Towing with a 940

Hi, I have a 940 S 2.0 manual 1994. It is solid and fully serviced and would
like some guidance on towing a caravan. The handbook says max towing weight is
1800KG while my local caravan dealer says it will only tow 1250KG and suggested
my other car, a Nissan Almera Tino 1.8S a mini MPV would be a better tow car.
Another dealer disagreed and said the complete opposite.
Anybody got any experience of towing with a 940 and what would be a suitable
weight of van. I have owned two previous vans one which I towed with a 360 GLT
one of which was 14 foot and had no problems.
Any ideas?

 

The Volvo will have the required torque low down but I have no comment about
the Nissan as I don't know them.

I would make sure you are fully up to date with the current [rather complex]
legislation too, most of which is comprehendable and on the DVLA web site.
Also google for the NTTA site (National Trailer and Towing Association) who
have paraphrased everything into bite size chunks. It may well be that one
of the cars doesn't meet the required requirements from a legal standpoint,
not to mention the changes in driving licences over the last decade.

Graham W

 

Am not sure on the Kerb weights of the 'van- look in the handbook??

The 360 makes an excellant tow-er, had 2 in the family- fantastic low down
torque especially with the injected engine.

The 940 might well struggle with the 2 litre engine due to the extra
weight...

Tim..

 

I tow an 1100 kg 'van by choice with my 945 SE, although the limit for my car
has been ascertained as approx 1350-1400 kgs. This is to keep within a realistic
towing train weight. To arrive at your own figure take the kerbweight of your
car then calculate 85% of that figure. This will give you the safe weight to tow
if you are a beginner in the world of towing caravans. If you are very
experienced you can go up to the kerbweight of your car as a maximum towing
weight.

Cheers, Peter.

: Hi, I have a 940 S 2.0 manual 1994. It is solid and fully serviced and would
: like some guidance on towing a caravan. The handbook says max towing weight is
: 1800KG while my local caravan dealer says it will only tow 1250KG and
suggested
: my other car, a Nissan Almera Tino 1.8S a mini MPV would be a better tow car.
: Another dealer disagreed and said the complete opposite.
: Anybody got any experience of towing with a 940 and what would be a suitable
: weight of van. I have owned two previous vans one which I towed with a 360 GLT
: one of which was 14 foot and had no problems.
: Any ideas?

 

1800KG is max on a flat road, on a hill it is only 1200KG. Read your service
book.


If MPV is a heavier than the 940, than use the MPV. I doubt your MPV is
heavier. Your 940 should be a tank.

your local caravan dealer is an idiot