Hello. New to caravanning but hoping to start soon.
Car is 2000kg and max towing weight for the car is 1400kg. I have a licence from post Jan 1997 so I think anything I can tow with that car will have combined weight 2400kg or less so will be within the terms of my licence. Is that right?
Second question is about MIRO and MPLM. A lot of the vans we like are just over 1400kg MPLM. Could I still pull one of those if it wasn't stuffed full? Do people do that? Do the police check? Would it be daft to try?
Not much of that makes sense, I'm afraid. State make, model & yr of car & we can go from there. Police don't check because there are no police anymore but in case of an accident your insurance assessor might, so you need to get it right.
You need to look at the maximum authorised mass of your car not the kerbweight, then whatever is left from 3500kg is the weight of the caravan you can tow but take the maximum laden mass figure not the mass in running order. That was my interpretation when I looked at this recently.
Not arguing with the above but it needs taking with care as 50 kgs is not a lot of a margin.
Surely where the plated MTPLM is greater than the car maker's towing limit then the police and insurer if really interested would want to look more closely?
So, if taking it further it will be a trip to the weighbridge, or the scales will be deployed.
From experience it is the easiest thing in the world to underestimate the actual weight of kit that accumulates in the van.
Also from experience, my van's delivered weights have always been over the base figure quoted for the MIRO; one by 82 kgs, cutting deeply into my payload!
Dealing with the weight limits for a post 1997 licence holder is one issue.
However, from a safety angle, it's still necessary to recognise the importance of the car's KW in the overall equation, and it's relation to the caravan's MTPLM.
Quote: Originally posted by sadkate on 12/11/2015
Second question is about MIRO and MPLM. A lot of the vans we like are just over 1400kg MPLM. Could I still pull one of those if it wasn't stuffed full? Do people do that? Do the police check? Would it be daft to try?
TIA!
The weight you put in the van soon adds up. Gas bottles, battery, awning, water in system and toilet (easily 10-15kg there alone!). Food, cooking utensils, Think of clothes and the holiday abroad. It's not difficult to load a each suitcase up to 20kg. OK some vans do include certain items in the MIRO, but you'd be surprised how heavy all the items can add up to. The alternative is to start putting heavy items in the car, but this is not ideal, especially if you are involved in an accident. Fancy being hit on the back of the head by a gas bottle that has come loose and is travelling at 50mph?
Well if your car is still under warranty, then you don't want to be towing over it's limit of 1400kg, otherwise it allows them an 'out' on a warranty claim.
Also your insurance company might not be too impressed if you had to make a claim while towing.
And overall, you're going to be towing at near 100% weight ratio, not too clever an idea to be honest!
Max tow weight is 1400kg so you can load light so caravan weighs less than that because that comes under construction & use law, ie actual on road weight. As pointed out licence law concerns plated weights, not actual weights so a separate issue.
Whether caravan is too heavy as safe percentage weight is another separate issue.
So I'm pretty confident combined weight won't exceed the 3500kg.
Just the question of whether to tow a van with MTPLM of slightly over 1400kg.
Thanks all. Who knew so complicated!
The answer is YES! Check the plate on the door pillar and you will find all ASX in the UK from 2010 to today actually have a plated tow weight of 1470kg. Why it is lower in all the advertising I don't know.
The ASX is a great tow car, and depending which engine you have towing up to the 1470kg limit is not a problem. After all the Outlander is only a couple of hundred kg heavier, and with the same engine and running gear can tow 2000kg.
We part exchanged our 2010 ASX yesterday, and bought a new one. After five years we achieved better than 50% PE! Well pleased.
Well that IS handy. We've got the big diesel engine with the VVT and I'm confident it could pull a bus up a hill. It's a cracker of an engine. I do like it.
Oh happy day. Would really like something with fixed bunks and this could have scuppered it altogether. I appreciate it'll still be a rather high percentage of kerb weight but it rules things in rather than out.
.... but, but, but the ASX does not come with a VVT, its a 6 speed torque converter gearbox. If you've got the ASX4 / ZC-H with the 2.2 diesel auto, you'll have no problems whatsoever towing up to 1470kg.
I really like our 2.2 diesel. (We have two, a 1.8 at the moment and the 2.2. The former is being replaced with a new ZC-H. Compared to the likes of the auto Qashqai the ASX is streets ahead, despite what the reviews say.)
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Topic: Towing weight advice, please
