V70 for towing
 

I got my V70 for towing. It replaces our Passat which served us well for five years.
We are pulling a Swift Challenger 530se and enjoy weekends away and time in France.
Its a good life 😁😁

Good tow car.

Passat is a good tow car - but you will find the Volvo *much* more comfortable and relaxing...

That's great news.
I can't wait to get hitched up and get away 😁

Just be aware of the minimal nose weight figure of 75kgs. Took me some time to get the load stable and within nose weight limit without pendulum risks. In comparison to the landrovers 150kg it's pathetic.

Paul.

minimal? 😉

Ideal nose weight is calculated as 5 to 7% of trailer weight. My car can tow 1800kg, my caravan has an all up weight rating of 1630kg.

5% of 1630kg is 81.5kg 7% of 1630 is 114.1kg both over the 75kgs nose weight limit so yes marginal. It means that although my car can tow the van easily, even fully loaded it cannot meet the ideal nose weight for stability as recommended by the caravan manufacturer.
By dint of careful loading and weighing I got to a compromise that saw me stable at all speeds and within the cars limits, however it leaves a lot of wasted space in the front locker and cupboards of the van.
In comparison the landrover discovery is rated at 3500kg towing and 150kg noseweight and has about the same overhang behind the rear axil as the volvo.

That the volvo is quicker, more powerful and more economic than the landrover is indisputable, however an excelant tow car is spoiled by a minimal noseweight limit.

Paul.

That's great information Paul.
My van weighs 1340kg.
At 5% that is a nose weight limit of 67kg
At 7% that is a nose weight limit of 94kg
I like to balance the van out with a nose weight of 70kg so I will be okay 😉😉

Just to add my £2.50 in here...

- Agree completely that a positive nose weight it crucial for a stable towing set-up, as is balancing your trailer.

- 7% is ideal, in Australia the nose weight is legally required to be a minimum of 7% of the trailer weight

- Although some Volvo models are rated quite low - the cars are structurally capable of much more and in other markets the identical vehicles are rated higher - for example the Mk 1 XC90 is rated 90Kg in the UK - 180 Kg in AU.

- You also need to be very careful of towball height on multi-axle trailers - too low a ball can result in a negative nose weight and that is really bad...

I occasionally tow cars on trailers with my 2003 XC90 and probably with 100-150Kg nose weight. The Nivomats just deal with it so it doesn't affect the ride height and it's very stable. More stable than if I was running at say 50Kg.

FYI the bigger Land Rovers' have a max nose weight of 250 Kg with a fixed towbar, 150 Kg with a detachable job.

I'v never heard of anyone being prosecuted for exceeding the nose weight, so whilst I would never recommend anyone else breaks the law, I wouldn't think twice about towing with a V70 with say 100 Kg on the ball if everything else was within balance.

Mines a 24 year old discovery 1 300 tdi. 113bhp and thirsty with it. Mind you not as bad as a mates 3.0 litre v6 rangerover vogue, 350 bhp and 12 to the gallon.

Paul.