Need assistance on towing

[Colnbet]

Hi I'm new to the site, went camping last week and fell in love with it, I'm going to look at a 2002 model lunar 520/4 clubman tomorrow and just need to polish up a few things as regards to towing and also the old Chris check done. I will be getting a Honda Civic tourer next week and from what I can gather the specs are
kerb weight 1288-1354
Maximum towing weight braked 1400

The lunar is
Mass in running order 1051
Maximum technical permissible laden mass 1290kg

Would my car be ok with this or not? Please help as I need to make the decision if it's even worth while going to see.

Also, how would I go about getting a Chris check done? Is there some serial number on the caravan or something?

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Not a very good match, I'm afraid.

Relevant weights are:
Car kerb weight - 1288 to 1354 kg
Van MTPLM - 1290 kg

giving tow ratios of 100% to 95%

The recommendation is not over 85% for newbies.

Please note CRiS not Chris. You can Google and get the contact details. The serial (VIN) number should be on a plate near the door and also etched onto each window. There may also be a plate on the chassis.

 

[Colnbet]

Would it be manageable and legal though bearing in mind the car would be full with 2 adults 2 kids and baggage

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

You would also need to check your gross vehicle weight, gross train weight and max axle loads.

Life's not easy hmy: but at least you are being responsible and asking the questions.
Your driving license should be OK though on a B license rather than B+E with the weights you've given.

 

[Colnbet]

Maximum perm axle weight front and rear 950-890
Max perm weight 1790
Max towing weight 1400

 

[ProfJohnL]

Would it be manageable and legal though bearing in mind the car would be full with 2 adults 2 kids and baggage

Hello Colnbet,

Welcome to the confusing world of weights and towing. As Woodlands has said, you're doing the right thing asking, though I'm not sure you'll like the answers.

You don't tell is you have towed before, or what experience you may have had, so I will have to assume the you are a novice new tower.

Based on the information you have supplied, you could legally tow your caravan, but please read on.

The industries recommended towing ratio is often suggested as a guideline for new caravanners. It supports the the principle of keeping the caravan (or any trailer) as light as possible in relation to the weight of the car. What it does not do is offer any guarantee that the outfit will be safe or legal. In some cases some cars are not even rated to tow 85% of their own weight, so you always have to check the vehicles specifications and never exceed any limit specified.

For reasons of consistency the towing ratio always uses the MTPLM of the caravan divided by the unladen or kerbweight of the tow vehicle. As you have spotted this is probably the worst possible scenario, which rarely actually occurs in real life. In practice the car will always be heavier than its kerbweight, and in some cases the caravan will be lighter than its MTPLM limit ( but not always as some people do not know their limits). The problem is unless you actually weigh your outfit, you don't know how heavy it is, so the recommendation assumes the worst case, in the knowledge it's unlikely to be that bad.

So in practice with you passengers and luggage the car will be heavier, but it does not change the calculated ratio or the industries recommendation.

Honda make some rather nice cars, but a common comment about their petrol engines is they tend not to produce much torque at low speeds. This is not conducive to towing, so whilst on paper they may claim a towed weight limit of 1400kg, I expect the engine will need to be revved quite hard to maintain good progress.

My gut feeling is the civic will struggle with your caravan.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Colnbet
I hope you are not disappointed .The truth is sometimes hard to swallow but at least you have received some excellent advice.
I prefer a diesel and at the moment diesel is cheaper than petrol
You will also find that as the kids grow you'll need more space. So maybe think about a larger car.

 

[Raywood]

My daughter has the Civic. It is a nice car but seems to lack real power and I would not want it as a tow car but the diesel version might work although the towing ratio looks tight for a beginner. Personally I would look for something a bit heavier but you may need to watch the train weight depending on your licence.

 

[LizziePope]

Hi Colnbet and a warm welcome to the Practical Caravan forum. Perhaps our series of towing masterclass videos (with information on outfit matching, safe loading of your van and more) might help? Please click here.

 

[Colnbet]

Hi guys and thank you for your help, I decided not to get the clubman as the weight issue, but I did get a abbey 217 gts, 2000 model in immaculate condition and giving much better weights. So our family adventure in the caravan world are about to begin.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

The Abbey appears to have an MTPLM of 1260 kg, so you are not saving much over the Lunar at 1290 kg. Using your largest kerb weight at 1354 kg the towing ratio is 92%. Take care.

 

[Mel]

Brilliant. You have lots of happy 'vanning ahead of you.
Mel