towing t/d or n/a

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rutter123
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towing t/d or n/a

Post by rutter123 »

which would be the better tow car a bx turbo diesel or tgd 19 n/a i have only ever towed with a 16 petrol, to tow a caravan laden approx 850kg, 500 mile round trip 3 times. the turbo for the extra power or the 19 for the better low down torque? your thoughts if anyone tows on a regular basis with a bx, thanx
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mat_fenwick
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by mat_fenwick »

Turbo diesel without a doubt - just keep the engine on the ball and you'll easily pull 850 kg.
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Mothman »

Silly question should have read your original post. Do you have problems at the moment?

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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by MULLEY »

Turbo has a lot more torque than the N/A, so that should be a much better tow car.
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Mickey taker
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Mickey taker »

I used to tow a five berth Avondale with my 19 trs without any problems
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by citsncycles »

This weekend I towed a small car transporter trailer loaded with Ripley the 2CV behind Timex (19RD) - was a bit slow up the steep hill (1 in 10) out of Wooton, but other than that was fine. I suppose at the end of the day it depends on how quickly you want to tow the caravan.
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Way2go »

Citroen won "tow car of the year" awards for the BX. Can't remember the years applicable (Tim probably will) but the answer to what is best is probably the latest win year for that assuming all BX models were launched at that time?
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Mickey taker »

I.I.r.c. In 1984 the 1.6 trs won overall towcar of the year
Bx Diesels won there category in 85, 87 and 89
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Mothman »

Never towed in a BX, towed one with my Mitzi, didnt know it was behind me!! In fact towed several but dont think if i had been towing them in a BX it would have been very enjoyable.

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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Dollywobbler »

I've towed 1500kg with the Green Tiger (not very far officer...) and also the 2CV on an a-frame. It barely noticed. Previous owner used to tow his caravan with it. The slightly lower gearing helps. I do reckon a turbo diesel would be better though. Either way, you really want a twin-cooling-fan set-up.
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Way2go »

Mothman wrote:dont think if i had been towing them in a BX it would have been very enjoyable.
Surely if that was true it would have precluded the Citroen BX being chosen for the award? It wasn't after all the choice between Citroen models but between other makes too.
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by Tim Leech »

The BX always won tow car of the year against its rivals mainly for its self levelling ability, the torque of a diesel is much better at towing than a petrol. We towed with a small 4 berth in 1980s with two 19RD's (65 and 71bhp) which my late father often commented that you couldnt tell you had anything on the back unlike the 1.3 Montego we had beforehand which stuggled!

Getting back to the original question a TD would be a better bet, however the BX only has a towing limit of about 1000kgs, purely as the car itself is light so you dont want the "tail wagging the dog".
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mat_fenwick
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by mat_fenwick »

Way2go wrote:
Mothman wrote:dont think if i had been towing them in a BX it would have been very enjoyable.
Surely if that was true it would have precluded the Citroen BX being chosen for the award?
I think what Andy is saying is that he wouldn't want to tow another BX with a BX, as with the trailer weight too you're looking at 1500 to 1700 kg to be pulled. I've done a 200 mile journey loaded in this way when moving house (this is when the BX was my only road legal vehicle, and after the guy who was going tow the trailer let me down). To its credit it didn't struggle too much power wise, but even simply backing off the throttle above 40 mph caused a terrifying snake. It was a long drive...

When my Dad was first considering a BX he had some friends with a NA diesel - the TD he bought in the end pulled his caravan a lot better than theirs. It was mainly on hills that it fell down; it struggled to maintain speed without dropping a few gears and having a procession of cars behind him always used to raise his stress levels!
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citsncycles
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by citsncycles »

A 1000kg towing limit for a car of this size and age is actually pretty good - my Dad's old Rover 820e could only legally tow around 800kg due to the design of the bodyshell, and I used to hear about early Sierras being pulled out of shape badly enough to jam the tailgate after towing over their limits.

As for my own towing experience, I did find a tendancy for my first BX RD estate to pitch when towing after the rear spheres were replaced, although to be fair I think it was running estate front spheres and hatch rears at the time.
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BX 4X4 Estate - Oh god, I've done it again!
BX 17RD MK1 - it called to me!
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rutter123
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Re: towing t/d or n/a

Post by rutter123 »

i have decided to fit the towbar on the t/d as most of you will agree, there are signs that a towbar has been fitted previously going by the state of the wiring inside the n/s/r light cluster, looks as if scotchlocks have been present, the mgw of the caravan is 950kg not 850kg as previously noted so i will be on the max towed weight limit for the car, my t/d is fitted with twin fans but im not sure they are both working, how can i test them? and what sort of drop in mpg would i expect (bearing in mind the engine will be in its usable power zone 2200/3000rpm most of the time)? i will also be fitting a stabiliser bar to stop the tail wagging the dog as it were.
90 BX Tzd turbo 294k SORN undergoing major surgery
90 BX Tzd turbo estate 46k awaiting surgery
65 Peugeot Boxer Van the new workhorse
52 Toyota Rav4 180k Bulletproof Jap reliability
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