I have been following the various debates on towing weights, particularily the one below from Tom and Lutz's reply. Hopefully someone can give me a precise answer.I own the infamous Zafira 2.0DTI with a towing limit set by Vauxhall of 1050 kg. We have just purchased a caravan with an MIRO of 1015kg therefore giving a huge payload in the van of 35kg. If the case is that the 75kg noseweight limit for the Zafira is added to the car gross weight is it then deducted from the caravan enabling a payload of 110 kg. Hope it is clear what I am getting at.
More on towing weights
- Thread starter Alan_5040320
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Alan, in your cars handbook, you may find other weights besides kerb weight quoted which are to do with not overloading the car itself.
For example the specified weight of luggage in the boot may be reduced according to the number of rear seat passengers. The van noseweight should be deducted from this value to give the weight of luggage you can carry. You may be surprised how little this is.
The point is to avoid overloading the rear suspension of the car-the noseweight does not add to the weight of the car, but it does apply a load which should be allowed for. All that effort to keep the van weight under control by stuffing everything in the car might not be the proper answer......!
For example the specified weight of luggage in the boot may be reduced according to the number of rear seat passengers. The van noseweight should be deducted from this value to give the weight of luggage you can carry. You may be surprised how little this is.
The point is to avoid overloading the rear suspension of the car-the noseweight does not add to the weight of the car, but it does apply a load which should be allowed for. All that effort to keep the van weight under control by stuffing everything in the car might not be the proper answer......!
Yes, you've got it right, Alan. As you correctly say, the Zafira 2.0 diesel may tow 1050kg. But it also has a 75kg permissible noseweight. As the total trailer (or caravan) weight is made up of noseweight + axle load (= towload), then the caravan may weigh, in total, 1125kg, allowing you 110kg payload for the caravan. Don't forget, however, that the noseweight reduces the usable payload of the Zafira by the same amount. Otherwise you would exceed its maximum permissible gross vehicle weight. The noseweight only counts once and, for the purposes of legal towing, is treated as part of the all-up weight of the towing vehicle, not of the trailer.
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