Thanks for your reply, 14 diesel 2.2 AWD, driving licence B and BE. Passed test a long time ago. Will the dealer know if the tow ball is compatable with alko?Towbars have to be type approved for the vehicle and are
matched to the cars towing specification. I would get underneath and photo the serial or part number on the towbar and contact the manufacturer to confirm suitability.
Then you should also check to see if the towball itself is or is not compatible with a Alko hitch stabiliser as many if not most caravans have the Alko stabiliser fitted.
Is your driving licence B or BE as B places quite severe restrictions on what can be towed.
What model RAV4 do you have and what is its towing limit.
Thanks for your reply, 05 diesel 2.2 AWD, driving licence B and BE. Passed test a long time ago. Will the dealer know if the tow ball is compatable with alko?
All towbars now need to be type approved for the towing vehicle so any propriety make should work. Witter, Brink and Westfalia are probably the best known and you will not go wrong with any of them.
Thanks found the sticker 4040-2240 =1800It could be on your. V5 or in the Owners Manual. And certainly on the vehicle weight plate like the one shown below. If you deduct GVW from GTW you will get the cars maximum towing load.
If you look at either of the Club sites you will access some very useful bulletin sheets or all aspects of caravanning and towing.
You have a 13 pin DIN connector which is the best for connecting to a caravan. If your chosen caravan comes with the old style twin plugs the dealer or mobile tech would change the electrics if you did not want to use a convertor. Not expensive.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...towing-a-trailer-with-a-car-or-van-the-basics
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Thanks for that I have seen a van I like, posted some questions on the buying thread.The car already has a 13 pin socket, and unless your caravan is older with 12N and 12S (black and grey) plugs you will not need the adaptor lead that you have pictured. Also you have a Westfalia manufactured detachable swan neck towball so should give clearance for an Alko (or less commonly now Winterhoff) stabiliser head tow hitch. As has been stated you can check the clearance between the ball and any part of the rear of the car once fitted to ensure the head has room to articulate fully. . Also worth researching how you should fix the breakaway cable (depending on type fitted to the van ) to the 'eye' that is visible to the right of the 13 pin socket. If not already an owner you should look for a van with an MTPLM of about 85% of the kerbweight of the Toyota not exceeding the stated max permissible for the Rav4, and start to consider how many berths you need and what layout you prefer, although because of curtailed foreign holidays last/this year you will find that the used van stock is quite low.
Thanks found the sticker 4040-2240 =1800