You need to see what the kerbweight of the Skoda Octavia is first then we can provide a percentage match with the Maximum Technical Permissable Laden Mass of the caravan. You should be able to find it on a plate inside the driver's door or on the rear passenger door on the same side, that's where mine is. It should also tell you the kerbeight on the V5 form as well.
I think your caravan MTPLM is heavier than the car's kerbweight which is probably around 1200 to 1250 kg. The weights should be on the V5 and chassis plate as mentioned above.
This is just one weight to get right so OK so far. This covers the cars ability to pull away on a hill while towing.
Technical permissable maximum tow weight of braked trailer 1600kg
You also need the kerb weight of the car or it might be called Mass in Service now. The MTPLM of the caravan should ideally be 85% or less. This covers the stability of the outfit to minimise snaking.
To give you an idea, my 2012 Octavia Estate 2.0Tdi 4x4 has a kerbweight (same as V5C mass in service), of 1,495kg my caravan has a mtplm of 1,318kg giving a tow ratio of 88%. Your Octavia is probably 100kg+ lighter than mine at around 1,300kg so you are near 100% ratio. If you tow it will be rather sluggish and you have to decide if it is a safe tow.
Can you confirm if the following is correct on the VIN plate?
GVW 1965kg
GTW 3365kg
Thank you, according to the V5
Mass in service is 1305
I was confused about which caravan weight to compare against the kerbweight but I can now see the caravan is too heavy to meet the 85% recommendation.
I'm not a seasoned tower so I don't want to exceed that. Looks like pitch and store options for now.
Thank you for the clarification.
If it was me and my car I'd weigh it on a weigh bridge that way you'll know 100% the cars true weight
The higher the spec the heavier the car, could be the best £10/£20 you'll ever spend
The first thing you need to check is the 'maximum technically permissible towed weight of a braked trailer' (or some similar words to that effect) because it is illegal to tow more than that. I note that a post above quotes a weight of 1600kg and that What car magazine quotes 1800kg, both of which are plausible but you should verify it on your own V5.
Assuming that the maximum permissible towed weight is higher than the 'maximum technically permissible laden mass' (MTPLM) of your caravan, then you can move on to consider the kerb weight. This is essentially the unladen weight of the car as it left the factory and I think it also includes for a tank of fuel (but correct me if I'm wrong). You'll struggle to replicate this on a weighbridge as has been suggested unless you empty the car of absolutely everything first.
The guidance to limit the towed weight to 85% of the kerb weight if you have limited experience is just that - guidance. It has no legal basis and has remained unchanged for at least 30 years (during which time car suspension systems have changed enormously). In reality it's not just a question of weight ratios since the load distribution in both the car and caravan as well as your suspension will also have an effect. As I understand it, the reason the advice has remained unchanged is that there are very few tests done using high-sided caravans (as opposed to low trailers, which behave very differently on the road) - put simply, nobody has come up with anything better. However, conventional wisdom accepts that "experienced" towers can safely tow a caravan of up to 100% of the car's kerb weight (legal towing limit permitting).
Bear in mind also that if you've only got a few clothes and things in the caravan for a weekend away, your actual towed weight won't be as high as your 1280kg MTPLM.
Another thing to note is that all of the weight calculations are based on safety and stability, and ignore performance. I first towed a 1250kg caravan with a VW Passat with the same 1.6 TDI engine and whilst it managed it, performance was leisurely at best - you could only use 6th gear when going downhill. I've since changed it for the more powerful 2.0 TDI (150bhp) and used that to happily tow across France, Switzerland and Ireland.
Based on all of this stuff (and well done if you read it all)! you can legally tow your caravan with your Skoda and it should cope OK for short or short-ish distances over a few weekends away. However, if you're planning on longer tours across or out of the UK, I'd prefer something a bit heavier and more powerful. The Passat (mine is brilliant) or the mechanically identical Skoda Superb would be good options to start looking at.
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Topic: Skoda Octavia match?
