Hi, I am hoping to find a review/ listing of best towing cars for maximising MAM 3500kg i.e. optimal combination of low car weight and high towing capacity. Has anyone seen such a review? Many thanks.
MAM 3500kg
- Thread starter Derek Coffee Gordon
- Start date
Why would you want low car weight to tow 3500 kg?
My nomination for best tow car with 3500kg towing limit is a VW Touareg - but at 2280 kg kerbweight it's not light weight!
My nomination for best tow car with 3500kg towing limit is a VW Touareg - but at 2280 kg kerbweight it's not light weight!
The OP would be more likely to get useful info if he gave us some idea of what he needs - and a good starting point would be details of his caravan, specifically the MTPLM and the nose weight.
Also why the 3500Kg? HMG have dropped the need to take a "+E" test - everyone gets B+E automatically so the 3500Kg train limit no longer applies. The limit is now that a trailer of up to 3500Kg can be towed by tug of up to 3500Kg provided the gross train weight does not exceed the tug's specification.
Also why the 3500Kg? HMG have dropped the need to take a "+E" test - everyone gets B+E automatically so the 3500Kg train limit no longer applies. The limit is now that a trailer of up to 3500Kg can be towed by tug of up to 3500Kg provided the gross train weight does not exceed the tug's specification.
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Thanks everyone. I am a caravaner with old persons license so I can tow 3500kg however my question is regarding a young friend I am trying to help get going and who obtained her driving license since 1997 and according to gov website her car licence (cats in attached photo) restricts towing to MAM of 3500kg. So min car weight would maximise towing capacity (subject to car max). Is this Gov website out of date regarding MAM?
MAM = Maximum Authorised Mass i.e. combined weight of car and trailer.
https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car
MAM = Maximum Authorised Mass i.e. combined weight of car and trailer.
https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car
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- Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Derek, and welcome to the forum,
Things have changed since december 2021 and the restriction your younger driver is concerned about has changed.
Retrospectively to include all licences issued since 1997, it is now the case that all UK licences will have cat BE automatically and retrospectively assigned to them. This removes the lower 3500 combined MAM limitation and allows drivers to drive CAT B car of up to MAM 3500kg to tow a trailer with a combined MAM of up to 3500kg giving a combined limit of 7000kg.
Obviously the manufacturers limits have to be observed.
Please don't take my word alone for this, you should check how the changes will affect your friend by using official gov't sources for driving licence information.
Things have changed since december 2021 and the restriction your younger driver is concerned about has changed.
Retrospectively to include all licences issued since 1997, it is now the case that all UK licences will have cat BE automatically and retrospectively assigned to them. This removes the lower 3500 combined MAM limitation and allows drivers to drive CAT B car of up to MAM 3500kg to tow a trailer with a combined MAM of up to 3500kg giving a combined limit of 7000kg.
Obviously the manufacturers limits have to be observed.
Please don't take my word alone for this, you should check how the changes will affect your friend by using official gov't sources for driving licence information.
- Nov 11, 2009
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Here’s the latest HMG information. The rules were changed recently to enable more testing staff to carry out HGV tests.
Your link is out of date.
https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car
Your link is out of date.
https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car
Thank you. I had misunderstood the government website to be saying that the combined MAM of car and trailer is to be 3500kg. With your help I realise that is wrong and the 3500kg applies to the trailer. Thank you all.
This is the sentence on the gov page which threw me: ‘You’ll need to know the weight of both the vehicle and trailer - also known as the ‘maximum authorised mass’ (MAM).’
- Jul 18, 2017
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Most Fords will tow well above their MIRO or kerbweight i.e. MIRO is 1600kg, but vehicle can tow up to 2000kg. However towing any trailer that is heavier than the towing vehicle is not a good idea especially for a newbie as it can be very unsafe as the trailer may dictate where the car goes.
- May 7, 2012
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Low kerb weight and high towing ratio is the worst combination possible, and towing 3,500 kg with a very light car is simply not good practice and may invalidate your insurance. It is possibly possible to tow a far smaller trailer with heavy goods in it, but I would not risk even that. The whole point is that a caravan weighing 3,500kg will be large and have considerable exposure to side winds and passing traffic and the car is unlikely to be heavy enough to control it.
Safe towing requires a sensible towing ratio as well as good loading and other factors but get any seriously wrong and you are a danger to yourself and others.
Anything with that sort of limit will almost certainly be a heavy 4X4 like the Toureg or the old Landrovers, or better still a Transit van or similar. . Even then with most of those, you would have to tow pretty slowly to get a stable combination.
Safe towing requires a sensible towing ratio as well as good loading and other factors but get any seriously wrong and you are a danger to yourself and others.
Anything with that sort of limit will almost certainly be a heavy 4X4 like the Toureg or the old Landrovers, or better still a Transit van or similar. . Even then with most of those, you would have to tow pretty slowly to get a stable combination.
- Jul 18, 2017
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What car does your friend currently drive and is there a reason why she needs a big caravan?
- Mar 14, 2005
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No, the site is not wrong in its definition of MAM. However from your comment above I don't think you have grasped its application fylly.
MAM does indeed mean the "Maximum Authorised Mass" but how its applied depends on the context in which its used.
When the subject of the sentence is a solo vehicle MAM refers to just that vehicle.
But another application which is relevant to towing is "Combined MAM" Which is the sum of the MAM of the tow vehicle plus the MAM (MTPLM) of the trailer.
For your information a "MAM" is not a weight it is a weight limit, a point which is often not made clear.
- Mar 14, 2005
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- Mar 14, 2005
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Am I not correct in saying that the extension of a category B licence to include category BE, although automatic, does not come into effect until category BE is entered into the licence? It certainly applies when travelling abroad. Without BE on the licence the 3500kg combination weight restriction continues to apply on the other side of the Channel..
- Mar 14, 2005
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This is the page address for the UK Govt's announcement of teh change which took place on the 16th December 2021.
www.gov.uk
"DVLA will update your driving licence record to show that you’re allowed to tow trailers. You do not need to contact DVLA for this to happen. It will be done automatically. You’ll get category BE added to your driving licence when you next apply to get a new driving licence."
This implies the electronic record will be updated immediately, and the drivers card will be updated when it is renewed on its expiry.
Whilst this will cover driving in the UK, I cannot predict how other countries (Especially the EU which uses a very similar driving licence structure) will view the difference between what's shown on the card and what the DVLA's electronic records contain.
And despite the change to "technically permissible laden mass " the page shown continus to use MAM
Towing with a car
Towing trailers, caravans and horseboxes with a car, including the weight and size limits, and what licence you need to have
"DVLA will update your driving licence record to show that you’re allowed to tow trailers. You do not need to contact DVLA for this to happen. It will be done automatically. You’ll get category BE added to your driving licence when you next apply to get a new driving licence."
This implies the electronic record will be updated immediately, and the drivers card will be updated when it is renewed on its expiry.
Whilst this will cover driving in the UK, I cannot predict how other countries (Especially the EU which uses a very similar driving licence structure) will view the difference between what's shown on the card and what the DVLA's electronic records contain.
And despite the change to "technically permissible laden mass " the page shown continus to use MAM
- Mar 14, 2005
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As foreign authorities won't have access to the DVLA's electronic records, they have only what is shown on the physical driving licence to go by, so anyone intending to travel abroad with a B licence but over 3500kg would be well advised to have their licence amended before leaving home. Alternatively, they could apply for an IDP which would presumably show the updated record.
- Nov 16, 2015
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As I mentioned in my post #10 , this is a bit vauge, it states cat BE will be added to your licence when you renew your licence, I would not tow at your new limit until it is physically on your licence .This is the page address for the UK Govt's announcement of teh change which took place on the 16th December 2021.
Towing with a car
Towing trailers, caravans and horseboxes with a car, including the weight and size limits, and what licence you need to have
"DVLA will update your driving licence record to show that you’re allowed to tow trailers. You do not need to contact DVLA for this to happen. It will be done automatically. You’ll get category BE added to your driving licence when you next apply to get a new driving licence."
This implies the electronic record will be updated immediately, and the drivers card will be updated when it is renewed on its expiry.
Whilst this will cover driving in the UK, I cannot predict how other countries (Especially the EU which uses a very similar driving licence structure) will view the difference between what's shown on the card and what the DVLA's electronic records contain.
And despite the change to "technically permissible laden mass " the page shown continus to use MAM
- Nov 11, 2009
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I think that the HMG website is quite specific in regards to where the driver now stands. It even says that you don’t have to do anything and that the licence will be updated automatically when renewed. You can access your own details at DVLA and it would be of interest to see if the actual licence holders accounts have been updated or if they stay unchanged until renewal date.
On the basis of the HMG information now in the public record I would be prepared to drive on a B whilst awaiting renewal. If anyone did have a concern the answer is to lose their licence and apply for a new one.
Those planning trips to Europe will be best advised to ensure the photo licence is updated to show BE.
On the basis of the HMG information now in the public record I would be prepared to drive on a B whilst awaiting renewal. If anyone did have a concern the answer is to lose their licence and apply for a new one.
Those planning trips to Europe will be best advised to ensure the photo licence is updated to show BE.
You can update your licence at any time - indeed you have to update the photograph every ten years anyway - but there may be a charge (which used to be £10.)
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