caravan towing

[Jayx5]

Does anyone tow a caravan with a single turbo 3.0d?
My caravan is 1400kg and I tow it with a 2016 2.0tdi(150hp) vw touran and with 3 kids fully loaded it struggles a bit so would a single turbo 3.0d be much better? or just up my budget and get a twin turbo?
When it's not towing it will only be used for short trips to school/shops etc

[Horizon]

I towed our last single axle, 1400  MGW caravan with a 3.0d single turbo E83 X3 218 bhp , 4 Adults to Norfolk from Manchester, pulled it as though it wasn't on the back, returned 26 mpg towing

[Jayx5]

Thanks that puts my mind at rest.

[Graeme]

Good morning,

I tow a Vanmaster Accolade, about 1600kg loaded.  I've had the van for 20 years and towed with Mercedes E estate, E52 X5 3.0d, and for the past 10 years with an E70 3.0d. I've done thousands of miles in Holland, Germany and Switzerland, as well as in England and have to say the E70 is the best tow car I've had in 40 years of towing. 

Consumption depends on the wind direction and how hard I drive.  In Germany for example where on autobahns you can't overtake during the day and have to sit at the same speed as the lorries - 56mph - it does about 25mpg. Push it to 60mph here and it drops to 22mph. Going into a west wind over the A66 to the Lake district, which is a steep climb, it can drop as low as 19mph. 

It will pull well in all gears, including 6th (mine is the 6 speed box) over about 45mph. I find it easier to use the gear box manually because the weight can fool it in auto change mode!

Mine is a 7 seater with the uprated rear air suspension and although the tow bar was fitted by BMW there is no additional cooling fan but the car works very well - never overheats, drives level and stable, and as importantly it stops well.

I recommend it as tow car wholeheartedly

Hope this helps,

Graeme

[Jayx5]

Thanks graeme that's exactly what I wanted to hear, I get about 33mpg towing with the touran so 22mpg isn't that bad considering the size and weight of an x5.
The touran seats are a bit uncomfortable and it's noisy on the motorway, I remember my e53 being very quiet, are e70s the same?

[Graeme]

The diesel engine does drone a bit - but tyres are the main source of noise and much depends on the surface.  I find the concrete on some motorways such as the M1 near Leeds the worst.  Don't forget too that run-flat tyres tend to create more noise - the on-line tyre sellers give the decibel ratings for different makes.  I don't want to re-open the run-flat/non run-flat debate here but I feel having run-flats on gives me a greater sense of security when towing as, remember, there is no spare on an E70 and on a 7 seater no room for one.  When towing I have most of the heavier and bulky things in the car such as awning +poles and folding seats so the luggage space is pretty full!

Graeme

[X5Sport]

Even in single turbo guise, the 30d has significantly more torque than the VW 150 2.0d.

[Jayx5]

hopefully I'm going to look at a 2010 on Thursday,  it has an awsome spec, fbmwsh with 2 months bmw warranty left, dynamic pack,tow bar heated front and rear seats, heated steering wheel, cooled vented front seats ,360 camera, electric boot,comfort seats, individual  stereo, panaramic roof, fingers crossed it's a good one

[Alchemist]

I've just bought a X5 3.0d single turbo for exactly this purpose. Before this I had an E46 (with broadly the same engine) and used to tow a single axle caravan + the family and all the kit.

No issues with power with the E46, but expecting the X5 to be more stable at speed (first caravan holiday with it at the helm will be in a week or so). I'll report back once I've tested it!