hobby,s

[Des_374546544]

hi , im thinking of buying a hobby ( model undecided ) as they all seem to be wider than most caravans, what do i legelly need to tow one, many thanks Des

 

[Damian]

At the time of writing this, the legal limit for towing on UK roads is that caravans must be no more than 2.3 mtrs wide and have a body length not exceeding 7 mtrs.

As long as th evan meets those requirements then any suitable towcar will suffice, taking into consideration th eMTPLM of the van an dth eweight limits of the tow vehicle.

In effect that limits the model choice to a max of the 540 series.

However, there is a consultation document which is due to close in th emiddle of February which will allow the towing of up to 2.5mtrs width.

BUT,,,,,there is no mention of increasing the allowable length, so the bigger Hobby vans will still be illegal to tow as th ebody length exceeds 7 mtrs, unless they increase the towable length.

What that means is that to tow the larger Hobby or other wide van, you will need a vehicle which has a GVW of 3501kg or more, which rules out EVERY normal car, 4x4 and most vans.

There is one vehicle that meets the requirements and that is a 17 seater Minibus, but with that comes tachos, different licence entitlement etc etc etc.

Further,,,,a lot of sites will not allow the large Hobby or other wide vans on site, especially if being towed by a large van.

 

[Lutz]

Having had experience with 2.5m wide caravans I would like to add that they are not much fun to tow off the motorway. As I like to do a fair amount of touring, I made a conscious decision to purchase a 2.3m one this time.

 

[Duncan123]

The Dodge Ram pick up is over 3500kg im sure although with its fuel consumption you might be better flying.

 

[Bazz1]

Hi all, just read the CC mag and it states that you can tow at 2.5Mts wide, and for this size of van theres no VAT. Bazz.

 

[Damian]

Not quite as it seems I am afraid.

It has NOT been approved yet, I believe it wil come into force sometime in April.

However, that will only allow yo uto tow a 2.5mtr trailer.

As they have not addressed the length issue, as the large Hobby vans are over 7mtrs in body length (NOT including hitch), they wil still need a vehicle with a GVW of 3501kg or more.

 

[Lutz]

I don't know why Hobby caravans are being singled out as being particularly large. The smallest Hobby, the 400, is only 2.2m wide and 4.7m without the drawbar. Only their 650 and 720 range are over 7m without the drawbar and all Continental manfacturers have just as many 2.5m wide caravans in their line-up as Hobby.