# Tugging a caravan with a VW campervan



## boxertwin69 (Apr 18, 2009)

Much as Mrs B & I love our VW camper+awning combination, we find it a little cramped with two young children & all their associated detritus, & find ourselves glancing enviously at cosy caravans when we're on site  Sitting shivering in the awning at night because we don't want to wake our toddlers up has limited appeal for us & research suggests a very nice caravan (with, say, bunks at one end & a dividing partition in the middle) can be had for £3-5k.

As a family vehicle / day van / occasional overnight camper for two the VW is unsurpassed in my opinion & we have no plans to replace it with a car. In fact it promises to be a great towing vehicle, as it will tow a caravan up to 2200kgs.

My question is this : If we take the plunge & start towing a caravan with our VW camper van, will we be expected to fork out for two pitches on most campsites or will we be classed as a car & a caravan? We'd be looking to subtly (cough) use the VW as extra living / lounging / sleeping accomodation, but would not use it's awning.

Your thoughts / opinions would be appreciated (i've already had the gypsy jokes thanks :lol: ). The camper van has limo tints from the 'B' pillars back for info :wink: 

Mark


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

Hi Mark,

Well I think it sounds a great idea and an ideal solution for the cramped and comfort drawbacks that you describe. So providing you are not charged extortionate prices by campsites for your set up, then my advice would be to go for it! :thumbright:

We tow a smart car; which I know is nothing like a caravan, but nevertheless, it is an extra vehicle that a campsite pitch has to accomodate and we never find it an issue and are never normally charged any extra for it; so you may be ok. However, if you are going to be using the campsite's facilities such as water, electric and chemical toilet disposal etc in both vehicles, then obviously the campsite being a business that needs to cover their overheads, will have to make a charge for these services but I doubt if they would charge double! That said, if you and your family are far more comfortable and it enhances your whole camping experience, then the extra costs might turn out to be a small price to pay and you may well decide that the extra pitch fees represent excellent value for money!

Why not do a bit of market research first and ring around a few campsites and ask them whether they would accept both a VW Camper and a towed caravan set up, explain how you would be using both vehicles when pitched on site and enquire what their additional charges would be? At least that way you may have some idea of how your set up would be received etc.

Good luck and please keep us informed of your decision and I hope it all works out for you, as it certainly sounds a wonderful solution and it would end up giving you the best of both worlds; a camper for days out and touring in plus a caravan for those holidays when you are happy to pitch up in the same spot for a few days but with the advantage that you would have extra accomodation plus the camper to get around and about the area in! 

Sue


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## ICDSUN (Oct 10, 2006)

Mark

Not as uncommon as you may think, a lot of motorsport enthusiasts and larger families use a mini-bus/semi converted van/MH and tow a caravan for living in, or just the van if a short meet.

Your van is smaller lengthwise than a lot of large estates/4x4's so why should you pay extra for using your MH as a towing vehicle.

Chris


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

I think that when it was discussed on MHF before it was felt that some campsites would view it as two living units and charge twice.

I met a couple in Bristol who towed a very small caravan (eriba?) with their VW and a similar couple in Poolewe. who were towing a similar caravan with a one of those very upright car/vans that are often converted to take one wheelchair passenger. In both cases they had minimised the caravan so it was just sleeping and a porty potty. Cooking was done in the van part.

In the case of the VW pulled combo they had retained enough features to still be able to camp in the MH part.

I looked at this sort of combination before choosing my current MH but couldn't decide if I would be getting the best of both worlds or the worse.

It occurred to me that the caravan part could contain more in the way of batteries and solar than the van and some sort of DC umbilical cord or a better still a large inverter powering the van part might be feasible. 

In the end two more things stopped me, the difficulty of parking at home and it might lessen my options when wild camping in the UK.


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

Mark,

If you tow a caravan you will find there are some sites where the tow vehicle cannot stay on the pitch but has to be kept in a separate car park, so your choice of sites is more restricted unless all 4 of you sleep in the caravan. 

I am wondering why you did not opt for a layout that provides 4 sleeping berths, which is quite possible in a T5 or T4 VW Transporter. Is your Leisuredrive the hi-top or elevating roof conversion? There could still be a possibility to add 2 berths. For example, the Westfalia California has a simple but sturdy fold-down double bed with a decent mattress in the roof, which can sleep 2 (slim and agile :roll: ) adults, to make it a 4 berth van. Ask Leisuredrive if they can fit something similar in yours.

Alternatively, you can buy a bed that fits across the cab between the front doors, to suit a young child. The next question is whether you could fit a (hammock-type?) bed in the roof space to make it a 4 berth. Leisuredrive may have a solution.

SD


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

boxertwin69 said:


> As a family vehicle / day van / occasional overnight camper for two the VW is unsurpassed in my opinion & we have no plans to replace it with a car. In fact it promises to be a great towing vehicle, as it will tow a caravan up to 2200kgs.
> Mark


Mark, can you please confirm the plated Maximum Weight {MAM / GVW} and Maximum Train Weight of the VW ?

I was a caravanner for 20+ years and I would be very unhappy towing anything weighing 2200kgs with a VW camper.

[I realise of course that your intention would be to have a caravan weighing considerably less than this, possibly about 1000kg MPTLM]. Ray


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## mauramac (May 24, 2005)

I'm no expert on this but wonder if this might help at all. We own a small VW camper which sleeps 2 fairly comfortably but sadly only has 3 belted seats so we can't take more than one of our grandchildren in it as a passenger and neither of them for holidays unless we had back up sleeping arrangements.

My son is a scout leader and his 2 boys love camping (his wife does not). We have suggested they borrow our camper for my daughter in law to sleep in and he can use their tent for him and the boys to use.

I'm not sure how this might work out on a campsite but it may be cheaper (if money is the main concern) to buy a really good tent purely for extra sleeping/living arrangements. Alternatively some of the awning extensions (as I understand) are more like living areas now and maybe could be converted into sleeping quarters.

It wouldn't be my first choice I have to say and maybe you wouldn't like sleeping apart from the children or each other but just another option to think about maybe.

We did also look at the really small pop up caravans and totally fell in love with these...............have you seen them? They might be a tad more pricey but well worth the money I think.

http://www.automotiveleisure.co.uk/

Hope you find a solution.
Maura
edit....forgot to mention trailer tents.....might be worth a look.


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

ICDSUN said:


> Mark
> 
> Not as uncommon as you may think, a lot of motorsport enthusiasts and larger families use a mini-bus/semi converted van/MH and tow a caravan for living in, or just the van if a short meet.
> 
> ...


Yes I completely agree that if the VW camper is just being used as a towing vehicle then it should be classed the same as a tow car and it would be unfair to charge extra but if the vehicle is going to be using some of the campsite facilities ie water, electric, waste and chemical toilet disposal etc then one must appreciate that the campsite owner is running a business and will obviously need to cover such overheads!

Sue


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## xgx (Oct 14, 2005)

We used to have a VW type 2 and a 10' caravan... but that was 30 years ago ( :roll: )... had no hassles on sites, it was simply a tow vehicle + caravan...
Kids slept either in their own tents or in the caravan awning...

personally I'd give a 'Soldier's farewell' to any site that wants to charge extra 

(it was a 1600 engine and coped with most hills ...provided you weren't in a hurry :lol: )


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## boxertwin69 (Apr 18, 2009)

Thanks to all for your replies - they are very much appreciated. Reminds me why my £10 subscription is worth every penny!

Just to answer a couple of questions, our van is in fact a 2+2 pop top, and we have a cab bunk made by VWBeds.com for our youngest :

http://www.vw-beds.com/products/cab_bunk.html

We've found it best if I sleep in the top, Mrs B & the three year old sleep in the parallel single beds "downstairs", and the 1 year old sleeps in the cab. Cosy, but cramped. The main problem is that after a busy day with the little ones we have nowhere but a chilly awning to relax with a glass of wine & a book because the kids are asleep in the van.

Our van is a T26 84bhp SWB model. The 2200kg figure is the maximum recommended by VW & is in line with the 85% figure recommended by the Caravan Club. Having said that, I do worry about the strain on the clutch/gearbox/brakes & would probably look to keep to a single axle caravan weighing around 1000-1200kg.

All in all, I think a small caravan would mean the best of both worlds, but I suspect we'd be incurring extra charges on campsites if we used both vehicles, however subtly we did it (fair enough really). I have read of people being charged double if they pitch a large freestanding tent next to their van instead of an awning, so a camper van & caravan combo would be sure to attract the attention of the more over-zealous wardens! A bigger / better awning & an additional heater would be a more cost-effective if less appealing solution, but I'll let you know how we get on.

Mark


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

Was it you that asked on the VW forum?

I tow Lunar Chateau 500 5 berth caravan just as you describe with my T5 (2.5 130). It's not huge but about 1400kg unloaded and maybe 1600-1700 loaded. My T5 could drag it never mind pull it!

Your's may be working hard all of the time though due to it's engine power. I would have yours remapped to the 104 mark it would be much happier at tugging then.

Strangely, we've done the opposite to you we prefer to go 5 :!: up in the T5 with an awning in preference to the caravan  

We've never been charged twice or even been questioned about the camper pulling the caravan.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*VW T5*



Andysam said:


> Was it you that asked on the VW forum?
> 
> I tow Lunar Chateau 500 5 berth caravan just as you describe with my T5 (2.5 130). It's not huge but about 1400kg unloaded and maybe 1600-1700 loaded. My T5 could drag it never mind pull it!
> 
> ...


"Another NOW satisfied EX Marquis customer!"

I hope you never have to suffer with your T5 like I did with the two that I had endless trouble with.

™


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

Nah, it's fine- it didn't come from Marquis!


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## boxertwin69 (Apr 18, 2009)

There a similar thread running on Brickyard Andysam if that's the one you mean. Didn't start it, but I did respond to it. Thanks for your comments - little bit nervous about inviting clutch & turbo problems by remapping, but as you say it may be the way forward.

Mark


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

Mark,

I firmly believe that with the lower powered engines in the 1.9 and 2.5 that you can safely remap without issue- after all VW have!

Andy


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

We use Sals VW Caravelle (same thing ish) to tow our twin axle Bessecar. It's the 5 cylinder 2.5TD version and does the job fine.


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## park (May 16, 2005)

We were looking at doing this 18 months ago. I contacted both the CC and CCC and they both stated in writing that it would be charged as one unit as long as the camper wasn't used as a habitation vehicle on site. Commercial sites might do it differently. After lots of thought we changed our minds and stayed with a coachbuilt van so haven't tried it.


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## boxertwin69 (Apr 18, 2009)

park said:


> I contacted both the CC and CCC and they both stated in writing that it would be charged as one unit as long as the camper wasn't used as a habitation vehicle on site. Commercial sites might do it differently.


Thanks for the info Park - much appreciated.

Mark


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## quickgetaway (Jun 13, 2006)

We did this for approx. 18 months using a NuVenture VW LT35 panel van conversion with the jumbo high top, pulling a small 1250kg caravan.

At campsites it was never questioned and we were never asked to pay extra. However, it was understood that the motorhome was not to be used for sleeping and both the CC & CCC have a rule that the motorhome should not have gas cylinders on board. 

It had the 2.5 5 cylinder engine and as a tow vehicle was very good, the extra width combined with the extra height meant a reduction in drag.


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## hymerhome (Dec 2, 2009)

From my own experience of owning a VW campervan and towing a caravan, the main problem is the gas. I had to remove the gas cylinders from either van or caravan before being allowed onto the site but as this was explained to me when I booked it was no problem.

Apart from that, the VW was viewed as our towing vehicle and although they objected when we put up a windbreak that joined the two (something to do with the battery likely to burst into flames apparently!) we had no other problems.

Best to check with the sites first though.

We found it ideal to separate the snorer from the sleeptalker, and meant one could turn over at night without rocking the van; so we both slept well. 

It also meant the VW was not cluttered up with relaxer chairs, etc while we used it to explore during the day.

I towed first of all a Cheltenham Fawn and then an Eriba 3 berth.

I quickly decided I liked the Eriba but not knocking my head every time I forgot how low the doorway was. Which is why I bought an Eriba with a motor on the front - my current Hymer 544.

I kept the VW as my daily vehicle


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## boxertwin69 (Apr 18, 2009)

Thanks again for all your replies - some really useful info in there.

The plan at the moment is to get a towbar fitted to the VW early next year & buy a modest caravan (£3-4k) next Spring. Can't store it at home unfortunately, but we've got some decent storage options up here. Will let you know how we get on!

Mark


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Make sure you let us know how you get on.


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## mikeyv (May 23, 2007)

I tow a fairly large caravan with my Devon campervan, based on a 2003 Toyota Hiace LWB, 2.5 TD.

Not had it long so limited info for you, we have had two weeks on a CC CL site, no mention of any extra cost, though we only use the camper as a day van, doing everything on site in the caravan.

I think if you take the mick and also use the camper extensively on site, you might well be asked to pay extra, with some justification in my opinion.


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

mikeyv said:


> I think if you take the mick and also use the camper extensively on site, you might well be asked to pay extra, with some justification in my opinion.


Why? If you took a trailer, car and big tent you have taken up more pitch space. Should they be charged more. If I extensively use the caravan but use the camper very little why does that change in reverse?

There's a quandary!


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## mikeyv (May 23, 2007)

Andysam said:


> mikeyv said:
> 
> 
> > I think if you take the mick and also use the camper extensively on site, you might well be asked to pay extra, with some justification in my opinion.
> ...


I was thinking more in terms of water/leccy/waste than space taken up, though in my case with van, caravan and awning, I tend to fill the pitch too.

As you say though, it's certainly open to debate.


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