In America that would get posted under the funny towing thread.
In Europe, any light commercial towing with a gasser would get posted under the funny towing thread. People only tow their caravan to France with a gasser once a year
And the real fun part is, this vehicle i drive as commuter vehicle with an average consumption of 45mpg, i also haul 5000 pounds with and still use less fuel (23mpg) than you guys burn with your half ton pickups when just commuting
I respect this. Renze saved a kid from near disaster when they were going to pull this with a smaller setup.
These kids that just have their license, i take, dont have a trailer license yet. So as a rule, that would suggest they would try to haul it with an unbraked single axle un-registered trailer which, with stated conditions, is limited to a max weight of 750kg.. Given the kids own estimate to shovel this 2.5 yard of dirt on a trailer within 10 minutes, i thought they would seriously underestimate the load, and have had the small trailer filled with 1.5 ton of dirt and then pull it with mothers grocery getter, being pushed off the road, or breaking an axle in the process.... To give you an idea of what towing means to European city folks...
Do they not have trucks in Holland?
No, we only have purposed vehicles. Most people (and companies) get a true commuter vehicle due to insurance, tax and fuel cost, and borrow a construction workers van to haul a load. Even the phone guy has his tools in a diesel wagon, or a vehicle like a VW Caddy when he needs more room.
a half ton pickup is a very poor compromise between cargo and personal transportation, as ineffective as a 2 series Sprinter. (single leaf spring version of the 3 series sprinter, 3.5 ton GVW, the 3 series Sprinter is sold as 3/4 ton Sprinter 2500 in the USA) They are big and heavy and therefor have the fuel consumption of a larger tow vehicle, yet their light springs dont make them capable of carrying or towing any real load. Another issue with the Sprinter suspension is that only the first leaf is parabolic and drives smooth when driving empty, and the 2nd (3.5 ton SRW) and 3rd (5 ton DRW) leaf are straight, and carry when the first leaf spring bent untill it touches the other two. Which means that only the 2500 and 3500 Sprinter have progressive spring action, which greatly reduces body roll: At a certain degree of roll, three leafs are carrying on the low side, but only one leaf is pushing up on the high side of the rolling vehicle.
I used to work at a company in small commercial trailers, from ones alike the one in my photos up to 20 ton trailers with steered axles, to be pulled behind a medium duty 12 ton truck. We had one customer who imported Chevies and Tundras, (converted to run on propane due to gas cost here) and we allways had to install a Ride-Rite air bag kit to make them handle the 3,5 ton trailers (normally pulled behind a Sprinter 2500 or 3500 here) So i do have an idea of what a US style half ton pickup does under towing: No better than the 2 series (or 1500 in US nomenclature) Sprinter, and the same mods are needed to make them worthwhile. (as said, which is why the 2 series sprinter is rare here)
At work we have a Transporter, and two Sprinter 3 series as service vehicles, which you still can drive with a passenger car drivers license under the 3500kg GVW limit. However the Sprinters are both modified with a 3rd leaf spring (Spring set of the 5 ton dually Sprinter, whose 5 ton GVW normally needs CDL.) The 2 series Sprinter (would be Sprinter 1500 if they sold it at all in the US) is sold here only to people that dont know what they are buying, or to people who haul voluminous light loads such as fashion clothing. The Transporter has a smaller frontal area and therefor is more fuel efficient, and drives like a luxury car. It is still rated to haul a 2.5 ton trailer.
So, short said, IMHO (or IEHO, In European Humble Opinion, as you will) either a half ton pickup or a half ton Sprinter (which you guys cant buy in the USA anyways) is a very poor compromise between peoples transportation and cargo load/tow because it isnt economical enough for the commuter task, and not capable enough for the cargo task: You are burning fuel pushing a big body into the wind, which you cannot fully utilise in cargo anyways... So this stage is skipped, and its either a wagon type car/small van, or you step up to the full size 2500 or 3500 van/chassis-cab.
