My partner and I are swapping our beloved tent for a caravan, but I am still trying to get my head around the weights etc...
We have a 2004 (Phase 1) Ford Focus 1.6 LX Petrol and we are looking to get a suitable caravan to match. I have seen a Bailey Beachcomber 470 (1995) which has a laden weight of 1012KG and unladen of 785KG. Would our car be suitable and powerful enough to tow it? I have looked on other websites and it says the cars braked towing weight is 1200KG?
Check the weight plate on the car for the max towing weight. Ideally you are looking for a caravan with a max laden weight (MTPLM) of 85% of the kerbweight of the car. Your car probably weighs around 1100 kg so you should be aiming for a caravan with MTPLM of around 935 kg. I would not even consider towing a caravan that was heavier than the car especially if I was a novice.
A 1.6 petrol Focus is not the most powerful of cars for towing and I expect that you would be better off to go for a 1.6 diesel Focus which will be a bit heavier and depending on the model and year will probably be able to tow that caravan more safely.
Thanks for your reply and help on this. I have checked the vehicle weight plate and it reads (from top to bottom):
1590 KG (Im assuming vehicle gross weight)
2790 KG (im assuming gross train weight)
840 KG (im assuming front axle max load)
860KG (im assuming rear axle max load)
With that in mind, does that mean I can tow something up to 1,200KG (VGW - GTW)?
I towed my 1150kg van with a 1.6 Montego, power to weight would have been better than your Focus and even with that it felt underpowered and lots of gear changes.
I went out and bought as big Rover Diesel to tow it with.
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Topic: First Caravan Help
