Hi all,

We are thinking of getting a VW T5 campervan as a replacement for our towcar thus giving us more flexibility with taking our 'yoof' with us during the winter.

I know we have a dedicated VW clan on this forum so we need to pick some brains.

What engine output would be best to tow a Triton comfortably ? Manual or auto? any other advice gladly received.

Thanks in advance

Denise & Phil

I often see them on Preloved, I drove a T5 2.0L 6 seater up and down the M4
for 12 months, loved it, only about 85hp but pulled like a train!
(I was working for some electrical contractors who specialised in Breweries)

We towed our Triton with a T5 Bilbo's Nexa. It was a LWB 2.5 Tdi auto and pulled the Triton with absolute ease. There's a pic in the gallery.
Circumstances dictated that we had to give it up but we miss it and would consider something similar in the future. The current T5 is quieter and more economic than the one we had (2009).

Previous model, but yeh very capable tow vehicle, towed our 3/4 ton trailer and an earlier caravan very easily. No reason to expect the newer ones to be any less capable, I've been looking myself But will buy a newer BMW instead, whether or not we keep the Eriba

Quote: marmite wrote in post #1

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Manual or auto?

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I did say mine was auto. It was the tiptronic type so had manual override if required.
I am now convinced that auto is a real bonus when towing. It facilitates hill starts and slow traffic movement and makes for an extremely relaxed driving experience.

I am towing my Triton with a 2.0L Golf Estate with the DSG semi auto gearbox. It seems to cope very well. Agreed that it makes for a relaxed driving experience.

Thanks for the comments so far - keep them coming

Denise & Phil

Our grandchildren absolutely loved the camper's roof bed!

I have a 2014 T5 transporter automatic that are used for work. I bought it last year and would not hesitate in recommending it to anybody, it's 150 hp model. Not bad gas mileage and loads of power and I would agree with the relaxed driving experience it's very relaxing.
Regards Clive

Hymer make a T5 camper van called the Hymercar Cape......

http://www.hymercar.com/en/models/hymerc...ml#.VUEH2OBwZcs

Ooops! the T5 was 172hp as standard NOT 85hp, sorry.

Well, I am ever so slightly biased, and I never see the drawbacks of VW campervan ownership. The most obvious one is the cost. We brought a brand new high spec T5 Kombi and had it converted to save a bit of money and to get everything we wanted, but we still spent about 34k. Now, the upside is they hold their value and 4 years of European touring (28,000 Miles) later, we could sell it for not that much less. However, when they start to go wrong they are expensive to maintain. This is usually after many many miles, but I would be wary of a second hand high mileage one. We chose a manual but I like driving a manual and I do most of the driving. A T5 gearbox replacement would be eyewateringly expensive, even more for an automatic. So again, avoid any high mileage second hand, esp if you don't know the history or how it's been driven. Cruise control is nice if you tow on the motorways and is an easy retrofit. Air con is a must for us but will also hold your van's value better, as it's an expensive retrofit so will put buyers off if you ever have to sell it.

We love our T5 on it's own, but longer trips can be tiresome, that's why we bought the Eriba. We are away this time for over 4 months and the T5 gives us more room to store stuff and greater flexibility. We sometimes leave the caravan on the campsite and go off in the mountains for the night, so no worrying whether we'll get the Eriba up a mountain pass - although we have towed her over the Grand St Bernard and Simplon passes. Also, each time we go away, at least one of our children meet up with us. Daughter and boyfriend are meeting us in the Languedoc in August this time and elder son in Switzerland a little later. They get the T5 to sleep in and with a rock and roll bed we can still travel with 4 - with a fridge full of food for picnics, which saves lots of expense.

One word of warning. If you are going to carry passengers, if buying second hand, check the rock and roll bed. I have seen some extraordinary cases where people are carrying their children on seats held to the chassis by no more than a couple of screws, despite looking the part with inertia seat belts etc. We paid the 3000 for a fully crash tested RIB bed.

Key is to take your time choosing. It was over 6 months from us deciding to buy one to us going away for the first time. I would start with a T32 140 minimum and then work out what you want it to do and what you want in it.

Edited to add, we chose a SWB because it may soon become our only vehicle now we have both retired. It fits in car parks and is not unwieldy. With the Triton on it we are getting 30/32 mpg.

Brilliant response, thank you so much. Randa said you'd be along soon.We too are looking to buy new in order to get exactly what we think we want. We went to the NEC specifically to look at the various conversion options and converters. We were surprised at some of the offerings (incomplete insulation over wheel arches creating cold spots ideal for condensation, poorly fitted r & r seats to name just a couple) With the various replies on this and the other side we had more or less settled on 140bhp manual. We have also settled on Jerba to do the conversion the idea is to hire a campervan of the type we want from them for a week just to check that this is what we want then all being well go ahead and place the order (they will reduce the price by the cost of hire) then wait 4 months or so for a production slot.

Once again thanks for your input, you seem to use your camper/eriba combination in much the same way as we plan to use ours, retirement is on the near horizon and we are looking forward to lots and lots of trips out. Have a wonderful time wherever you go and look out for us next year



Denise & Phil