View Full Version : Towing with a ZS
Enright
03-05-12, 10:58 AM
Has anyone used their ZS for towing? If so, please can they comment on their experiences?
I've just fitted a Witter tow-bar to mine, but the towing specs for the car appear to be rubbish!
Put it this way - I wanted to pull a Pug 206 CC back home for the missus, but even though that is only 1140kg compared to the ZS's 1230, the little Pug can supposedly lug about 550kg unbraked, or 1100kg braked, whereas the much bigger ZS is limited to 500kg and 1000kg.
I'm confident that the (ZS particularly in TD form) is quite capable of dragging about more than it says, but will be very nervous about being pounced on by plod.
Have you got a Towing Licence then? I've been driving 11 years and am not allowed to tow as my licence prohibits it...
I have towed (in my old 180 saloon) an espace in an emergancy situation, in that instance it was the Police that asked me to do it as my car was more powerful than their Landrover apparently...
Enright
03-05-12, 11:39 AM
Yeah - I'm 43 and passed my test when I was 18.
"All drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997 retain their existing entitlement to tow trailers until their licence expires. This means they are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8.25 tonnes Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM). They also have entitlement to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kgs MAM."
It's purely the car's capabilities and the legal implications I'm bothered about.
talkingcars
03-05-12, 12:22 PM
The biggest I've towed with my ZS180 was a camping trailer with a T16 and gearbox or a 1.4 K4 with gearbox and metro subframe and an engine hoist - licence wise isn't a problem - can drive a 44 tonne artic..........
I towed my freelander home on Saturday. It weighs 1550Kg the trailer weight was 950Kg!! So that's 2500Kg's hung of the back of my Pajero that has a towing capacity of 1800Kg's !! Total train weight of 4.7 tons!! And about 15 mpg :(
MG6Turbo
03-05-12, 04:43 PM
I towed my M5 with the zs.. Had no issues with the zs. Oh but it was supercharged..lol
G
To be fair it's MGR that set the towing weight low not the car!! It was probably to reduce the chance of warentee claims. The Freelander uses the same engine and gearbox combinations as the ZS but has a 2000 Kg's towing capacity even though it only weighs 200-300 Kg's more!! The TD and 180 will pull much more than the book says you just can't legally !!
zsserbia
03-05-12, 06:18 PM
To be fair it's MGR that set the towing weight low not the car!! It was probably to reduce the chance of warentee claims. The Freelander uses the same engine and gearbox combinations as the ZS but has a 2000 Kg's towing capacity even though it only weighs 200-300 Kg's more!! The TD and 180 will pull much more than the book says you just can't legally !!
So true, I hope at least ZT 260 is good for more in the book :weakbench:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFNkrwRmba8
Any 2 litre derv would pull a house out of it's foundation ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ueX-A3X6PY ) but safety is another issue, ZS being a lightweight, front wheel drive, etc...
talkingcars
03-05-12, 08:23 PM
It's not to do with the hp or torque of the engine but the strength of the chassis, when I was a kid a mates dad managed to write off his nearly new Granada 3.5 V6, he was told that 2 horses in his horse box would be over weight but he did it any way and stretched the car by several inches!
never thought about towing a car with a rope as coming under the towing part of my licence(been towing vans about at work), can anyone clear this up for me
regards to towng a trailer i think i still can on my licence but its only up to a certain weight?
talkingcars
03-05-12, 09:12 PM
When you are towing with a rope you are not actually controling the other vehicle completly as you would with a trailer.
A basic car licence allows you to tow a trailer with a maximum gross weight (MGW) of 750 kg, passing the towing test lets you get upto a combained weight of 3500 kg MGW.
Previously you could drive up to 7500kg MGW plus a 750kg MGW trailer. Beyond that you get into the releams of operators licences etc.
It's great as a transporter :)
http://easilydone.co.uk/mgzs/zedt2.jpg
zsserbia
04-05-12, 02:25 PM
It's great as a transporter :)
http://easilydone.co.uk/mgzs/zedt2.jpg
A win-win combination of roof spoiler and instantly lowering the car :thumbsup:
It's not to do with the hp or torque of the engine but the strength of the chassis, when I was a kid a mates dad managed to write off his nearly new Granada 3.5 V6, he was told that 2 horses in his horse box would be over weight but he did it any way and stretched the car by several inches!
Chassis strength and tow bar attachment would be the limiting factor with any tow vehicle but the ZS is no weak design. It's pretty similar to that of the Freelander which is basically a modified Montego floor pressing!! All these cars are are a jumble of parts cobbled together to make what was needed at the time!! The rear of my ZS looks very similar to my Freelander but has half the towing capacity!! There must be more to it than chassis strength which was probably to reduce warentee failures?? But that is just a guess!! The rear suspension on the ZS is a good system but it might be the reason for the low towing weight? Who knows apart from the designers. Just to show an example of odd towing capacity. My Pajero weighs 2100 Kg's and is rated to pull 1800 Kg's which is 300 Kg's less than it's weight. My Terrano I had a few years ago weighed 1950 Kg's but was rated to tow 2800 Kg's so could tow 850 Kg's more than it's weight!! Same with landrovers all except the Freelander are rated to tow 3500 Kg's but weight nowhere near that.
Adamzs180
04-05-12, 09:05 PM
I tow and carry all sorts in my van and on trailers as part of my work and i don't have any towing cat on my licence. I believe it's the weight of your vehicle and the weight your towing. for example i can put 950kg of machinery in my van (max load weight) and then hitch up a trailer and tow that carrying a mini digger and spare buckets as it doesn't exceed the total weight of my van.
I tow and carry all sorts in my van and on trailers as part of my work and i don't have any towing cat on my licence. I believe it's the weight of your vehicle and the weight your towing. for example i can put 950kg of machinery in my van (max load weight) and then hitch up a trailer and tow that carrying a mini digger and spare buckets as it doesn't exceed the total weight of my van.
If you passed your test after the law changed (over 10 years ago now) then you could be risking your licence or a fine every time you tow ;)
Adamzs180
04-05-12, 09:22 PM
I passed my test in 98 prob about this time of year as it wasn't long after my 17th bday. I'm sure my insurance has the towing weight on the docs as its a business vehicle and everything i tow needs to be covered incase of accidents (during transit or on site) I'll dig it out and double check. It's very rare i'm that loaded with weight as the van doesn't like to pull very well and if i do take my digger to a job then i won't have a mower on the van as well. Just used that as an example of what i believed to be the way the towing allowances worked. But i could be wrong so don't use this as evidence in court if you get pulled over by the police.
I passed my test in 98 prob about this time of year as it wasn't long after my 17th bday. I'm sure my insurance has the towing weight on the docs as its a business vehicle and everything i tow needs to be covered incase of accidents (during transit or on site) I'll dig it out and double check. It's very rare i'm that loaded with weight as the van doesn't like to pull very well and if i do take my digger to a job then i won't have a mower on the van as well. Just used that as an example of what i believed to be the way the towing allowances worked. But i could be wrong so don't use this as evidence in court if you get pulled over by the police.
Yes, but if you havn't taken a towing test then you cannot legally tow more than the maximum gross weight (MGW) of 750 kg :)
I am unsure of the penalty if you get caught though...
Adamzs180
04-05-12, 09:31 PM
Thats a daft law. so i can put my mini digger on a flat bed van and tow a trailer with other tools in and thats legal but put the tools on the van and the digger on the trailer and it becomes illegal?
I'm not trying to start an argument or anything but it just seems very illogical to me, but then so do a lot of laws.
Thats a daft law. so i can put my mini digger on a flat bed van and tow a trailer with other tools in and thats legal but put the tools on the van and the digger on the trailer and it becomes illegal?
I'm not trying to start an argument or anything but it just seems very illogical to me, but then so do a lot of laws.
Well yes... I think thats about the long and short of it! lol
Adamzs180
04-05-12, 09:41 PM
Stupid rules. but i kinda made this thread stray away from it's original purpose so i'll shush now.
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