Ok,
I have a van with 1458kg laden weight.
I currently have a car that is 87% and works fine but soon I need to look for another car. It appears that all cars in my bracket such as Passat etc seem to be too light.
My company will not allow a four wheel drive.
My question is this this
if I went for a Passat which allegedly 92% but then added ATC to the van would this be safe, I know you can go to 100% but certainly not adviseadble
I'm a bit of a newbie to this but having a similar situation. We have a 2.0 diesel Passat Estate. Don't seem to be able to find the Kerb weight on the car anywhere but we know gross train weight etc. We are looking at a maximum of about 1300kg fully loaded for our potential van. I was surprised that the Passat couldn't manage much more than this (at the 85% level). Looked at a few 1400kg+ vans for sale where the owner has stated their towing outfit and the Passat Estate comes up time and again. Are people just not doing the maths?
usually the place to look is the caravan club web site but personally I dont think it is up to much but thats my opinion.
apparantly there is a site call what tow car but my issue is that instead of trolling all site it wouldbe so much better if there was a site that you could just input van details and then they give information about which cars could used instead of inputting the van details and then just one car if you know what i mean.
for me even the Audi A4 isnt heavy enough unless i goo with somthing daft and horrendously expensive
I've used Whattowcar. Took me ages to figure out which variant ours was (and it's slightly different to the car's handbook - which is why I'd love to find it on the actual car!). The CC one you have to log in as a member to be able to access.
85% of kerbweight is a guideline set many years ago for novice towers so that a the fully loaded car was somewhat heavier than the fully loaded van
Usually the premium versions of a range are heavier and worth looking at if budget permits and also estate versions. A Titanium Mondeo may be man enough for the job as some of those are around the 1700kg mark which is what you are looking for
The 85% is just a time served ratio, quoted as an ideal balance guideline, for caravanners to use when towing at 60mph on the motorway.
Many farmers manage to tow horse boxes and farm trailers full of livestock at well over 150%, sometimes up to 175%. They just know to take it really steady, and spend their lives towing such trailers.
Hobbyist caravanners very rarely take it that steady, as can be seen by the shear number hurtling and bobbing their way down the motorway, on their way to the inevitable moment when it all flips over.
If you take it steady, have a good sense of awareness, and dont go charging everywhere, you both will be fine.
A 1458kg MTPLM van requires a car with 1700kg+ kerbweight, and the later shape Passat diesel estate isnt a million miles away.
The ATC would help, but isnt a Get Out Of Jail Free card for towing irresponsibly; always bear in mind your 92% is pushing the balance for high speed stability.
Post last edited on 20/09/2013 14:19:56
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
Quote: Originally posted by sunshinetours on 20/9/2013Check your V5 document?
85% of kerbweight is a guideline set many years ago for novice towers so that a the fully loaded car was somewhat heavier than the fully loaded van
Usually the premium versions of a range are heavier and worth looking at if budget permits and also estate versions. A Titanium Mondeo may be man enough for the job as some of those are around the 1700kg mark which is what you are looking for
A mondeo titanium is more than man enough for the job, i tow a 1450kg hymer with mine and it is superb at the job.
Miro from the v5 is 1625kg
Post last edited on 20/09/2013 16:43:50
------------- 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
As pointed out, it will be as safe as the driver if it is loaded properly. The 85% suggestion is for caravans is due to large side area affected by crosswinds. Drive along with the trucks mainly at 56mph you will be ok, but a motorway driving style that involves letting your speed creep up to well over 70 as you try to keep ahead of the traffic will be less safe.
While we condemn caravanners who drive at excess speed on the motorway its really driving style that causes this because with the torque of modern diesels its very easy to allow speed to creep up unless you are disiplined & keep mostly in the inside lane with the trucks.
Quote:
While we condemn caravanners who drive at excess speed on the motorway its really driving style that causes this because with the torque of modern diesels its very easy to allow speed to creep up unless you are disiplined & keep mostly in the inside lane with the trucks.
We can still condemn it though as personal responsibility is the key. My car is limited to 155mph doesn't mean I would be free to travel at that speed without condemnation.
60mph is plenty with over a tonne of metal hanging on the back
at Jack + Jon and at sunshinetours; like both comments, both speaking lots of sense.
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
Are you stuck with passats ?? i had the choice of a passat or mondeo when i got my last company car, i opted for the mondeo as it was heavier and had more toys, dont forget the higher the car spec the heavier the car is.
The brochure weight for my car is 1457 kgs the true weight is actually 1705 kgs on a weight bridge, i tow a 1500 kg coachman with mine no problem it has plenty of power is good on fuel and has loads of room (it's actually wider thatn a S class Merc) the estate model is also 20kgs heavier, if that doesnt float your boat look at the s max that comes in at 1750 kgs for the 2ltr 140bhp zetec.
Quote:
A 1458kg MTPLM van requires a car with 1700kg+ kerbweight, and the later shape Passat diesel estate isnt a million miles away.
Post last edited on 20/09/2013 14:19:56
Our 09 Passat Diesel Estate has a 'revenue weight' of 1482kg having just pulled out the V5. It doesn't state the kerbweight. I am assuming revenue weight is the same?
Quote: A 1458kg MTPLM van requires a car with 1700kg+ kerbweight, and the later shape Passat diesel estate isnt a million miles away. Post last edited on 20/09/2013 14:19:56
Our 09 Passat Diesel Estate has a 'revenue weight' of 1482kg having just pulled out the V5. It doesn't state the kerbweight. I am assuming revenue weight is the same?
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
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Topic: car kerbweight
