What is the towing capacity of a Bongo please?
My friend is so impressed by ours, and its price(!) that she would like to ditch her ancient horsebox-lorry and her husband's car and buy a Bongo and horsetrailer instead...
towing capacity of a Bongo
Moderators: Doone, westonwarrior
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stulegg
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brianwfl
Hi peeps, there seem to be some confusion re towing generally.
The 85% rule is an advisory figure set down by the caravan clubs, it does not appear in statute of law.
an experienced tower may tow up to the max permissible towing weight specified by the vehicle manufacture. this may be less than the kerbside weight, but is invariably more.
re the bongo. average kerbside weight 4wd manual is 1860 kg, therefore 85% of kerbside weight is 1581 kg.
There has recently been 2 cases where over zealous coppers have booked caravaners over the 85% weiht advisory limit only for the courts to throw it out and award costs to the caravaner concerned.
The driving licence requirements have change for licences issued from jan 97.
I would like to write a fact sheet re towing , if ian approves i will start to research it fully
brgds brianwfl
The 85% rule is an advisory figure set down by the caravan clubs, it does not appear in statute of law.
an experienced tower may tow up to the max permissible towing weight specified by the vehicle manufacture. this may be less than the kerbside weight, but is invariably more.
re the bongo. average kerbside weight 4wd manual is 1860 kg, therefore 85% of kerbside weight is 1581 kg.
There has recently been 2 cases where over zealous coppers have booked caravaners over the 85% weiht advisory limit only for the courts to throw it out and award costs to the caravaner concerned.
The driving licence requirements have change for licences issued from jan 97.
I would like to write a fact sheet re towing , if ian approves i will start to research it fully
brgds brianwfl
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moonshine
I towed an ancient Sprite Musketeer caravan with a Mk2 Cortina automatic for many years without any problems whatsoever. The caravan, when fully loaded with all our gear for 5 of us, weighed more than the car. We visited Cornwall and the Lake District and it never even overheated once on the hills. Many happy memories there.
I also used to tow a huge 4-wheel trailer with the same car, often with a car on the trailer. Still no problems despite the all-up weight of the trailer being close to 2 tonnes.
I also used to tow a huge 4-wheel trailer with the same car, often with a car on the trailer. Still no problems despite the all-up weight of the trailer being close to 2 tonnes.
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helen&tony
- Supreme Being
- Posts: 9869
- Joined: Thu Nov 18, 2004 12:49 pm
- Location: Bulgaria
bongo- towing
Hi
I think to answer your question, I would say that there are vehicles which should tow, and can’t , and those that shouldn’t tow , and do so admirably. For instance, Land Rover, in their Series 3 handbook, that the Series 3 Safari is not a tow vehicle. I have owned many Land Rovers, and the best vehicle I have ever towed with is a Series 3 LWB 6 cylinder Safari. I have also towed with a 2002 BMW (goodness knows how long ago), and no way would you tow with such a lightweight, but it was second only to the Landy. In over 42 years of driving (with a lot still to learn), and 30 years of towing, I have tried all sorts of combinations. Back to the Bongo….I find it a super all-rounder and load carrier…We have carried ‘fridges, washing machines, wood- fired kitchen range, huge quantities of wood, enough to make the suspension sag, and no problem, but towing is another matter.
Firstly you have to look at “manual versus automatic”….there are advocates in both camps. With a manual, you inevitably slip the clutch longer to pull away, and over a long journey it gets a wee bit too hot. With an auto, the strain is on the transmission fluid, which gets too hot on a long trek, so with either system, you are overloading a bit. The Bongo is mainly auto, and already, by design, gets a bit warm, as the engine is mounted in the cab, and has innumerable fans and huge radiators to keep it cool under normal conditions without extra load, and I believe it already has a transmission cooler from what I have read in previous posts. Now, any manufacturer that puts the amount of cooling on a vehicle to the extent of the Bongo, signifies that the engine is nearly operating at the upper ends of it’s design parameters. To tow any large weight over long distances, I would recommend that if choosing a Bongo to tow a horsebox, then stick to local events, or get an engine specialist to add a large secondary oil cooler, a large secondary transmission oil cooler, and keep your fingers crossed!
Now, I don’t always follow my own instincts, and here’s a few words from experience towing with a Bongo. The all important % weight of the towing vehicle to the vehicle being towed means nothing if the towing vehicle has got no “guts”, and can’t put it’s power down when it is needed. I find the Bongo “does it all” on the level, or slight incline, and tows like a dream, both in power to tow, and handling , even in a strong sidewind, but DO NOT expect it to cope with long journeys through hilly or mountainous country.
I drove a fully laden Bongo and caravan a 15 foot Bailey Ranger (MAW just under 1100Kgs),with the Bongo, two large dogs, and the whole rear end of the Bongo stuffed with bulky but not over heavy items . The caravan was absolutely fully laden to its maximum weight, if not a bit over-stuffed. We drove from England to one side of France, back across the other side, across Switzerland in winter amid really bad snow (to visit our friends in the Alps), down through Italy, across to Greece, and up the the far side of Bulgaria.
Now the Bongo did it, along with stops to service the motor, but after long periods of driving in hilly terrain, the vehicle would get progressively slower, and driving downhill I had to put my foot hard on the accelerator to get it to move. After stopping for a wee think, I realised the transmission was probably overheating…I had already felt the wheels on the Bongo and caravan , and it wasn’t binding brakes. After an hour , or maybe two, we set off again with no problems, but as France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria have their fair share of pointy bits of rock, labelled as mountainous , on the map , the number of stops to cool the transmission was colossal.
The moral of the saga is that I can say from a wee bit of experience, that the Bongo is good on the flat, but buy a car with a BIG V8 for long journeys towing, or sell the horsebox, the car, and “stick the cart behind the horse”
Cheers in good fun
Helen
I think to answer your question, I would say that there are vehicles which should tow, and can’t , and those that shouldn’t tow , and do so admirably. For instance, Land Rover, in their Series 3 handbook, that the Series 3 Safari is not a tow vehicle. I have owned many Land Rovers, and the best vehicle I have ever towed with is a Series 3 LWB 6 cylinder Safari. I have also towed with a 2002 BMW (goodness knows how long ago), and no way would you tow with such a lightweight, but it was second only to the Landy. In over 42 years of driving (with a lot still to learn), and 30 years of towing, I have tried all sorts of combinations. Back to the Bongo….I find it a super all-rounder and load carrier…We have carried ‘fridges, washing machines, wood- fired kitchen range, huge quantities of wood, enough to make the suspension sag, and no problem, but towing is another matter.
Firstly you have to look at “manual versus automatic”….there are advocates in both camps. With a manual, you inevitably slip the clutch longer to pull away, and over a long journey it gets a wee bit too hot. With an auto, the strain is on the transmission fluid, which gets too hot on a long trek, so with either system, you are overloading a bit. The Bongo is mainly auto, and already, by design, gets a bit warm, as the engine is mounted in the cab, and has innumerable fans and huge radiators to keep it cool under normal conditions without extra load, and I believe it already has a transmission cooler from what I have read in previous posts. Now, any manufacturer that puts the amount of cooling on a vehicle to the extent of the Bongo, signifies that the engine is nearly operating at the upper ends of it’s design parameters. To tow any large weight over long distances, I would recommend that if choosing a Bongo to tow a horsebox, then stick to local events, or get an engine specialist to add a large secondary oil cooler, a large secondary transmission oil cooler, and keep your fingers crossed!
Now, I don’t always follow my own instincts, and here’s a few words from experience towing with a Bongo. The all important % weight of the towing vehicle to the vehicle being towed means nothing if the towing vehicle has got no “guts”, and can’t put it’s power down when it is needed. I find the Bongo “does it all” on the level, or slight incline, and tows like a dream, both in power to tow, and handling , even in a strong sidewind, but DO NOT expect it to cope with long journeys through hilly or mountainous country.
I drove a fully laden Bongo and caravan a 15 foot Bailey Ranger (MAW just under 1100Kgs),with the Bongo, two large dogs, and the whole rear end of the Bongo stuffed with bulky but not over heavy items . The caravan was absolutely fully laden to its maximum weight, if not a bit over-stuffed. We drove from England to one side of France, back across the other side, across Switzerland in winter amid really bad snow (to visit our friends in the Alps), down through Italy, across to Greece, and up the the far side of Bulgaria.
Now the Bongo did it, along with stops to service the motor, but after long periods of driving in hilly terrain, the vehicle would get progressively slower, and driving downhill I had to put my foot hard on the accelerator to get it to move. After stopping for a wee think, I realised the transmission was probably overheating…I had already felt the wheels on the Bongo and caravan , and it wasn’t binding brakes. After an hour , or maybe two, we set off again with no problems, but as France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria have their fair share of pointy bits of rock, labelled as mountainous , on the map , the number of stops to cool the transmission was colossal.
The moral of the saga is that I can say from a wee bit of experience, that the Bongo is good on the flat, but buy a car with a BIG V8 for long journeys towing, or sell the horsebox, the car, and “stick the cart behind the horse”
Cheers in good fun
Helen
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