Hey all,

Unusual question.. my dad has a Bini Cooper and is having a tow-bar fitted this week to tow the odd load of junk down to the tip in his box trailer. No doubt it'll handle this in its stride. My question is, will it tow a ~15ft half-cabin boat? He's looking to buy one in the next couple of months, but we've no idea if it'd be up for the job. I have no idea what one of these weighs, but with gear/trailer I'm guessing it'd be a pretty hefty anchor behind a Bini.

Does anyone here have a Bini that they use to tow, or better yet know if your average 15ft half-cabin will be too heavy for the Bini? I should mention here that it'll be towed between their house and Somerset Dam, which is about a 5Km trip one way on a good quality flat roat.. so definitely nothing stressful.

Cheers!

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Gareth.

I would suggest buying a cheap commodore or 4wd.
Even if the Bini was up to the towing job, I'd imagine days on the boat ramp
would be quite funny.

It's in the owners manual, but I'm sure I've read it as being 750kg (braked) or 500kg (unbraked) so it should do the job fine.

The trouble is that FWD cars don't make good tow cars because:

a) They loose traction on slippery boat ramps
b) They are light in the rear end, and consequently have softer spring rates. Neither of these help when you attach a 500kg boat to the back end.

Come to think of it, I don't think the new Cooper S can tow anything, as you can't fit a towbar due to the exhaust.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

That's correct. BMW don't rate the car at all for towing.

I'll admit I'd not even considered this -- having never launched a boat from a ramp in my life

Sounds like a deal breaker as far as towing a boat.. although I'll take a look at the ramps at Somerset first; I've no idea of their quality/incline/etc.

Looks like my Falcodore might have to suffice in its place!

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Gareth.

Which is a big mistake by BMW. Because under the Australian rules if a car is not given a towing weight by the manufacturer there is a standard towing weight issued by the authorities which is actually higher than the weight that BMW give the normal "Bini"
So you move the exhaust, fit the towbar and legally pull the arse out of the car trying to pull a big boat up a ramp.

You the front tow hooks and drive car backwards up the ramp

If you can't remove a boat from the water on a boat ramp in a FWD vehicle, there is something severely wrong with you.

Why on EARTH are your front wheels anywhere near the water line? - AND high tide mark isn't a 'slippery' surface once the tide goes out, the water simply dries out.


You'll be fine. If you have a brain.

Have you ever been to Mornington Peninsula Boat ramp in Vic?
Most people with rear wheel drive cars struggle because there is stupid amounts of moss on the ramp.
In summary its not water thats the problem its the moss, in a front wheel drive car you will have no hope in this situation.

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Michael Jones
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Personally I don't think towing the boat or using boat ramps is the issue. Stopping the whole package is something you should consider. The number of people I see towing ridiculous loads in trailers behind smaller cars with no thought how how difficult it would be to stop in an emergency situation surprises me. The MINI's brakes may be good but consider an extra 500kg behind pushing you into that object in front.....ouch.

Just my opinion

Tim

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1971 Mini K

Wow, thread revival

The particular MINI in question was sold in favour of a WRX over a year ago

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges