Maximun weight

[MAM]

Hello All,

Second ever post on this forum (I will stop counting after the first few)

The book, Unladen Weight on my car is 1,720kg, Max Gross Weight is 2,295kg and Max trailer load is 1,900kg (unbraked is 750kg).

So - What colour is my car?

No seriously - what does this allow me to tow? Does single axle vs. double axle play a part?

Thanks

 

[Lutz]

Firstly, single axle or twin axle doesn't make any difference.

The absolute maximum that you may tow is 1900kg unless there is also a restriction on max. gross train weight, which you haven't mentioned. Those 1900kg, by the way, are NOT the max. total weight of the trailer/caravan but only its total axle load. The max. weight is axle load plus noseweight but you don't say what that is so you'll have to work it out for yourself.

So much for the absolute maximum. To give you a larger margin of safety, various sources recommend not to go over 85% of the kerbweight as a limit, especially for a novice, so that would be about 1460kg in your case.

 

[L-Buster]

Hi Mike

Your car is silver

According to your Book you can tow a trailer up to a max laden weight of 1900Kg however if it is just you in the car that would mean thet the car is lighter than the trailer which is a bad idea.

Most towing clubs and organisations would recomend that you only tow to a Maximum of 85% of your unladen weight which in your case would be 1462Kg at this weight it will be braked, the only unbraked trailers will (or should) be 750Kg or under.

Single or Double is up to you, as long as they are loaded correctly both are fine, when loading pay attention to nose weight and load heavy items low and over the axle

Hope this helps

 

[MAM]

Hi Lutz,

Thanks for the response. I can't find any reference to train weight in the manual so I'll leave that one.

The max noseweight is 76kg so that'll give me a max weight of 1,976kg.

So that's over 500kg more that the 85% of kerb weight figure. In fact, it's over 100% of kerb weight so why does the manufacturer give me such a high figure for trailer load?

I don't doubt your opinion on the 85% limit - I've read many references to it on this forum, but why such a difference between the two figures?

 

[MAM]

Hi Mike

Your car is silver

According to your Book you can tow a trailer up to a max laden weight of 1900Kg however if it is just you in the car that would mean thet the car is lighter than the trailer which is a bad idea.

Most towing clubs and organisations would recomend that you only tow to a Maximum of 85% of your unladen weight which in your case would be 1462Kg at this weight it will be braked, the only unbraked trailers will (or should) be 750Kg or under.

Single or Double is up to you, as long as they are loaded correctly both are fine, when loading pay attention to nose weight and load heavy items low and over the axle

Hope this helps

Okay - the colour is silver and I'm spooked out.

I completly understand and agree with your statement on the dangers of the car weight being less than the caravans weight, but why does the manufacturer post this figure? Surely there must have been a spate of people following the exact max guidelines and coming a cropper. With manufacturers usually erring on the side of caution - this doesn't make sense.

 

[Lutz]

The car manufacturers normally quote limits that do not differentiate between big boxy caravans and other types of trailer, such as low loaders. Because they are big and boxy, caravans are rather more tempramental and sensitive to relative weight of car and caravan, respectively.

You don't say what sort of car you've got but the data you've given suggests that it's a relatively lightweight but powerful one and the power is sufficient to tow a 1900kg low loader safely. However, if were to tow a 1900kg caravan you will soon find that it will be quite tiring because you will need to exercise so much extra care and concentration to keep that safe.

 

[L-Buster]

Hi Mike

The towing limit is set by the manufacturer and worked out by the the maximum weight of a braked trailer the vehicle will tow when restarting on a gradient of 1 in 8, it will not take in to account the unladen weight of the tow car so with a powerfull engine and low gearing up goes the towing limit, and to tow any thing over would be illegal

the max train weight of your tow unit would be 2295Kg plus 1900Kg = 4195Kg

All said and done try and keep to 85% because it works!!!

Cheers

Bernie

 

[MAM]

The car manufacturers normally quote limits that do not differentiate between big boxy caravans and other types of trailer, such as low loaders. Because they are big and boxy, caravans are rather more tempramental and sensitive to relative weight of car and caravan, respectively.

You don't say what sort of car you've got but the data you've given suggests that it's a relatively lightweight but powerful one and the power is sufficient to tow a 1900kg low loader safely. However, if were to tow a 1900kg caravan you will soon find that it will be quite tiring because you will need to exercise so much extra care and concentration to keep that safe.

Hi Lutz,

My car is an E-Class Merc. To be honest, I thought that this would be one of the heavier cars around (excluding 4X4s) so therefore would pull any normal van. Looks like I was mistaken.

 

[MAM]

Okay - you've convinced me on the 85%. But should I also include the contents of the car when making the calculation. I'm unlikely to tow alone without luggage so me, my wife and three young children plus holiday belongings (my 5 year old stuffs her pockets with stones from the beach) would easily add another 200 to 300kg. This would leave me with ~ 2,00kg overall so the 85% would be ~ 1,700KG.

Is this a reasonable approach?

 

[MAM]

Okay - you've convinced me on the 85%. But should I also include the contents of the car when making the calculation. I'm unlikely to tow alone without luggage so me, my wife and three young children plus holiday belongings (my 5 year old stuffs her pockets with stones from the beach) would easily add another 200 to 300kg. This would leave me with ~ 2,00kg overall so the 85% would be ~ 1,700KG.

Is this a reasonable approach?

(missed a zero - should have read 2,000kg overall)

 

[Lutz]

The car manufacturers normally quote limits that do not differentiate between big boxy caravans and other types of trailer, such as low loaders. Because they are big and boxy, caravans are rather more tempramental and sensitive to relative weight of car and caravan, respectively.

You don't say what sort of car you've got but the data you've given suggests that it's a relatively lightweight but powerful one and the power is sufficient to tow a 1900kg low loader safely. However, if were to tow a 1900kg caravan you will soon find that it will be quite tiring because you will need to exercise so much extra care and concentration to keep that safe.

Of course, lightweight is relative, but if it's an E420CDI or an E500, it's an awful lot of bhp per tonne!

 

[Lutz]

The 85% is always calculated relative to kerbweight but if you always have quite a lot of payload in the car, the weight ratio will, of course, drop below that figure. If you are confident that the car will usually be fully laden when towing (or close to fully laden) you can afford to go a little higher without jeopardising safety. It's up to you to decide what you feel comfortable with but I would suggest a 1600kg as a reasonable limit in your case with a fully laden car.

Don't forget that if you passed your driving test after the 1st January 1997, you may not tow more than the kerbweight of the car, i.e. 1720kg, unless you have a category B&E licence.

 

[MAM]

The 85% is always calculated relative to kerbweight but if you always have quite a lot of payload in the car, the weight ratio will, of course, drop below that figure. If you are confident that the car will usually be fully laden when towing (or close to fully laden) you can afford to go a little higher without jeopardising safety. It's up to you to decide what you feel comfortable with but I would suggest a 1600kg as a reasonable limit in your case with a fully laden car.

Don't forget that if you passed your driving test after the 1st January 1997, you may not tow more than the kerbweight of the car, i.e. 1720kg, unless you have a category B&E licence.

My test date is safe by 10 years.