HELP NEEDED

Hi frantastic.

Do you know the kerbweight of your Mondeo? If you get its kerbweight which should be on the logbook then divide that by 100 then multiply by 85, this will give you the recommended 85% . Of the top of my head your car would need to be around 1700kg. But you can legaly tow upto 100%. Also check the manufacturer legal towing weight which hopefully will be 1500kg or more.

Dougie.....

Hi Fantastic, and welcome. I can't speak for the Mondeo, as I've never owned one, but they do appear to be well-liked on this forum.

However,(and this is a purely personal opinion) I would say that it would be rather under-powered for such a large van. As the old saying goes "there ain't no substitute for cubic centimetres".

Hello frantastic and welcome to the forum.

You may like to view these Practical Caravan guides.

They explain what you need to find out to decide on a suitable tow car for your caravan and if you are currently licensed to drive it.

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/advice/info-you-need-you-buy-towcar 

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/advice/are-you-licensed-tow 

.............info on Mondeo Estate to be found here under technical specification heading.

Hi Fran'tastic', welcome to the Practical Caravan forum and welcome to the hobby of caravanning.

I don't own a Mondeo but the figures that I found on the internet (which are not guaranteed to be accurate) seem to suggest that the minimum kerbweight of the Mondeo would be 1575kg and the absolute maximum weight that you could tow with this vehicle would be 1800kg.

Clubs and organisations including the Caravan Club and Practical Caravan recommend that those inexperienced in towing aim for a figure of 85% of the towing vehicle's kerbweight which would give a figure of 1,338 kg as an ideal towing weight for the Mondeo, so the caravan might be a bit on the heavy side for this particular vehicle although the weight would be within legal limits.

thanks for all your help, we havent brought the car yet but have found minium kerb weight of 1590kg

It's not a rule but The Towing Code recommends using a maximum caravan of 85% for beginners, which would mean a caravan less than 1350kg MTPLM with a 1590kg car.

If you passed your driving test after 1st Jan 1998, you'll also be limited to a maximum outfit weight (plated weight not actual) of 3500kg so going for a heavier towcar would actually mean a reduction in caravan weight!

To tow a 1491kg MTPLM caravan as you've bought, you need a car with a MAXIMUM gross weight of 2009kg, that's about 1500kg depending on payload - which would mean towing at almost 100% which isn't good for beginners.

You need the +E on the drivers licence, either if he/she passed the car test before 1998 or by taking the +E towing test - in the absence of that, no-one likes being the bearer of bad news but your caravan is too heavy for beginners.

The Mondeo would be an excellent choice a very highly rated car and a huge load space.The Titanium X has a huge spec and you couldnt ask for more.Economy is very good solo but expect around the 28-30 mpg towing.

The cars kerbweight is around the 1600kgs mark so weight wise with your van fully loaded you are around the 90% mark.

Im not sure why the question on the car being underpowered as it is a 140 bhp engine with around 230 torque, this is an exremely good engine.

I tow at 91% but i have been towing for a long time now.

My best towing experience was my first caravan, were the car was a lot heavier, probably 80% ratio.

The CC and NCC recommend towing at 85% or below if a beginner, so really it depends on yourself whether or not you ignore the advise.

I'm afraid I must agree with Roger: the caravan is too big for a first - timer, but I didin't like to discourage the OP! I did hint in my previous post that a Mondeo is not the right car.

I've no such qualms!

For anyone with +E on their driving licence, the solution is simple, but not necessarily cheap, ie a heavier car - but - for anyone without the +E the maximum recommended 85% weight of caravan goes up to about 1360kg MTPLM as the car's kerbweight goes up to about 1600kg but then starts reducing again to keep the whole outfit's gross weight under 3500kg.

If you ignore the 85% recommendation and use the 100% legal limit applied to B-only drivers, then about 1500kg + 1500kg is the optimum, based on a typical 500kg car payload - not loading the car or caravan doesn't help this legal restriction as it's based on MAMs not actual weights.