Advice please about what is the maximum percentage we should be considering of the towing capacity of our car. We have towed a relatively lightweight caravan for many years and are now looking at a new van. The dealer seems to be saying 100% of towing capacity is fine, so long as we are experienced. Whereas Caravan Club says 85%. Your thoughts .......
Quote: Originally posted by clare007 on 23/6/2015
Hmmm, silly me. None the less is 85% of curb weight critical, or can it be exceeded?
it can be providing your car has sufficient towing capacity but there's no substitute for having a good weight advantage in your towing vehicle .
However do not exceed 100% towing ratio as you will be asking for trouble
Legally you can tow at any ratio providing you do not exceed plated weights or your licence conditions. The CC safe towing guide says that someone new to towing would find that 85% is a good starting point and should be safe, it then goes on to say that for a driver who has experience of towing and a car that is capable that up to 100% is acceptable but that over this figure is inadvisable. Many many people tow caravans that have max weights that are in the mid 90's percentages of the cars kerbweight and find that it is very satisfactory.
------------- 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
Figures from a weigh bridge today. My car weighs in at 2540kg. The trailer I had on weighs 720kg unladen and the load I had on it weighed 2060kg. I would have liked an extra 500kg of load. It towed reasonably stable at 50mph on the main A roads but I was down to 20mph on the back roads as I felt this was as safe a speed to go at should I need to stop in a hurry should I have met something on a blind corner.
I was within the limits for my vehicle and on a relatively short journey, 30 minutes or so, so I wasn't too bothered. Had I been on a four hour trip or mainly on unclassified roads then I think I might have been a bit fed up by the time I got to the end of it.
My point is, towing at the max is possible but you need to adjust your driving style, your journey will take longer, there will be more wear and tear on your vehicle and you will use more fuel. The other end of the scale is people who think they need a 4x4 to tow with and then say " I don't know it's behind me" when they are dragging something half the weight of the tow car! The 85% advice is a good guide for finding some middle ground, it should let you tow at a reasonable speed, return reasonable fuel economy and give you a decent amount of control over whatever you are towing.
If you are happy to plod along then get something at the top end of your figure, if you want to zip along to your destination, choose something that floats, if you want the middle ground do the maths.
Stick within your legal limits whatever.
How often is the vehicle empty and the caravan fully loaded ?
That is what the CC percentages are based on
I doubt if that is realistic
What the CC advise is that the caravan should not be more than 85% of the towing vehicle weight at the time of towing it but the CC cannot give set numbers for that
------------- EX Advanced driving observer (IAM)
EX LGV & B+E instructor
Quote: Originally posted by clare007 on 24/6/2015Vehicle Volvo V50 2.0D 150 BHP 1500kg max tow
Caravan - Swift S6 TD MAss in running order 1326; MTPLN 1502
However we travel lightly - ie porch awning, few accessories.
What do you reckon - too heavy, shall I downsize my dreams?
your actual weights considering its a 6 berth
Mass in Running Order (inc. tolerance) 1259kg
24.8cwt
Maximum Technical Permissable Laden Mass 1480kg
29.1cwt
Weights: From the 2012 Season, the method of calculating the Mass in Running Order (MRO) and user payload figures was changed in order to bring it in line with European Vehicle Directives.
Allowances for essential equipment (e.g. gas cylinders) previously allowed for in the user payload are now contained within the MRO. A provision for a leisure battery which used to be within the essential equipment payload has now been included within the personal effects payload allowance.
Although the method of calculation has changed, the overall effect is that the amount of payload available to the customer has remained the same, it is just calculated in a different manner.
The MRO is calculated with the fresh water tank empty. If you travel with water in the fresh water tank, the payload will be reduced accordingly.
Thanks - its getting clearer. So Gas bottle included in MRO. Battery - still confused - am I right in thinking that isn't in the MRO?
So the weight I need to add to the MRO to see what percentage that makes of the MTPLM is battery, awning, outdoor chairs and all the stuff I load into the caravan.
Anything else I need to add in?
And that ideally, and impossibly, shouldn't exceed 85%, but can legally, but unwisely be 100% of MTPLM?
And so to update spreadsheet with notion weights for all those things I so merrily just bung in the van, and see where I can trim them down.
Thanks all and any more advice much welcomed
Claire your best bet is to weight your car on a weigh bridge that will give you your true cars weight.
you should weigh the car empty with 90% fuel then add 75kgs for the driver and load thats how the manufacturers work it out, to give you a rough idea my car is 150kgs heavier than the brochure weight.
as for weights of what you travel with i have a spreadsheet with all the items i carry and the correct weights, you'll be amazed how easy it stacks up
A lot of car manuals give max towing weight of model for braked trailer IE caravan.
A lot exceed the kerb weight of your model pet/diesel and you will find when braking the van will be pushing the car and can not tow up certain hills or do a hand brake hill start.
Also some tow ball max weight is not heavy enough for van.
Vauxhalls used to belike this only 50kgs even on larger models were 75kgs is the norm.
The 85% is a good guide I personally would not tow over 90% ratio. I have been towing vans since 1971.
The manual for my 1600tdi Yeti green machine run-a-bout says max braked tow weight is 1700kgs the MTPLM of my van is 1700kgs but this works out something like 120% ratio
I would never think of towing my van with it.
Quote: Originally posted by clare007 on 25/6/2015Thanks - its getting clearer. So Gas bottle included in MRO. Battery - still confused - am I right in thinking that isn't in the MRO?So the weight I need to add to the MRO to see what percentage that makes of the MTPLM is battery, awning, outdoor chairs and all the stuff I load into the caravan.Anything else I need to add in?
And that ideally, and impossibly, shouldn't exceed 85%, but can legally, but unwisely be 100% of MTPLM?
And so to update spreadsheet with notion weights for all those things I so merrily just bung in the van, and see where I can trim them down.
Thanks all and any more advice much welcomed
Your assumption is correct, so load the van with what you need, weigh it and you will find you will be below the 100%,you have up to 221 KG to play around with
nose weight 75KG.
just out of interest do you actually need a 6 berth van??
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Topic: Towing advice - percentage of max curbwt
