Car, Caravan with ATC - Weight Ratios

[BernardinTring]

An apology in advance for raising yet again questions of weight ratios between car and caravan, but I would appreciate members views on the following:-
Car
Kerbweight 1735Kg
Towing capacity 2200Kg
Nose weight max 100Kg
2.0Ltr Diesel.

Caravan
MPTLM 1645Kg
ATC fitted

The weight ration between car and caravan is 94.8%. I appreciate this is above the recommended 85% ratio and I certainly do not want to be in the position of the tail, the caravan, wagging the dog, the car.
The car is also used for everyday purposes and I am very pleased with it and would be a bit reluctant due to an overall increase in size of actual vehicle, running costs of an increased capacity engine from 2Ltr to say 2.5Ltr etc. etc.
I have been caravanning since early 2007 and have to date covered some twelve thousand miles, thankfully without incident.
I am a bit of an anorak and Victor Meldrew in that nose weights, loading etc are always check, keeping an Excel spread sheet of actual caravan contents with the various weights etc to ensure that neither van or car exceed their designed weights.

My question is although the 94% ration is on the high side, with the development of the ATC technology and having no experience of this, does ATC go some way to making the higher 94.8% ration an acceptable figure for towing as the car appears to have more than sufficient pulling power with a capacity of 2200Kg?

Any views, comments or observations would be most welcomed.

Bernard

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Bernard,

Based on the data you have supplied, The trailer is well within the tow vehicle capability so from that perspective the outfit is legal.

However as always it makes good sense to keep the trailer weights as small as possible, BUT good safe towing is always affected by several factors of which weight ratio is only one, and may not be the most significant.

You do not tell us what the tow vehicle or caravan are, so it is very unlikely that anyone can offer practical relevant guidance about your particular match.

The use of ATC on a caravan is widely accepted as improving or perhaps more accurately controlling the trailers wayward tendencies, but just as with weight ratios it should not be used to offset the poor handling of a bad match.

I feel I should also point out that whilst your proposed match is legal, if you passed your driving test after 1 January 1997 you may not be permitted to drive the outfit, because the combined MAM exceeds 3500Kg which is the limit for braked trailers on Cat B licence.

 

[BernardinTring]

Many thanks Pro John L for comments made.

The combination is a Nissan X-Trail and a Coachman VIP 560/4.

Thanks for the reminder on the driving licence but have held a 'full' licence since 1961.

Bernard

 

[Martin24]

Although only been towing myself for 12 years I have been brought up on caravans and towing since I was 6 months old. In that time I have never travelled with a unit exceeding 85% match, correct nose weight, careful loading etc. I consider my outfit to be as safe and well driven as it can be. Personally as already said weight ratios are not the be all and end all but I would never consider exceeding the 85% guide. That's me and nothing will change my view on this. As a fellow Coachman owner I know they aren't the lightest of vans and that a suitable match can involve having quite a beast of a car but although I have no doubts that the xtrail has enough power I wouldn't consider it a safe match for me.

 

[RogerL]

I think the correct attitude to ATC should be the same as for blade stabilisers, hitch stabilisers, twin axles and loading car rather than caravan - ie, they all improve stability but don't introduce any different figures into the recommendations or legal restrictions.

 

[JohnGriffiths]

I wouldn't worry too much about the 85% in your circumstances. The figure has been suggested as a limit for beginners, easy to remember, simple to calculate. You seem to know exactly what you load in the van and the car so ask yourself, do you ever tow with the car empty and the van fully loaded? I tow a 1500 kg van with my X-Trail, in theory an 85% match which I'm happy about, no need to worry about weights. But in reality I have a 75% ratio as I never tow with an empty car, I bet yours is about 80-85%.
So I wouldn't worry with your combination either, just be aware of what goes where.

 

[carper2]

Don't forget the 85% is a guideline for people new to towing, saying that I try to keep as close to it as I can.

Les

 

[xtrailman]

I tow at around 92% with my xtrail, a 1565kg Valencia.
I wouldn't want to tow over 1600kg, but that's up to you.
Luckily i haven't had to tow in strong winds, that's when any problems will surface.
I would think about a Santafe type car if i was towing that heavy.
I have a 2009 T31, 171bhp.

 

[MikeyW]

I changed my 2006 X trail for a Sorento when we got our Valencia, I didn't feel comfortable especially in wind. I've only towed for about 5 years so more experienced towers would probably feel happier. I've also upgraded the MTPLM to 1600kg on the Valencia, now I've got the Sorento, which gives us another 35kg user payload.

Regards

Mike