Swift charisma
 

Looking into the whys and wherefores off buying a caravan atm..nipped into local caravan dealer today and he had a 2005 swift charisma 6 berth within the budget I was thinking off..would my 2003 v70 d5 manual pull this ok?? Brand new to caravanning tbf..

Just sold my Swift Charisma which I pulled with my D5, S80. Not a problem.

Legally yes. Is it a good match, depends on the van, there are many 6 berth Swift Charisma's but assuming its a single axle van I'd guess it will weigh about 1500 kgs so yes the V70 would probably be a safe and sensible match. For new caravanners it is recommended that the caravans MTPLM (Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass) be no more than 85% of the cars EU defined kerbweight (dry weight plus 75kgs for a small amount of fuel, driver and some luggage). You would have to look in the manual for the exact weight of your car and work from there.

There are 2 weights printed on a caravan, the MiRO (Mass in Running Order) which is the empty weight and the MTPLM which is MiRO plus a payload.

I take it you passed your test before 1997? If not you may find you aren't licensed to tow such a large van with your current car.

Yup passed in 94, the weight is 1200kg of the van, dealer worked it all out for me and said will tow no problems...

You wont know the 570 is on the back of your D5

And what am I looking at getting mpg wise Towing?

25 - 28mpg

I think ( I'm almost certain ) you will find that that 1200KG is the ( MIRO ) unladen weight as the MTPLM ( max laden weight ) of my Charisma 230 2 berth is 1215 KG - and that's a much smaller van.

If the dealer worked it all out for you they should have been using the MTPLM to compare against your car's towing ability and not the ( MIRO ) unladen weight - I'd therefore be wary they were just after a sale regardless of suitable matching.

AIUI some caravan dealers are prone to this deception to encourage a sale to someone who is not familiar with towing weight matching.

On saying all of that, the Charisma is quite a nice mid market van and we are pleased with ours.

Beware of that dealer though and do your own research using the MTPLM weight of the van.

This doesn't necessarily mean your car isn't capable of towing the MTPLM of that caravan - but DO check it yourself.

I've read quite a few accounts over the years where a dealer said to a novice that a car was suitable to tow the caravan they were selling.

Sometimes people have had to change their car following caravan purchase and after relying on the dealer check.

In my mind the main theme here is the dealer not being totally open and taking advantage of ignorance of the buyer.

Colin

Van is1206kg mass with a 1492kg mtplm so on the 85%rule within guidelines...

You'll have to check that, I have searched and Parkers quote a V70 D5 163 manual at 1580kg in weight. Add 75kg not included in the kerbweight figure to make 1655. When you mentioned 1200 kg for a 6 berth can I figured it was a typo as we had a Charisma 570 and I know they are a 1500 kg van. So by that reckoning it's a 90% match. The figure to work by is the heaviest of the weights. You may not have an issue with it but just beware, the P2 V70 isn't the heaviest car going, may think it is but it isn't. The extra drivetrain of an XC70 helps in the weight department somewhat.

1800kg is the legal towing limit so legally you are good to that point.