Newdur said:
Hello
Well we have decided to step into your world and buy a Caravan. That seems like that was the easy part.
Sorry if this is a repeated and stupid arse question
Here come the facts
1. I have B license
2. better half has BE
3. Car has a empty weight of 1484kg Max loaded of 2080kg
4. Car has max towing weigh of 1400kg
So here goes
Can we tow a caravan with a 1500kg MAM as long as we make sure we don’t go over 1400kg? With 4 people and a packed boot this would be in the 85% range of the cars loaded Weight
Problem two. Then If we drive with a 1500kg MAM caravan that puts the MAM of the car and the van at 3580KG so i wouldn’t be able to drive with my B license but my wife can with a BE
Problem three, if we tow a 1500MAM caravan loaded at 1400kg so its actual weight is lower than the cars empty weight, or is it the 1500MAM of the caravan that’s used here or is it the MAM of the car( car must weigh more than trailer)
Problem four,If it’s the 1500kg Caravan MAM and the 1400kg car empty that’s used could it still be towed with a BE license
And exhale
I hope that makes sense?..
Cheers
No question is silly if it clears up a concern, its the person who doesn't ask that's the fool! So ask away.
I must warn you the matter of vehicle weights can look complex, and it does require careful consideration to understand the intricacies and differences between weights and weight limits. I would say though judging from your questions yo have grasped some of those differences.
As you don't tell us your car and all the weight limits I must bring to you attention that sometimes the maximum towed weight limit can be conditional on the tow car being unloaded. Bearing in mind the rest of your posting where it seems likely you will be exploring the cars GVW limit it becomes important. The way to check is to look at the vehicular weights plate. Subtract the GVW from the GTW and that is the maximum towed weight when the car is fully laden.
Lets take your points in the order you have asked them.
The cars towed weight limit set by the cars manufacturer relates the the actual weight of the trailer and not its potential weight limit. So yes your car can tow a trailer with an MAM (=MTPLM) of 1500kg even though the towed weight limit is 1400kg. as you state that will only be legal provided the trailer is not loaded beyond 1400kg on its axle.
This also alludes to another aspect of the carvans weight, becasue the towed weight is only the weight on the trailers axle, it ignores the fact that part of the trailers weight is shared as the trailers nose load, and this portion is not towed but carried by the car and forms part of the cars load. The problem is that nose load is also a variable and is dependent on how the trailer is loaded.
There is a third point of concern, The majority of caravans have very limited payload capacities. If your caravan has an MTPLM of 1500kg its likely its pay load will only be about 200kg. By restricting the actual weigt of the caravan to only 1400kg that reduces the payload to only 100kg. This is very skimpy when you consider the batterym and gas bottles, cutlery, towels and bedding are part of the payload.
The 85% guidance has no legal strength, it is only guidance, However it does stem from the understanding that Caravans are far from ideal or easy trailers for cars to manage, so the industry suggests that the 100 x (Trailers MTPLM/ Cars Kerbweight) is how the towing ratio is calculated. It is a worst case scenario and how you load the car or caravan makes no difference to the calculation.
Problem 2, You are correct about who can drive, if the combined MAM exceeds 3500kg the driver must hold the BE or B+E entitlement. STOP PRESS.... if your wife has held her BE licence for more than three years she is classed as an experienced driver with the entitlement, and she could be coaching you provided you use L plates. You could use this towards taking the +E extension to give you B+E on your licence
Problem 3. This is a bit of a grey area early B only entitlement did include a clause that required the MTPLM of the trailer must be less than the Unladen weight of the tow vehicle. This requirement is beveled to have been rescinded, so trailers MTPLM's can exceed the cars unladen weight. Whether its wise to do it with a caravan is a different question to which I would say don't do it.
Problem 4.
With a BE licence, there is no legal requirement for the tow vehicle to be heavier than the trailer, but as above with a caravan it is probably wise.
I have just realised that your based in Germany. Please note the information I have provided is based on the situation in the UK, and whilst in theory all EU member states have a harmonised licencing and vehicle weights system, there can be local variations. You would have to check the rules relating to your country of issue.
The UK is unique in having industry guidance concerning tow matching with 85% and 100% figures. Some countries do not offer such guidance.