Help needed please

[Stu1967]

Please can some one save me from going mad!
We want to buy our first caravan so off we went to a well known dealer near Lincoln they have offerd us what seems to be a good deal on a new Sterling Emerald so far so good!
know I ask the dealer about the match between my car and caravan this is where I start to lose the plot and come away more confused than ever !
Our car is a 09 plate Ford Mondeo hatch titanium X sport the vin plate gives us weight figures of gross vehicle weight of 2170 Kg and a gross train weight of 3970 Kg. The caravan MTPLM 1474kg is tis caravan ok for our car ?

 

[Stu1967]

Just read my post again sorry, D- for grammar !

 

[Parksy]

Hi Stu,
To give a definitive answer we need more information on the Mondeo, e.g. what engine size / bhp / is it 16 v?
The Towcar Matching Guide can give you a rough idea of the suitability of the caravan for your vehicle but there may be other factors to consider before you splash the cash.
If you passed your driving test after 1st January 1997 you are only allowed to legally tow a car / caravan outfit with a combined weight of up to 3500kg Click Here for more information.
From you vehicle handbook or VIN plate the important figure is the MAM ( Maximum Authorised Mass) so according to my admittedly shaky calculations if you passed your driving test after 01/01/1997 but the MAM of your Mondeo is under 2026 kg you are ok as far as your licence is concerned.
Most authoritative sources hold the opinion that a safe towing match for beginners is a caravan which weighs around 85% of the towing veghicle kerbweight (although the 85% recommendation is not legally enforceable) so Click Here for dowloadable advice from the Camping & Caravanning Club on how to find out what your vehicle can tow.

 

[Stu1967]

Thanks for the quick reply our mondeo is a 2L diesel 138 bhp and I have had a licence for twenty + years.
Thanks

 

[Surfer]

The Mondeo cna legally tow up to 1800kg but it woudl be a bit foolish to try that. I think the kerbweight is about 1580kg so a caravan with MTPLM 1400kg should be okay. We towed a twin axle MTPLM 1550 with our 2010 Mondeo auto and it felt hairy at times so we traded in the car for a 4 x 4.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Stu,

There are a number perspectives to the answer to your question.

Legally the Mondeo is rated to tow what the car manufactures states, which according to your figures is the difference between the GTW and the GVW: 3970 - 2170 = 1800kg towed weight

Surfer has had a poor experience with a Mondeo hence his comment but if you check this and other forums you will actually find on balance the Mondeo has earned a good reputation as a tow car.

Caravans are difficult trailer due to their size and weight so it clearly makes good sense to keep the weight of any trailer as small as possible. In fact the caravan industry has for a long time made a recommended that especially for novice caravanners the maximum loaded weight of the caravan (MTPLM) should not exceed 85% of the kerbweight of the car. Using Surfers figures 85% of Kerbweight is 1580 x 0.85 = 1343Kg, but it is only a guideline and has no basis in law.

So your preferred caravan MTPLM 1474, would present a towing ratio of about 93% which is within the cars technical ability but above the industry recommendation. Towing at above 85% is not a recipe for instant disaster, and many more experienced towers manage this and above very successfully, but it's taking a big step as a novice and should only be done with eyes wide open.

 

[Stu1967]

Thank you all for the reply's I will try to get a match as close as possible to the 85% as I can.
I was wondering when was the guide lines introduced, and if it was years ago would it be like the Highway Code guide on braking distances ie not relevant to today's modern cars.
Would the guide ever change as newer cars and caravans come along with better brakes, shock absorbers and axels or is it just the basic physics of Mass and Speed that apply.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello again Stu,.
I see you have the same questioning mentality that I have.
However adherence to 85% is not compulsory, and it doesn't guarantee that an outfit will be safe or legal. The 85% guidelines seemed to sneak in many years ago, and at the time that had some relevance as car manufacturers did not publish maximum towed weight limits, as they now have to do as part of the type approval process.

I am keen to see caravanners getting a the safest outfit, but I have to point out that reliance on just weight ratios is a very narrow perspective, and one that is thwarted with anomalies. Just consider the number of outfits that do behave badly on the road. Not all of them will be at or over 85% some will be below that figure, and yet they can still cause trouble, so you could argue the guidance should be moved downwards but how far?

If you read many forums or the Q&A's in related magazines you will see the reverence with which 85% is held, its almost a caravanners holy grail, and yet its relevance to safe towing is in my opinion over egged. Logically keeping the weight of the trailer as small as possible is obviously a sensible approach but almost beyond doubt the biggest factor in towing safety is the driver.

Braking distances are not as bad as you might think. Because the the caravan has overrun brakes when the tow vehicle slams on its anchors the caravan also does. In practice there is not much caravan mass transferred to the cars brakes, so breaking performance should not be too severely affected - in a straight line, but heavy braking around bends and the story can be different.

Yes the guidelines are old, and may have lost some relevance, but its not an easy matter coming up with a universal towing calculator to advise on matches. There are web sites that try to offer the service, but we know that some of the data they use is inaccurate, so their results cannot be trusted.

But keep questioning, I believe that traditions are the result of people forgetting to question the process logically. It may still be the best way of doing something, but with changing technology and regulations they can often be irrelevant, dangerous or just plain wrong.

 

[jaydee51]

With regard to car/van and towing we have caravanned for over 24 years, rallying most of that time. We have had combinations of anything from 75% to 94% with varying degrees of success. Our highest ratio was extremely stable - our current combination of Swift Challenger and Ford Kuga at times isn't as stable as the previous Bailey Pageant and Kuga was but our current van is lighter than the Bailey was. We have found over the years to try to maintain around the 80-85 mark, pack sensibly and after a few trips out normally settle into the best loading combination. Trial and error I'm afraid to say. I would also suggest using the services of one of the main clubs - we belong to The Caravan Club - and their matching service is spot on.People are going by the wrong weight information on the cars we believe and its wise to remember that if the police pick you up and the combination doesn't match you probably won't be going anywhere!

 

[ProfJohnL]

The Caravan Club - and their matching service is spot on.People are going by the wrong weight information on the cars we believe and its wise to remember that if the police pick you up and the combination doesn't match you probably won't be going anywhere!

I am sorry jaydee, but your posting is likely to be interpreted incorrectly.
All the outfit matching websites and the clubs services apply the UK industry reccomendation of not exceeding an 85% towing ratio. No where in UK legislation does it approve or use 85%, so simply not conforming to 85% is not in its self a prosecutable offence. What the police and VOSA look for is evidence of unsafe vehicles/outfits, and that can apply to outfits of any towing ratio that exhibit irratic or dangerous road manners.
The police and VOSA will also look for unlicenced drivers, so if your licence does not cover the vehicle you are driving/towing then you can be prosecuted for that, For example driver with only category B licence s driving outfits of more than 3500kg combined MAM or where the MTPLM of the trailer exceeds the MAM of the towvehicle (i.e 100% ratio)
And finally a note of caution regarding the use of tow matching sites. None of the sites or clubs have databases of every vehicle or caravan that are 100% accurate, consequently you cannot implicitly trust any of these sites to accurately assess your car and caravan choices, unless you can confirm the raw weight details of your chosen components.
Ultimately it is the drivers responsibility to ensure the vehicle/outfit they are using is legally compliant and driven safely.

 

[otherclive]

One thing you should be aware of is that the MTPLM is just that, it is a maximum and you don't have to load the van to that maximum. You can carry a very good load in a Mondeo so even if in theory your outfit exceedes 85% in reality with max load in the car and van under its MTPLM you have moved in the right direction. Also as others have said keep the heavier stuff in the van lowdown and as near to the axle as possible subject to achieving your noseweight. We always have grocery crates, awning, groundsheets, rock pegs,tool bag, jack, etc in the car. Most of the van load is the lighter weight bulkier kit. It makes for a steady outfit and surprisingly doesn't take us long to set up on site. Even with an en route overnight stop we travel just the same but only carry in the van the essentials for the stop.