Hi all

I am about to purchase an S type 2.7d. I will use it to tow my small caravan as well.

I have been told (I dont believe his...) that some models won't tow. As in they are not capable of having a tow bar fitted...

so to make sure and out my mind at rest when I go and look at the car I will of course check the VIN plate in the passenger door slam. Can anyone explain the layout and what refers to what on the plate please?


many thanks in advance.

 

There is some truth in what you have been told. Some vehicles (and models) do not have Tow Hitches mass produced for them. They have to be custom made. (i.e. my 2012 Chevy Cruze). That being said, I am sure you can find a Tow Bar that will fit you're vehicle. Now that doesn't necessarily mean you should tow with it either. Having worked for a Trailer Rental facility many, many years ago, we had a policy in place. It didn't matter if the vehicle physically had a tow bar or not. If it did not have a certain type of engine, we wouldn't rent them a trailer. The reason for this is that they didn't want to assume the liability for the engine getting destroyed. Now that's a rental facility. I'm assuming you have your own Caravan. So the things you should consider is the size of the engine and what is the torque at the wheels. A little internet research would be able to tell you this. I will tell you that from personal experience, I won't tow any kind of trailer with anything less than a V6. The extra weight of the trailer and it's contents puts to much stress on the engine and can cause serious damage to it. But again, that's my personal experience. (Blown 1 or 2 engines doing exactly that. Just saying)