Hi everyone

[AndoverTabler]

Hi

My wife and I had our first caravan touring experience a few weeks ago, having hired a caravan from Tilshead Caravans and booked a pitch at Morley Court in Wimborne, Dorset. We were there with our daughter, Alex (15) and son Josh (13) and we had a lot of fun.

Upon arrival we were greeted by some more experienced caravan users and they offered help in setting things up and gave some wonderful advice. Absolutely everyone we spoke to were incredibly friendly and open and it really was a wonderful couple of days.

Yesterday, I took the plunge and bought a Lunar Venus 590/6 caravan from a very friendly and helpful chap at Winchester Caravans. We chose this caravan as it was roomy and well equipped, whilst being under the 1400kg MTPLM capacity of our tow car; my wife's Nissan Qashqai.

We should be collecting it on 15 August and look forward to having a few short breaks before our children return to school after the summer holidays.

We are really looking forward to numerous weekend breaks in the UK over the coming years and hope to meet as many of you as possible.

Warm regards,
Nigel (AndoverTabler)

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Yesterday, I took the plunge and bought a Lunar Venus 590/6 caravan from a very friendly and helpful chap at Winchester Caravans. We chose this caravan as it was roomy and well equipped, whilst being under the 1400kg MTPLM capacity of our tow car; my wife's Nissan Qashqai.

Welcome to the forum.

It's not so much what the towing capacity of the car is but what its kerb weight is (when towing a caravan). An internet search gives the MTPLM of the van as 1380 kg and the kerb weight of the car varying from about this weight and higher depending on model. What is the kerb weight of your car? The recommendation for new tuggers is that the MTPLM of the van is no more than 85% of the car's kerb weight.

 

[Anseo]

Welcome Nigel and Family

 

[AndoverTabler]

The VIN plate shows the Qashqai's GTW as 2005 kg and the total permissible weight (car and van) as 3405 kg. The 85% figure would therefore be 1704 kg.

I think the manual is said to have a MTPLM of 1800 kg, but as my wife's car is the X-Tronic gearbox the MTPLM is much lower.

Each of the caravan places we visited said we should be fine with any van up to 1400 kg.

Hope they're right!

Nigel

 

[Parksy]

Hi Nigel, welcome to the forum and congratulations on buying your Lunar.
There is a wealth of information available on this forum and advice from fellow forum members is usually readily available.
There are also many useful tips on this website, Click Here for advice on the safe loading of your caravan

 

[Martin24]

Whatto and welcome. Congratulations on your purchase. A good dealership with a wealth of knowledge.

 

[KeefySher]

James and the team at Winchester are a great bunch.

We bought our caravan through them when they were Chichester Caravans.

Enjoy your adventures.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

The VIN plate shows the Qashqai's GTW as 2005 kg and the total permissible weight (car and van) as 3405 kg. The 85% figure would therefore be 1704 kg.

I think you are misunderstanding. The kerb weight, on which the towing ratio is based, is not shown or calculated from any of the figures given on the VIN plate. Kerb weight is the total weight of a vehicle with standard equipment, all necessary operating consumables such as motor oil, transmission oil, coolant, air conditioning refrigerant, and full tank of fuel, while not loaded with either passengers or cargo. This figure is very similar to the Mass In Service which is defined under The European Directive 95/48/EC which includes 90% fuel and 75kg for driver and tools. As it is an EU wide directive one must assume the DVLA use the same definition shown on the vehicle's V5 certificate.

Please look up and state what this value is.

What you have calculated for 85% equaling 1704 kg is from the car's Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) and NOT kerb weight.

 

[LizziePope]

Hi Nigel and a warm welcome to the Practical Caravan forum!

 

[Parksy]

The Camping and Caravanning Club have provided a data sheet to help with outfit matching Nigel.Look under Help and Advice.
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
Hopefully it will clear up any confusion and avoid the usual off topic lengthy debates concerning weights, limits, definitions etc.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The Camping and Caravanning Club have provided a data sheet to help with outfit matching Nigel.Look under Help and Advice.
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
Hopefully it will clear up any confusion and avoid the usual off topic lengthy debates concerning weights, limits, definitions etc.

It may help, but such services must always be viewed with care, as we know they are not perfect, and all too often they don't carry the exact details of the car or caravan being considered.

It is essential you check the details match exactly, Do not assume a similar model from the manufacture has the same characteristics, otherwise their outcomes are not reliable.

Its also to important to remember, that whilst these sites may be able to confirm the legality of an outfit, they cannot guarantee the safety. or the sensibility of an outfit.

 

[Parksy]

The Camping and Caravanning Club have a free towcar and caravan outfit checking /matching service for members on their website Prof.
I agree that no internet based information source can be guaranteed to be 100% accurate in every instance but the C&CC is an authoritative organisation with extensive databases.
My earlier intervention was intended mainly to limit the possibility of newbies who use this message board for it's intended purpose, to say hello and to introduce themselves, from being subjected to a kind of internet third degree interrogation.

 

[Hutch]

Hello Nigel, welcome to the Forum, and the fun of carravanning, your in a great part of the country for caravan sites.
Hutch.

 

[Beachball]

Hi Nigel Welcome to the Practical Caravan Forum