any info on towing weights for a masterace and any towing info concerning said vehicle would be appreciated---DAVE L - (#448) dave linney, 5 Jul 01
I tow with a 1990 Masterace (manual transmittion)
I use it to tow a twin axle 9' trailer grossed to 1.5 tonnes. I usually only tow to a weight of about 1-1.2 tonnes (the trailer is 500kgs unlaiden).
Not knowing about what weight it could safely tow, I asked a towbar manufacurer and after getting the townies auw said that I should be fine up to about 1.3-1.4 tonnes. (They compared it to a Lite Ace)
It has little trouble with this weight, apart from the hills of course, and will happily cruise at 60-65mph at this weight.
I would guess that you have an auto version of the Masterace, so an oil cooler would be a good idea. - (#449) skippy, 5 Jul 01
thanks Skippy;very helpful,it seems that towing a medium single axle 'van' should be no problem.thanks again --DAVE L - (#458) david linney, 6 Jul 01
Dave L:
Ive had an auto 2lt petrol royal lounge (townace).
It wouldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding!
In fact i made it about 1/2 hour up the road B4 it overheated! ('box and engine)
I now have TD masterace MANUAL, this pulls like Stringfellow! Ive had lots of cars/vans etc but this is proving to be the best tower. The ojnly trouble with manuals is 1) VERY rare. 2) they are very low ratio (for Japan i guess - speed limit being 100km?) but for towing this is ideal. I have a heavy 16' caravan and am looking to upgrade to a 20' twin axle just to show off!!
Get back and let me know how its going. ATB Ash. - (#1112) Ash, 21 Sep 01
Can any one help? I am the proud owner of a 2.0 TD 4x4
Townie. My problem is that I have a twin axle Avondale
(Pentland) Caravan laden weight 1300kg unladen 1015kg
I envisage towing somewhere in betwwen this.
Can i expect problems with this and is my Townie capable of towing this weight. I have no problems of overheating and went to France and back and she ran like a dream.I realise that she may be slow but as long as she can handle the hills with not too much bother I will be quite happy.
Your comments and advice would be greatfull - (#1928) Andy Batt, 21 Jan 02
I have a 1987/8 2.0ltr TD 4x4, I tow a 762 Kg caravan, with 6 of us in the bus, We have had ours in Wales,
I also tow a twin axle car transporter, picking up TVR's.
I've had very little trouble towing.
Happy Caravanning.....
Paul - (#1930) Paul Morgan, 21 Jan 02
I have met somebody with a similar size caravan to yours who said he'd been to South of France and back with his Townie (2WD, 2.0TD auto) with no probs other than slow up the hills.
Having said that, my experience has been different. Same model Townie has been reluctant to pull a 600kg trailer tent, requiring a real thrashing in low ratio to get it up anything steeper than 1 in 20. This is probably down to it having an engine that was shagged from the off (see slightly earlier post "Pulleys" for the full story).
People have recommended getting an extra transmission cooler fitted for autos.
I'd advise giving it a good test run up your nearest long hill before committing to any foreign trips. - (#1936) SteveFE, 22 Jan 02
Thanks for your help guys you have put my mind at ease.
Think I will give it a go. - (#1938) Andrew Batt, 22 Jan 02
I too tow with my masterace surf.A Avondale 4berth.
I live in North Devon and have towed to London and Cornwall last year. all went well.
I must say that staying OUT of overdrive is best,maybe alright on straight flat motorways.
but we have none down here!
as yet no oil cooler is fitted. and all is OK
Happy caravaning. - (#1940) Barry Thorogood, 22 Jan 02
Her indoors has told me I have to sell my motorcaravan and purchase a caravan to tow behind my townie (2.0 turbo diesel, automatic). It would have to be a fairly large van as there are five of us. Can any one settle the argument, I say that the townie is not up to towing a large van, her indoors claims it will tow it.Any comments will be greatly appreciated, especially as I really do not want to sell the second love of my life (Ha Ha).
Steve - (#2652) Steve, 5 Apr 02
it'll tow ok
check the wealth of info on the ace.webspace link at the top of the page - (#2654) skippy, 5 Apr 02
I have a 87/8 2ltr td manual Townie & I tow a
22 foot 6 berth tourer ( a 1986 model caravan )
it makes the mpg go down fast but tows it ok.....
Paul - (#2726) Paul Morgan, 10 Apr 02
Hi there,
we've just bought our townace and was wondering if anyone knows the maximum towing weight and if being automatic is a problem, we would be very gratefull for
anyones views on towing with a townie
- (#5242) paul & deb, 23 Aug 02
I have a manual box & I tow a 22 foot caravan.
I put mt townie on a weight bridge & it was 1650Kgs with 1/4 tank of fuel..
Does this help ?
- (#5243) paul morgan, 24 Aug 02
I read under the towing thread that an "auxilliary tranny cooler" needs to be fitted. Can anyone tell me what this involves and where this can be completed? (i,e, is it the sort of thing the mechanic at my local garage should be capable of and is it going to cost me the earth?)
Many thanks, Keith
- (#8076) Keith, 16 Apr 03 1:17
If you need it, fitting is simple- there's flow and return pipes from the tranny to the rad, just tap the hoses into one...
- (#8077) david miller, 16 Apr 03 1:54
Has any one towed a caravan with the Royal lounge auto and got any do's and don'ts??
- (#10499) sue, 15 Sep 03 15:39
Have a look on Ace Answers.
I know of one Ace that tows a 24' van - see Spring 03 Ace Jam.
- (#10500) Clive, 16 Sep 03 1:21
i have been told off for this before , but as you know the ace has limited power and a marginal cooling system (ie there is very little margin for getting rid of extra heat) the transmission cooler is routed through the main radiator and while this is good at cooling the auto box oil - its less than helpful to the engine . having said that there are, and have been people out there who have towed, and done so without the problems we might expect.
dont do it , it the stuff ulcers are made of .. jim
- (#10750) j adgo, 17 Sep 03 13:28
I just cannot see that our vehicles, weighing around 1.5 tonnes, and putting out about 90bhp, are capable of towing ANYTHING. As Clive says, there are Townaces which tow large caravans. Do they all come from the flatlands of Norfolk because, anywhere else, with a few decent hills, surely it would be impossible.
Joking aside, as we have discussed before, with everything in tip top order, and the fuel pump adjusted to get a less than 3 MOT emissions pass, available power is very low. Surely I can't be the only 2c-t engined Masterace owner who gets overtaken by Reliant three wheelers on serious hills?
- (#10751) John Davis, 17 Sep 03 15:33