I have heard people having an upgrade to their weight plate, but is it possible to go the other way.
I have a Vauxhall Astra 2.0 cdti Sports Tourer with automatic gearbox. The car brochure states 1400kg for manual but 1300kg for auto. The V5 states 1300kg.
My problem is, I have seen a caravan 1360 which is a 87% match.
Your views would be appreciated.
Malcolm
Sorry Malcolm but I think you've interpreted the match incorrectly, the car needs to be heavier than a the caravan rather than the caravan being heavier. This would give you an 85% match with a 1105kg caravan. My understanding is that once the caravan has been upgraded you can't downgrade. You can find out if it matches on the Caravan Club site or on What Towcar.
------------- Jean
Sometimes a little rain must fall before you reach a rainbow.
The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you finish the work.
Presumably if you were able to downgrade the weight plate then that would eat into the available payload.
As our caravan has 125kg available and we struggle to keep within this, it would be almost impossible to load the caravan with everything you would need, and still remain legal.
No you are correct.
Just like when downgrading any other HGV, Trailer etc.
So in my view it would be a waste of time, as that then would need to be carried in the tow car, making that over weight instaed.
Back to square one in a way.
Can a caravan be downgraded was the question.
Maybe yes.
But a waste of time if you cant pack anything in it.
I might be missing something but what difference does the plate make? You will never be in trouble for having a caravan with too little in it. I empty mine of everything when taking it to be serviced and it tows just as well empty as it does with a couple of hundred kilos of gear in it. If you load it so it is a decent match to the car all should be well. It look as if it weighs a lot less than your car and empty would be in the acceptable weight for your car to tow. Just check what weight the car will carry especially as some nose weight is onto the car.
------------- We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
Surely the 1300kg is the maximum towing weight permitted for the car, regardless of the car's weight? If this is so, towing a caravan weighing 1360kg would probably invalidate the car's insurance.
It is quite legal to tow caravan provided caravan axle weight does not exceed 1300kg on axle weighbridge with caravan hitched to car. This is regardless of caravan plated max gross weight ie MPTLM. There is no need to downplate caravan but obviously care is needed not to overload caravan as at that weight there will be not much payload allowance particularly if motor mover is fitted which is included in payload.
All C&U regs require is that on road axle weight of caravan does not exceed car max tow weight. This should not be confused with driving licence law that goes on max plated weights not actual on road weight.
It would appear therefore that a caravan weighing 1360kg would legally be too heavy for the car, as it appears to have a maximum towing limit of 1300kg. This is regardless of the fact that the caravan is only 87% of the car's weight.
The trailer can exceed the max tow weight as long as the combination does not exceed the gross train weight. Car GTW will be for 4-5 people plus luggage so if the car is not fully loaded by at least 60 kg it complies. Better to have the extra weight over the towed axle in this case rather than a heavy boot full which has a similar effect on the car as excess nose weight.
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Topic: Down Grade to Weight Plate
