Can a 1.8 TD escort van realistically tow a fiesta on a trailer? A long distance? Also, can you tow a small car trailer on a normal car licence? I passed after 2001 if that helps.

Thanks, James.

 

I wouldnt like to! they are slow as fuck when not towing,and the pigs would not be happy would be very illegal,you would need something bigger to tow legaly
If you look on the back of your licence it tells you what you are allowed to drive

 

escort vans can just struggle themselves up hills fuck trying to tow anything

 

thats bollocks mate, it will tow it ok, if its a td espesially. i got a esc td and it pulls a similar car like its not attached, get around 80-90 out of it stil

 

a good trailer by say brian james is half a ton,and old shity trailer will be more +what car? got to be over a ton

a 1.8 td escort aint a good pulling machine trust me and not legal either

 

depends if the escort van is a 35, 55 or 75, an empty 75 would be ok, a 55 is the most comon and i think would be on the limit if not over, a 35 no chance. the van will have a plate somewhere telling you the axle weights, and train weight, a fiesta is light at about 750kg when i weigh them in, that on a light weight brian james trailer of about 400kg gives you about 1150kg at the minimum, now as long as the gross train weight ( van and trailer) and the axle weights of the van and trailer are under their max, its ok to tow, but having said all that as you passed test after 97, you need to take a test to tow a trailer of that size and weight.

don't listen to any of the sheep that follow each other and say you can only tow 85% of the tow vehicle cos thats complete bollox, most big 4x4's can tow well over 3 tonne and they only weigh in at about 2 tonne or 2.5 tonne, and a mondeo weighs about 1300kg but can tow 1800kg, with a comercial vehicle from a fiesta (without windows) to a truck, it all comes down to axle weights and gross train weight (GTW), cars get given a max tow weight normally because they are driven by sheep that need to be told everything!!!

the max pin weight should be about 75kg no mater the weight of the trailer if it is loaded correctly, even if the trailer is 3.5 tonnes, it should be loaded/ballenced to give the pin the correct 75kg, if the escort van is a 75 you have 750 kg to play with in your gross train weight as its a van, if the van is emty you can tow 750kg more than if your van had 750kgs of spares and tools, although the 750kg does include the driver and passenger,

but as i said before, none of this is relivent till you pass you towing licence, but i thought it would be usefull info for others, and this info is verified by a friend of mine at VOSA, and VOSA is who will do you more than the police, although the traffic police are almost as dangerous to get pulled by with a van and trailer or anything your not sure about

 

Can a 1.8 TD escort van realistically tow a fiesta on a trailer? No, the the MAM of the trailer will be more than the van

A long distance? NO. 1 foot or a 100 miles its still no

Also, can you tow a small car trailer on a normal car licence? I passed after 2001 if that helps. No, If you passed your test after Jan 1st 1997 you only have category B licence

Which in your case means your escort van with a MAM trailer weight of 750kg


So baiscally the answer is NO No NO. You need to take a trailer test to entitle you to category B+E.

Then you can tow up to 3.5 ton (providint the MAM of the trailer is less than the MAM of the towing vechile. Ie the van weighs 1200kg the fully laden trailer can not weigh anymore than 1199 kg)

 

i towed a big trailer with my 1.8 endura td escort estate with my saph cos on the back and it physically pulled it ok,whether it was legal or not i dont know but it had the power to pull ok.

 

Is your rear crosmember 2" further back now

And no it was not legal.

 

it didnt have enough power to pull the xmember and its only illegal if you get caught!

 

could a Transit connect 75 pull a BJ twin axle trailer with a stripped out small hatch car on?

 

my pal used to pull a heavy trailer with a wheel rack on it with 8 wheels and tyres,tools and a stupid heavy spaceframed corsa.that was a lwb connect and he said it was just in the limit.i remember that alan paterson used to pull his concours saph on a trailer behind another saph.go to a trackday,how many folk are pulling trailers with normal estates.

 

could an escort van pull the skin of a custard? mine wouldnt do 80-90 without towing a trailer never mind with.

 

LOL Colin,took the words out of my mouth!!!
I had a Escort van when they were new and the struggled at any hills they came across, no chance wi a trailer and car!!!