Towing Large van 23'

ask on a caravan forum with everybody towing big vans
find the Caravan forum a good one.

Hi Dinger Bell, you will find that if you are going to be away that long then the 23' will be ideal. We have a 21'6" van and is great for two of us. We don't get in one anothers way and the facilities in the van make life a bit easier especially when you stop in parks that are not the best. You will find that once you are on the road that your van will be the norm rather than the exception. Towing a 23' van is not that much different to towing a 17' or 18' van and better than a 16' single axle van.
An ideal fitting for your van is the rear view camera which makes it a lot easier to see traffic behind and help vehicles behind get past you.
Some parks are a bit tight when reversing into pitches but you will usually find that there are plenty of fellow travellers willing to help and give advice.
We tow with a T/D Landcruiser and that cruises along at 95-100 without any fuss and except for very hilly country it only uses 16-17 l/km.
Go for it and you will have the greatest time of your life and meet some great people and see things that 99.9% of the worlds population will never see.

We tow a 23' van. It's 2006 Roadstar Trackvan Limited Edition. Has a 10 inch chassis and also had the drawbar extended by 385mm. Has 3 x 80 litre water tanks plus upgraded to 3000kg Simplicity suspension with 12 inch electric brakes and 16 wheels. Tow it with a 2003 4.2 Patrol. Upgraded from a 14'6 pop up camper van and never looked back. Towing is pretty much the same as the 14'6, just have to allow a little wider on corners etc. We have had some problems in caravan parks. When we've booked a site for a 23' van, that's exactly what we've got. Normally the drawbar hangs out over the road a bit, so now when ever I book a site I tell them the van is 25'. Problem solved. The total weight of our van is 2970kg, but that is an offroad version. Fuel doesn't seem to be a major issue with the larger van. I average around 17litres/100km. Headon winds slow us down a bit but we haven't had any issues with sidewinds etc. Definitely get a rear view camera installed. I have one on the car and one on the van and flick between the two. Also I use a Couple Mate on the tow bar on the car and normally can hook the van up by myself on the first attempt.
Hope this helps a bit
Peter

We did a similiar trip in 1983 for a year. We took a tent etc and left the van in C parks while we went off road. Worth considering as some of the best things are only accessable that way. Have a wonderful trip. Chris.

Hi DingerBell

Check out thread 47718 for discussion on tow vehicles.

Have you had much experience towing or caravaning? You may not need a van so large unless it will be your only home. A longer rig is more difficult to park, pass other traffic, and you will be most reluctant to drive into scenic lookout spots, not knowing if you can turn around when you get there.

Motherhen