Car Matching.

[Damian]

Can ANYONE put me out of my state of confusion????

I have a 2001 Renault Grand espace 2.2dci Privilege.

I want to get a caravan, but the size of van I have looked at and need, one dealer says No, one says Yes, one says its just on the borderline, and one says its well within the towing capacity of the car. Here are the details.

Van looked at, Abbey Spectrum 535.

Details from car Handbook:

Kerb Weight excluding Driver:1670

max perm Axle weight Front:1340

Rear witout trailer:1220

rear with traioler:1270

Max perm all up weight:2510

Max perm towing weight Braked:2000

Unbraked:750

Total train weight:3990

Max perm nose weight:85

All weights in Kilos.

can anyone tell me the max MTPLM I can tow ....PLEASE.

 

[Lutz]

You quote the max. towload as 2000kg so the max. MTPLM of the caravan would be 2000+85kg noseweight = 2085kg. BUT, at that weight, taking the maximum permissible gross train weight of 3990kg into account, the Espace may weigh no more than 3990-2000=1990kg. Subtract from that the kerbweight of 1670kg and you're left with a relatively limited payload of 320kg including the all passengers, luggage and noseweight. That's not much and hardly enough to cover the average holiday requirements. Besides, you could be running at anything up to 106%, which although legal, is not to be recommended. Based on all these facts, I would drop the idea.

 

[grahamc]

as stated many times in magazine

train wt minus kerb wt

x.85 (85%)

=1972 kg

which is under max of 2000kg

hope this helps !

 

[grahamc]

sorry!

I am wrong!!

It should be kerb wt x.85

=1420kg

train wt= max all up wt (car+caravan)

 

[tjambarker]

I'd pay 15 od quid to towsafe and get a full report. It'll soon tell you whether you're safe or not in a clear and un-ambiguous way.

 

[Damian]

Thanx guys, you have cleared the fog.lol.

At least I know now the MAX I can tow, however, I do not intend to actually get a van that is as heavy as that.

Fortunately the Abbey comes in at 1711 mtplm,so I now feel Ok about pursuing the idea.

just for information, it was Swindon caravans that refused to sell me the van, saying as the MTPLM of the Abbey was 1711, and the Car Kerbweight is 1670, it woul dbe a total mismatch, and they would not allow me to buy it.