Towing with a Citroen BX td

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brightfish
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Towing with a Citroen BX td

Post by brightfish »

Hello all,
Has anybody got any advice? I'm looking to buy a caravan (16ft to 17ft ish) I have a 1.7 Citroen BX td estate and would like to know what they are like for towing.
Many thanks
Joe [:)]
NiSk
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Post by NiSk »

All hyropneumatic Citroëns are above average for towing, however you must be aware of the fact that the BX is a relatively light-weight construction for a car of it's size, so don't go towing anything too heavy or with too much wind capture!
//NiSk
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np
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Post by np »

Have you towed a caravan before?Do u know the 85% rule?
brightfish
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Post by brightfish »

Hi,Yes I have towed before but not with this car and I am aware of the 85% rule.
[:)]
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np
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Post by np »

Do a search 4 tyre pressures,Citroen.2nd page,post CARAVANING,a PWATSON has replied saying he has `towed with both bx & xantia`You can email him direct or do a post 4 him.Last active 14/5/04.Hope this helps.
Did`nt mean 2 b rude about previous question by the way.
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Post by pwatson »

Yep, towed for many years with the normally aspirated Bxs and while performance is not great, we have been all over Europe as far as Greece. You will be better off with the Turbo for power but NiSK and np make a very important point - stick to 85% rule! 16-17 foot van sounds too big if it is a modern one with all the "heavy" extras - oven, big fridges, heaters, loo and shower etc - they seem to be getting heavier and heavier - one reason we stick with our present van. Our vans were relatively light "old" ones by Avondale - an Argos and then a Mendip which we still have, both 4 berths and the Mendip does have loo, shower, fridge etc.
Kerbweight of Bx diesel is about 990kilos so you need a van of 85% of that FULLY LADEN. Following site has caravan data
http://www.clicreports.co.uk/
HTH
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Post by jono »

Two problems I have had towing with BX TDs to be wary of and they were both with the cooling system or rather the lack of cooling. First BX the temperature sensor for the fans failed causing head gasket failure and second BX the inside of the rad core was partially blocked meaning the cooling fans were on all the while with no effect on the water temperature. That was a hot journey home, heater on full just to keep the engine cool! Both of these problems only came to light when towing so I would suggest you check out the cooling system before do any. Apart from that they were brilliant tow cars with the suspension making life very easy.
Regards
Jono
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Post by rg »

Ditto Jono's posting,
Towing a 17ft-ish caravan with my non-turbo Pug 405 damaged the head due to poor earth for the cooling fans. It's only towing that seems to bring these problems out, and by the time you realise, it's too late...
I understand that the BX does not have a temp gauge (just a "game over" light?) so I would be all the more cautious. Apart from that, there is nothing to beat them for towing. Just watch some other manufacturer clone the hydropneumatic idea soon, and claim it as "revolutionary"
rg
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Post by jeremy »

It is inevietable that towing will find out any weaknesses in your car as mechanically itw working far harder than it does normally and things like inadequate cooling systems will be revealed. the other problem is that most of us like to take our holidays in the hottest part of the year and often to hot places and this of course only adds to the problems.
My family has towed large caravans and horse trailers for many years and we have a catalogue of problems from blown diesel range rover head gaskets to melted range rover clutch operating systems, high tension leads overheating and so on. Occasional transmission problems too. Most of the problems seem to be on range rovers come to think of it - I've never been able to understand why anyone would want one!
Self levelling suspension systems have been available on some cars for many years and for example the Audi one (100 - late 70's) uses a system that bears some resemblance. Rolls Royce Shadows have a system direct from Citroen and I believe use a GS type pump and may use pumped brakes. I should imaging the Citroen patents expired years ago. It doesn't seem anyone is interested in using it as a principal suspension system and Citroen themselves have modified it extensively for the C5. Incidentally I believe that there were some Peugeot rally cars (205?) fitted with full hydraulics as spheres provided a convenient way of changing suspension characteristics.
jeremy
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Post by NiSk »

Yep, heat is your worst enemy in a diesel - make sure the cooling system is 100%! And doesn't Citroën give maximum towing weights for the car in the owner's book?
Over here in Sweden, the maximum towing weight is stamped in the registration book so you can't get away with overloading and say "I didn't know!"
As far as hydraulics in other cars is concerned, Jaguar tried to implement a Citroën copy on the rear of the first version of the XJ 40 (1990-1995) and British Leyland (as they were then called) failed miserably - most of them have been converted back to coil springs by now.
//NiSk
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Post by tomsheppard »

Kerb weight of a BX td estate is 1077Kg
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Post by DoubleChevron »

16-17" caravan ... with a BX ...
I think you'd be pushing it !! The BX is to light, side winds will blow you all over the road, the caravan will have to much control over you, and the BX won't have the power.
A CX sized car is ideal for towing this sized caravan. So I guess being in the UK an XM CT turbo, or V6 XM would be a great tow vehicle. A CT turbo Xantia may come close, but out here the Xantia can't legally tow my parents new 16' caravan as it doesn't have the tongue capacity, ie: the nose weight of the caravan is outside the weight allowed for the Xantia.
You'd never get me towing a caravan with a BX, it's simply to small and to light.
seeya,
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np
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Post by np »

I tow a 21ft caravan with my xantia est 19td.Nose weight is within limit,although we run at 94% of cars weight."Fine"say all the clubs"dont exceed 100%!"Tows like a dream,although its boosted.It does get hot though,only really on long climbs.80-90 with the van on,up to 100 up hill.Did go off scale once(110)going up Mont blanc in france with van,opened all windows and put heat to max and soon droped off.Later found a faulty cap on header.
May be get a Xantia,dirt cheap now and still loads of good ones out there(i dont mean 2 b cheeky!)
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Post by JohnD »

My caravan is 6metres (shipping length) and weighes in at 1000Kgs, fully loaded. From 1991 and for seven winters I towed it down to Southern Spain. Although it was running at almost 100% weight ratio, it coped very well with some horrendous hills. Throughout it's time with me I never had any trouble with over-heating. Only when I moved on to a 2.1 Xantia did I realize how relaxing towing a van could be. When last I heard, the BX was in the loving hands of Bob Smith.
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Post by pwatson »

Well said John - hope Brightfish isn't put off by tales of woe above. BX is a great towcar (wasn't it once towcar of the year?) if you stick to the guidelines. We've had some fantastic holidays with ours and never(touch wood!) a problem. I would also agree with final comments - we now have a Xantia HDi Exclusive and it tows like a dream, loads of power and steady as a rock! I quite enjoy pulling off from roundabouts on dual carriageways and out accellerating some none-towing cars! The look on the face of those who try to get past with the "don't want to get stuck behind a caravan" expression is amusing. Then I smile and let them past!
Choose the right van and have a good holiday Brightfish!!
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