there's much chance of ever being stopped by a policeman who knows the regulations well enough to feel your collar!! Worth being aware of the fact though. 

Plus it's a massive great 22kg lump which some members would find very difficult to man-handle.

Like everything else "motorhome", it's a personal choice - and usually a compromise!  

P.S. We also like the Nuevo.  For a small sub 6 metre van I don't think the habitation layout can be bettered. Again however, it's personal choice so (for example) if a fixed bed is a priority, a Nuevo is not for you.

Thanks to everyone for their replies-we are still considering whether to do this.
We are off to Spain January and will hire a car there to see what a difference having a car available makes to our holiday.
Thanks again everyone.