Is is practical to tow a P21 with a small/medium car?

My diesel Golf has a maximum towing weight of 1.5te. The gross trailer plus boat weight should be just less than this, so it would be legal. Over the last 3 years I have only towed it around the marina car park. A longer journey worries me.

I have towed lots of smaller boats, including a Squib, even a caravan, although generally with a slightly larger car, so towing in principle is not a problem. Am I being too cautious?

I've towed mine with a Vauxhall Astra estate and now with a Seat Leon. The Astra felt more stable but the Leon has more grunt (same engine as the Golf TDI) I only do a couple of miles at the start and end of each season and I'm not sure I'd want to do long distances. I suspect it's more to do with old age and lack of nerve rather than any problem with the equipment!

Geoff Cygnus P21/30

I am aware that a boat is not like a caravan BUT.

The recommendation from the Caravan Club to it's member's is that the
Caravan maximum loaded weight should be no more that 85% of the unladen weight of the car towing it.

This is why more and more people are moving to 4X4 which are not recommended by some of the Caravan manufactures.

Sorry if this upset the people with small cars intending to tow long distance.
BUT IT IS ONLY A RECOMMENDATION

I wouldn't want to tow a 21 with a Golf. You really don't want to be towing anything heavier than the car.

A few things I have towed in the last couple of years.







Paul Burton.

Wayfarer no.9362

---

I tow mine with my Astra 1.6 estate to and from the sailing club - about 10 miles each way - and feel comfortable with it, as long as the road is fairly smooth. I'd tow it further if I needed to.

But when I towed it back from Salcombe to Southampton the first time, I hired a Land Rover. That was interesting as the trailer had no brakes!

So my answer is yes, your Golf should be ok.

Geoff

Parker 21 / 18 Dawn

This is a can of worms that is a) hard to unscramble, and b) has serious consequences if you get it wrong. You are probably driving without insurance if you are over-weight. Towing laws have certainly changed since the original Parker literature was produced!
By my calculations, which may be wrong - it seems far from clear, I have to strip my boat bare to get down to the permissible weight for my car.
Parkers website will probably give you a Braked Towing Weight for your car, (Reviews / Facts & Figures)but I cannot quite reconcile mine with the VIN plate figures.
Jim P21/94 Talulah

A couple of weeks ago I towed mine (P21/96 Sprog ) from our club slipway to our cruiser park.
Its about a mile plus and I took it slowly. It felt a bit of a lump behind my Saab 93 1.9 D. Probably removing the outboard would have helped,and maybe the onboard beer supplies !!
I am not sure I would fancy doing any distance,but thats probably due to lack of experience. The previous owner used to tow her around a bit with a Merc estate with a fair amount of power.

I towed my Seal sinbad which is 22ft from Norfolk to Gloucester in September with a 2 litre Audi A6. It was no problem appart fom a Gravel Carpark. The car was front wheel drive. The real isue is not engine power but traction as it was happy in top gear at 50-60.