Hi all,

My manual says the tow capacity is 2,000 pounds. My family is wanting to buy a pop up camper and this is the vehicle we'd use with it. We are looking at a Palomino Pony which weighs about 1500 pounds (dry) and a Flagstaff 206ST MAC that weighs 1772 pounds. Would either be better for the car? I'm leaning towards the Flagstaff but want to be sure.

Thanks!

 

What model car do you have? If it's not turbo, I wouldn't recommend either. In eather event, you should consider a trans and motor oil cooler.

 

Your V50 is rated to tow up to 2,000 lbs with a maximum tongue weight of 165 lbs. Tongue weight being the portion of the trailer weight resting on the hitch ball. The balance of the weight rests on the trailer axle.
Figure the added gear, food, etc that you will be putting in the trailer is going to add another 500 lbs or so to the trailer. This makes one of them top out right at the 2,000 lb mark, while the other exceeds it and goes to 2,225 lbs.

That said, the problem with either of these trailers won’t be the towing weight as much as the tongue weight. Properly loaded, the trailer needs to have 10-15% of its total weight on the tongue. This means you need to have, at a minimum, somewhere around 200 lbs on the back of the V50. That puts you over your limit. And that assumes 10% is acceptable, which would doubt. My experience is 12% or better is what is really needed. The closer you get to 15% the better off you are. A trailer loaded too lightly at the front will introduce a lot of “bounce” or “porpoising” at the hitch as the trailer axle acts as a pivot.
All of that is before you address the weight of the people and gear in the car. I think you would be pushing the limits of this car trying to do this.
You could conceivably pull a smaller trailer such as one of the small A-liners, but they may not be big enough to suit your camping desires.

If you do decide to try this, make sure to get a trailer with brakes installed and then add a controller to the Volvo. The lighter trailers are not easy to find with brakes, but the first time you want to stop you’ll appreciate having them. The car brakes stop the car, the trailer brakes stop the trailer.
Best of luck.

 

Thank you! I'll have my husband look at this.

Here are the specs of the ones I'm looking at:

Flagstaff: it actually weighs 1543 pounds.

Hitch Weight 174 lb.
Axle Weight 1,319 lb.
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 1543 lb.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 2,274 lb.
Cargo Carrying Capacity 762 lb.
Box Size 10 ft.
Exterior Open Length 20 ft. 1 in.
Exterior Closed Length 14 ft. 0 in.
Exterior Closed Height 4 ft. 9 in.
Exterior Width 85 in.


Palomino pony:

Dry Hitch Weight 122 lbs.
Axle Weight 1,278 lbs.
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 1,400 lbs.
GVWR 2,245 lbs.
Cargo Carrying Capacity 756 lbs.
Box Size 8'
Exterior Open Length 16' 8"
Exterior Closed Length 11' 10"
Exterior Closed Height 4' 4"
Exterior Width 85"

 

You don't say the year or engine in your V50. Ours is a 2.4 i, which is where I got my numbers from.

Here's a 2005 Owners Manual (U.S.) -

2005 Volvo V50

It gives maximum trailer weights on page 187.

Max. trailer weight (w/o brakes) All models: 1540 lbs All models: 700 kg
Max. trailer weight (with brakes) All models: 2000 lbs All models: 900 kg
Max. tongue weight All models: 165 lbs All models: 75 kg

Both of those trailers you're looking at will push those limits. You're doing well to do all the research before you purchase. There all also some very good popup-related resources on the web. I'd recommend PopUpPortal as one.

Note: It is not uncommon to see European tow limits that are higher than U.S. Don't let that confuse you. European trailers are designed differently in terms of the way weight is loaded into the trailer.

 

Thank you so much, you've been so helpful! It's a 2008 and I believe a 2.4 i. I will look into that link and check my manual. Thanks again.
Looks like the Palomino would be the best choice for my car, but I really want the Flagstaff!

 

Ok, it's a 5 cylinder, 220 hp.

I did put a post on the pop up forum and a lot of people are thinking they weigh too much.
They are suggesting a Quicksilver 8.0 and one person said he would only go with a 6.0 with my car. I'd be better off tent camping!

 

That was the point I was trying to make. Both those trailers exceed the U.S. ratings of the car for total weight and tongue weight once you add any gear to them.

 

I see.

There is also the Viking 1706...here are it's specs:

Dry Hitch Weight 111 lbs. (50 kg)
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 1,249 lbs. (567 kg)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) 2,098 lbs. (952 kg)
Cargo Carrying Capacity 849 lbs. (385 kg)
Box Size 8' (2.4 m)
Exterior Length - Open 16' 11" (5.2 m)
Exterior Length - Closed 12' 2" (3.7 m)
Exterior Height - Closed 4' 6" (1.4 m)
Exterior Width 85" (2.2 m)

We are a family of 4, 2 small children. When you add our weights and the kids car seats up, the total including the popup weight comes to 1,644.
I'm thinking we could pack light and make it with one of these.

 

Of all of those choices, the Viking seems to be the best fit. It will be right at the limit though. Remember, kids grow up and get bigger. Their toys get heavier. Eventually, you're going to want to bring bikes along for instance.

The camper is going to push the tow capacity of the car to the limit so make sure you set it all up properly. Electric brakes are optional on the 1706, you cannot do without them. Make sure you have a brake controller wired into the car professionally. The V50 doesn't have the world's biggest mirrors, so you'd want mirror extensions (available from an RV dealer or WalMart) to be able to see properly.

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from camping, it's one of our favorite hobbies. But towing this trailer is going to require stringent packing plans from you to stay light.
I'll be honest. I wouldn't tow this combination if it were me. I've got some experience towing popups (we had a 3,000 lb popup) and larger travel trailers. I've towed some of these trailers that were right at the limit of the ratings for the vehicle I owned at the time. But that vehicle was a truck, not a compact car and I researched it heavily to put my mind at ease on towing it before I did it. We've also had a V50 for the past 7 years (next month) so I have some experience with the car in question. Today I tow a trailer that weighs 1 ton less than the rated capacity of my tow vehicle.

You didn't mention what part of the country you live in. Is there a lot of mountains where you'd be camping? Those will degrade your opinion of this setup. There's a lot of things to consider. I saw the discussion on the popup site where the focus was on HP. While that should be considered, HP mainly bears on getting the combination going. Focusing on that leaves 90% of the towing concerns out of sight. More importantly, you need to be able to keep it under control and stop it safely.

 

Having spent a lot of time in Europe, I am constantly amazed at the low towing limits imposed on cars in the US. Maybe it's because we have no legal requirements to maintain the cars (especially brakes) after they leave the showroom? Or the threat of lawsuits? The V50, with a much smaller engine (140 hp) than that sold in the US and with the stock transmission, can easily tow a 2000lb trailer. Take a look:

TowCar.eu - V50 as Towcar
http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/pdf/Towi...flet_Jan08.pdf

I can remember my dad towing a huge travel trailer behind our 1977 Chevy Caprice. The 305 V8 in that car had 1/2 the HP and the same torque as the engine in the T5 V50. And drum brakes all the way around. Sure. the Caprice had a separate frame and rear wheel drive but that only has limited benefits.

 

Thank you!
I'm in North Carolina, the middle part. We would be traveling to the coast and the trip would be mostly flat with it and not the mountains.

 

Thanks, Patrick.

SIO said this regarding why European limits are higher:

"Note: It is not uncommon to see European tow limits that are higher than U.S. Don't let that confuse you. European trailers are designed differently in terms of the way weight is loaded into the trailer."

I still haven't decided what we are going to do, but will probably get one around 1500 pounds with brakes.

 

I can't speak for Ohio, but here in Pennsylvania we do have a legal requirement to maintain our vehicles. They are inspected for safety once a year. If your critical components, including suspension and brakes among other things, are not maintained your car is required to be removed from the public roads.

Everyone fixates on HP as a towing criteria. It is not meaningless, but it is not of primary significance. For starters, engine torque has a much bigger bearing on tow capability when it comes to pulling power. That is one of the benefits of diesel motors, they are very torquey low in the rpms.

That said, you have a weight problem, not a HP problem. The weight problem is not the total trailer weight though. The link Patrick sent shows the maximum "nose weight" at 75 kg. That is 165 lbs as I mentioned earlier. "Nose weight" is Eurospeak for "tongue weight" used in the US.

Even a 1500 lb trailer is going to need 150-200 lbs on the tongue to have any chance of towing acceptably. Again, American trailers load differently than European trailers. Find a 150-200 lb person to stand on the back of your V50 and jump up and down (even lightly). Now realize a trailer won't only have that weight, it will have all the additional inertia of the rest of the trailer's mass to add to the effect. It will also sway side to side as you drive down the road if it isn't loaded properly. And you'll be going down the highway at 60 mph with your babies in the car....

I suspect you will find the v50 lacking and will upgrade soon after getting a trailer. I would certainly never discourage someone from enjoying the camping life. But get a good brake controller, buy a nice trailer and give a shot. Just be safe and prepared for the possibilities.

 

Here in Ohio there is no requirement to maintain anything but the emissions system. Even in that case, you can get a waiver.