Should I put as much luggage as possible in the car?

[Litespeed]

Talk about leaving it late but......I'm off to the Dordogne in France in the morning and am starting to get all the jitters as this will be my first long distance tow (living in Cornwall its usually 10 miles down the road) My wife and kids are flying down to Bergerac so ive got an empty car (Renault Espace) I have removed 3 seats leaving just 4 which saves a lot of weight in the car as well.

Should I put all the heavy items (Awning, poles, bulldog leveller etc) in the car or over the axle in the van?#

My car / van weight comes out at 78%

 

[Damian]

Simon, by removing the seats from the car, you have altered the kerbweight of the car, by the weight of the seats.

At a 78% match, you have a lot of room for distributing the weight , I personally would put that equipment in the car to the value of the weight of seats at least.

 

[Lutz]

When towing, it pays to keep the car as heavy as possible within the allowances that the car manufacturer has specified. That will reduce your weight ratio even further.

 

[Litespeed]

Thanks for the advice, the heavy stuff has gone into the car.....I was up at 4.30am checking for replies after a semi-sleepless night. I'm sure it will be fine once i'm going.

Anyway better get on, ive got a ferry to catch!!

Thanks

Simon (The Cornwall one)