Cougars and Caravans

cougar

cougar

Well-known user
May 6, 2010
718
62
staffordshire
Probably not the most sought after combination but has anyone done it?

Are tow bars easy enough to find/fit to the cougar? Is the cougar OK for towing?


My reason for asking is that we had a wobble box a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it and are thinking of getting another. :geek:

But due to the fact that I passed my test after 1997 we are stuck to only being able to have a max train weight of 3500kg. Our other car is a Galaxy which has a max gross weight of 2430kg which only leaves 1070kg max gross permissible weight for the caravan.

As the Cougar is lighter and can't carry as much I can actually tow a heavier caravan with it.

The info I've found suggests that the cougar has a max gross weight of 1685kg, so I could legally tow 1815kg (although the data also said the cougar had a max towing weight of 1500kg). So with the cougar I can tow a 1500kg caravan with plenty of room to spare for the law, with the much more suitable ford galaxy I can only tow 1070kg - stupid isn't it!

The extra weight gives a lot more choice, most of the ones I'm looking at are around 1200kg

So has anyone towed with the cougar? I guess they'll be alright as it's basically a mondeo and plenty of them are used.

What would fuel consumption be like? With the galaxy on a good run we get 50+mpg without the caravan - with the caravan we are lucky to get 30mpg.

The cougar does about 30mpg on a good run, so I'm guessing I'd get around 15-17mpg with a caravan?


Please don't say anything nasty about caravans:cautious::)
 
I dont have a problem with caravans in fact the wife bought one last year, but we have just sold it because i just couldnt bear to have a tow bar fitted to the cougar,it just goes against all my beliefs
 
Towbars are a doddle to fit to the cat, just not to everybody's taste. You can get the detachable type if you don't want it poking out permanently o_O. I fitted a tb to mine when i first bought it as i owned a trailer, Tony, aka TopCat1127 has one and so does Mike aka cougar571.
 
I have one, I think it has dual electrics. Although I don't have a towing part of my license. I really should get that for my new thing I'm planning.

Might consider selling it. If it works that is and if my plans don't come to fruition.

At the moment, I'd need to have L plates on and my dad in the passenger seat if I towed something. Needless to say I've never used it and never needed to use it.
 
On a side note I'd love to have a cougar trailer. You know, something like
CarHaul.jpg


But half a cougar.
 
The-Computer-Saint said:
I have one, I think it has dual electrics. Although I don't have a towing part of my license. I really should get that for my new thing I'm planning.

Might consider selling it. If it works that is and if my plans don't come to fruition.

At the moment, I'd need to have L plates on and my dad in the passenger seat if I towed something. Needless to say I've never used it and never needed to use it.
Click to expand...

Why when did you pass your test??

My other option is to take a B+E 'trailer test' which would let me tow anything, but a standard licence after 1997 allows you to tow either up to 750kgs, or 3500kg minus the max gross weight of your car whichever is greater. So providing you have a standard licence you can tow up to the maximum the cougar will physically tow (1500kg) - you don't need anyone else in or L plates.


Thanks for the replies, I'll keep an eye out for a cheap detachable tow bar.
 
cougar said:
Why when did you pass your test??

My other option is to take a B+E 'trailer test' which would let me tow anything, but a standard licence after 1997 allows you to tow either up to 750kgs, or 3500kg minus the max gross weight of your car whichever is greater. So providing you have a standard licence you can tow up to the maximum the cougar will physically tow (1500kg) - you don't need anyone else in or L plates.


Thanks for the replies, I'll keep an eye out for a cheap detachable tow bar.
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It was after 97, it was erm, 5 years ago or now actually, 6 years and 14 days.

I had read the direct.gov.uk sites and that's what I understood the law to be. I could be wrong, however I'd still like to get the license. Especially learn how to tow a small trailer as I have a feeling if I do need to do it, I'd have a problem when it comes to reversing.
 
Yeah you can tow but are limited to what I said above the official statement is:

Category B vehicles may be coupled with a trailer up to 750kgs MAM (allowing a combined weight up to 4.25 tonnes MAM) or a trailer over 750kgs MAM provided the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM.

and can be found here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

With the way the cougar falls in the weights taking the B+E test would be of no benefit to you as you would not be able to tow any more with that car.

From what I have heard the B+E "trailer test" is quite hard and quite expensive, typical courses cost about £600 and a lot of the test is a strict driving test like the original one but longer, followed by difficult tasks like reversing up a bending path into a garage.


I've towed quite a few trailers and still struggle to reverse small trailers (with mine I tend to get out and move it by hand). Reversing large trailers or caravans is a lot easier as you can see what is going on and react quicker
 
TopCat1127 said:
Send Sparky a pm he makes em ;-)
ps please note regs for towbars etc as some of ours i believe come inside the legislation, but up to you
eg towbar has to be ce certified
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wasn't all the regulation stuff when the new style regs came out? Mines a T plate so should be OK.

Who is Sparky? don't recognise that username - has he been on recently? Is that his exact username?
 
I can clarify the regs, without B+E your not allowed to tow a caravan, also if you dont have provisional for B+E then you cant tow with L plates on either

Towing caravans

As for towing caravans, existing general guidance recommends that the laden weight of the caravan does not exceed 85% of the unladen weight of the car. In the majority of cases, caravans and small trailers towed by cars should be within the new category B threshold.

THE LAW AND TOWING A CARAVAN,TRAILER OR HORSEBOX

a draft proposal the EU court in Brussels aims to harmonize European driving licenses by 1997.

This would mean that any new driver buying a caravan weighing more than 0.75 tonnes (the majority of modern vans) would also have to take a further practical driving test. Also in the proposals, those new drivers would have to undergo a minimum seven hours of training with a qualified instructor, before attempting a practical test pulling a 1,000Kg caravan.
 
Procomm said:
I can clarify the regs, without B+E your not allowed to tow a caravan, also if you dont have provisional for B+E then you cant tow with L plates on either

Towing caravans

As for towing caravans, existing general guidance recommends that the laden weight of the caravan does not exceed 85% of the unladen weight of the car. In the majority of cases, caravans and small trailers towed by cars should be within the new category B threshold.

THE LAW AND TOWING A CARAVAN,TRAILER OR HORSEBOX

a draft proposal the EU court in Brussels aims to harmonize European driving licenses by 1997.

This would mean that any new driver buying a caravan weighing more than 0.75 tonnes (the majority of modern vans) would also have to take a further practical driving test. Also in the proposals, those new drivers would have to undergo a minimum seven hours of training with a qualified instructor, before attempting a practical test pulling a 1,000Kg caravan.
Click to expand...

I think an extra test is a good plan, I'd love to say I'd be good at towing stuff. But I have no idea and there's probably a whole host of things that I need to know. 7 hours isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, especially if its for life.

A good lesson for everyone to undertake, probably best on an air field or somewhere similar is a swaying trailer / caravan and how to get it under control.
 
Procomm said:
I can clarify the regs, without B+E your not allowed to tow a caravan, also if you dont have provisional for B+E then you cant tow with L plates on either

Towing caravans

As for towing caravans, existing general guidance recommends that the laden weight of the caravan does not exceed 85% of the unladen weight of the car. In the majority of cases, caravans and small trailers towed by cars should be within the new category B threshold.

THE LAW AND TOWING A CARAVAN,TRAILER OR HORSEBOX

a draft proposal the EU court in Brussels aims to harmonize European driving licenses by 1997.

This would mean that any new driver buying a caravan weighing more than 0.75 tonnes (the majority of modern vans) would also have to take a further practical driving test. Also in the proposals, those new drivers would have to undergo a minimum seven hours of training with a qualified instructor, before attempting a practical test pulling a 1,000Kg caravan.
Click to expand...


That's completley wrong mate, common mistake by lots of people who have only read the first half of the legislation - take a look at the link I posted before. You can tow a caravan of upto 750kg *OR* a max permissible combined weight of 3500kg, so without any further tests a 17 year who has just passed their test could tow a 1500kg caravan with a cougar.
 
the only thing more "modern" licenses don't cover is if you are towing a car on a trailer as the majority of weight combinations would exceed 3,500kg
 
Good news, I bought a caravan today which is light enough by 10kg to tow with the galaxay - MAM is 3490kg. So no need to get a tow bar for the cougar for now ;)
 
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