The Caravan Owners Club

[leeky]

hi can anyone help me i own a volvo s 80 2.4 turbo(petrol) is there any hobby which i can tow legally and if so what is the largest thanks lee

[candlefish]

Hi. Most people send you to somewhere like http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/volvo.htm#S80 to get your car's weight, then you need to look through here http://www.hobby-owners-club.co.uk/hobbyrange.htm to look at the layouts and weights. I think you will be looking at the short end of the range, but am willing to be proved wrong (as usual!)


Happy hunting

David

[candlefish]

Sorry. I meant to say: "Welcome to the site".

Someone else will be along soon to give you more info.

Cheers

David

[Doc]

hi can anyone help me i own a volvo s 80 2.4 turbo(petrol) is there any hobby which i can tow legally and if so what is the largest thanks lee

Hi leeky, & welcome.

You can tow any Hobby up to the 540 models with that towcar; above 540 you can't because they are too wide; nowt to do with their weight.

[candlefish]

I'm back. I thought that you should only tow a caravan which when full, weighed up to 85% of your car's kerbside weight?

I'm in the middle of trying to persuade my boss to get me something heavy enough to tow a 495, and am having the devil of a job (!)

If I ignore the 85% rule, and go for about 90%, I am much more likely to get a result as the car will be smaller and therefore cheaper.

What's best?

[Doc]

I'm back. I thought that you should only tow a caravan which when full, weighed up to 85% of your car's kerbside weight?

I'm in the middle of trying to persuade my boss to get me something heavy enough to tow a 495, and am having the devil of a job (!)

If I ignore the 85% rule, and go for about 90%, I am much more likely to get a result as the car will be smaller and therefore cheaper.

What's best?

C-F, and leeky,

The 85% recommendation is just that, a recommendation. What you should not exceed is the Max Permissible Towed Mass (MPTM) of the car. This may be less, equal to or more than, the Kerbweight, depending on the car.

The advisability of exceeding the 85% recommendation is governed by driver experience, and towcar and caravan characteristics.

As the max weight of 540's is 1500kg, I'm afraid I assumed that this would be within the capabilities of a largish Volvo.

Mondeos, I believe, are pretty heavy cars ~1600kg so should cope with a 1400kg Hobby 495 with no problem; TDci (130bhp) is supposed to be great.

[leeky]

thanks all for your help and info i beleave the kerb weight of my volvo to be 1800 kg so i dont think i will have a weight problem but it is the width restriction i am worried about having read coments on this site as i have been intouch with a dealer and he said no problem mate you can pull owt with that car i suppose he will say that if i am going to buy off him can anyone cnfirm what is the biggest hobbie i can pull safely and legally thanks leeky

[mikeC]

I have just pulled a Hobby 650 from Manchester to Wales with a new diesel turbo S80 and had absolutely no problem. It was actually easier than a 20ft Lunar we pulled a few months earlier.

[Doc]

. . . can anyone cnfirm what is the biggest hobbie i can pull safely and legally thanks leeky

Leeky, with your Volvo you can to Hobbys up to, and including all 540's.
Above that you may be safe, but you aren't towing legally.

[Chubbs]

Doc is absolutely correct.
The largest Hobby legally towable by any car, at the moment, is the 540 range.

I know - because I have just that set up, and I arrived at that after much careful thought about the legal situation. as I was very tempted by the larger ranges.

I also know that my Volvo has an 1800kg max tow limit, and that my kerbweight is 1605kg (checked on a weighbridge and adding the limited driver allowable mass etc) .

Within the 540 range my Prestige weighs in with a 1550kg MTPLM.
So if I were to load it to the maximum I would be towing at 93.9% of my kerbweight, but I don't.

I guess I usually tow at about 90%. The Volvo + Hobby sit superbly; the best set up I have ever towed with. Absolutely steady and unflinching, even in fairly strong cross winds or with passing lorries and 'White Transit Vans' doing 90+mph

Like Doc I would not encourage anyone to even think about towing illegally.

[david.taylor53]

Hi all
If I missed it apologies but I think its about Construction and Use Regulations. You cant tow anything greater than 2.3m wide with a vehicle less than 3.5 tonnes MTPLM. So the gypsies are ok-most of the time.
DaveT

[ZADA]

I had to smile, I have just read the post about gypsys being ok to tow hobbys as they have 3.5.t vans etc.

In an earlier posting( re: insurance) , I had mentioned that if we ever towed our hobby, we would use our 3.5t van .

I'd like to asure the group , im not a gypsy... BUT......... I do like gold earrings!! ( just in case my hubby is reading this post !!)

[david.taylor53]

Absolutely no critism of gypsies intended, ZADA. I wish I had a 3.5 tonner. I do hope you get the earings!

Dave T

[Andrew Savage]

Hi I am going to look at a 1998 Hobby Prestige 540 tomorrow. My car is a 1992 BMW 525i sport (E34), I think the weight of my car is 1480kg though I'm not sure. Should I not bother and get something smaller? Please help

[jjsmum]

hi, we have a 1986 hobby prestige 610, which has the door on the right side and is 2.3m wide, as confirmed in the brochure we have of that era.so i want to know is it just the new ones that are 8ft wide as everyone says that the biggest hobby is 540 and ours is obviously bigger.

or i could be just having a blond/senior moment as im blond and approaching 40. lol