We are new to caravanning and I am very confussed about the towing weights, my husband seems very confident that he what hes on knows what hes on about, but that doesnt reasure me.
We have a 98 volvo v40 1.8 and I wold like to know idealy what caravans we could tow successfully with this. We are looking at getting a 3/4 berth van.
Please be gentle with yor replies - I know I may be coming across as more than abit thick, but I am more than alittle anxious about our new adventure.
80% of kerbweight (ideal towing) is 1088kg max is 1200kg being new to caravanning you should keep close to the 80% rule - caravans are not like trailers to tow and need respect ;)
Quote: Originally posted by Rune Caster on 20/1/2010
80% of kerbweight (ideal towing) is 1088kg max is 1200kg being new to caravanning you should keep close to the 80% rule - caravans are not like trailers to tow and need respect ;)
Since when did the 85% recommendation become an 80% rule? However the kerbweight reported is 1280kg which if it is correct then a good starting point for what you can tow is 85% of 1280kg which is the 1088kg that Rune mentoned. It is not a hard and fast rule so if the van you fancy is within 40 or 50kg of that figure then you are not likely to have any problems, though legally the limit you have if you have the right licence is the figure which gives you an actual outfit combined mass which is no bigger than the figure that is on the vin plate of your car. What you must be aware of is that if your licence is dated after 01/01/1997 then you may not under any circumstances tow a caravn weight that has a plated maximum weight which is greater than 1280kg.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
The max towing weight will be in the car's handbook, as stated tho, with a caravan its good to stick to about 85% of the cars' kerbweight which will also be in your handbook. With a 1.8 petrol you would'nt want to be towing much more than a tonne, anyway.
though legally the limit you have if you have the right licence is the figure which gives you an actual outfit combined mass which is no bigger than the figure that is on the vin plate of your car. What you must be aware of is that if your licence is dated after 01/01/1997 then you may not under any circumstances tow a caravn weight that has a plated maximum weight which is greater than 1280kg.
I think you will find that you CAN tow with any licence so long as the total gross weight does not exceed 3500kg.ie caqr = 1200kg and the van = 1000kg
"A person who first passed their test after the 1 /1/97 is restricted to a combined maximum authorised mass of 3500kg.unless you take the test for b+e then you can tow anything within reason
Quoted from the caravan club mag Jan 2010
There is something on this site about towing weights and this
We have a 98 V40 as our second car. Ours is the 2.0 petrol engine. We have had it over 6 years and it has been a great car for us, but I cannot recomend it as a tow car.
I haven't had to tow our caravan with it yet but I have towed many trailers with it over the years.
When I have towed upto a mid size box trailer (approx 6' x 4' x 6'high) about 750kg it has been fine. A little under-powered but ok.
However, when I have towed a bigger box trailer (10' x 5' x 6'6" high - just over a ton) I wasn't impressed. On the motorway I had major stability issues over about 50mph. Even when empty the back end of the car was being thrown arround a lot by the trailer. If I increased the nose weight then things were actually better but still not good.
So I suppose what I am saying is weight isn't everything.
Also to add I have burnt out the valve stem seals on ours, the garage say I have worked it too hard - the mechanic pointed at the towbar and said "that's your problem mate!" .
though legally the limit you have if you have the right licence is the figure which gives you an actual outfit combined mass which is no bigger than the figure that is on the vin plate of your car. What you must be aware of is that if your licence is dated after 01/01/1997 then you may not under any circumstances tow a caravn weight that has a plated maximum weight which is greater than 1280kg.
I think you will find that you CAN tow with any licence so long as the total gross weight does not exceed 3500kg.ie caqr = 1200kg and the van = 1000kg
"A person who first passed their test after the 1 /1/97 is restricted to a combined maximum authorised mass of 3500kg.unless you take the test for b+e then you can tow anything within reason
Quoted from the caravan club mag Jan 2010
There is something on this site about towing weights and this
There are two restriction s placed upon people who do not have B+E licence. The first is thatyou may not drive a combination where the MAm of the outfit is greater than 3500kg unless you are towing an unbraked trailer with a MTPLM of 750kg in which case the limit is raised to 4250kg.
The second restriction placed by the lack of a B+E licence is that you may not two a trailer where the MTPLM of the Trailer is greater than the unladen mass ( note this is not the same as the kerbweight ) of the towing vehicle. The mention of 1280kg in my original post is the unladen mass of the OPs V40.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
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Topic: anyone own a 98 volvo v40?
2 typos in one post - sorry - in my defence I did get the weights right...
