Hi I was wondring what size caravan can I tow on a suzuki boost 1.4 auto or would I need a bogger car
suzuki vitara boost 1.4 petrol automatic
- Thread starter Elliott34
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Mr Google (or a Suzuki dealership] should be able to assist. But with just a 1400cc engine it isn't going to be very much.
Info available here...
www.towingcapacity.co.uk
Info available here...
Suzuki - Towing Capacity & Weight Limit Information
Quickly search for the correct model and year to find the braked and unbraked towing capacity for your vehicle.
www.towingcapacity.co.uk
Thanks very much we were going down the motorhome route but the prices are not real so I think it would be cheaper to upgrade the car and plum for a new or fearly new caravanMr Google (or a Suzuki dealership] should be able to assist. But with just a 1400cc engine it isn't going to be very much.
Info available here...
Suzuki - Towing Capacity & Weight Limit Information
Quickly search for the correct model and year to find the braked and unbraked towing capacity for your vehicle.
Towing limit seems to be 1200kgs, not impossible to match a caravan but it depends what you’re looking for? Older caravans tend to be lighter but some of the newer Bailey Discovery models are quite light. There’s no denying that a change of car would open up more caravan choice.
Your V5 should specify the maximum towed load. The cars VIN plate should also enable the Suzuki specified load. IE
Is your vehicle approved for towing?
You can find out if your vehicle is approved for towing and its maximum weight on the VIN plate.
As said previously the VIN plate will display either 3 or 4 sets of weight, it is these weights that the authorities use to determine whether your vehicle is over-laden.
If you look at the VIN plate it has 3 or 4 rows of numbers.
The first row is for the Gross Vehicle Weight, the Maximum Allowable Mass (MAM) of the vehicle including occupants, fuel and payload.
The second row is for the Gross Train Weight, the combined maximum allowable mass of the vehicle and trailer.
The third and fourth row is Maximum Axle Loads front and rear respectively.
The manufacturer’s recommended maximum towing capacity for Gross Train Weight(second row) minus Gross Vehicle Weight (first row).
The makers maximum towing load may not make it suitable to tow a caravan of that load. This is because caravans respond differently to lower types of trailers such as a motor bike trailer, or small boat trailer. They are high, long, susceptible to side winds and buffering from large vehicles, or road unevenness. Owners load and load distribution can affect their stability. For this reason a guide for inexperienced towers is that the caravans MTPLM should be 85% of the cars kerbweight. This isn’t an exact figure but something you should bear in mind if choosing a different car.
What year is your car but i be incline to ask your dealer he should be able to advise you more what it can tow
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Most dealers would probably have no idea which is why it is always best to check the V5.
Actually my dealer knew what my 2018 Volkswagen tiguan could tow on my VIN plate when i was looking to buy
Even V5's have been known to have an incorrect entry. The only definitive data is that shown on the statutory weight plate (or in the Certificate of Conformity, if you happen to have a copy of that).
Mel
Moderator
I think it is hit and miss with dealers. Some may be more knowledgeable but when we bought our latest car, it was me who explained to him about towing capacity, kerbweight and noseweight. He also seemed to have little idea about the potential range of weights of caravans. Best to not their word for it methinks.
Mel
We went to look at caravans years ago, and drove to the dealership in Swindon in our Skoda Estelle rear engined runabout.. I don't know if it was even certified to tow, but regardless the dealership did not offer any comments wrt what tow car would we be using. I guess that having a sale in late November was all they could think about.
Couldn’t get that link to work but ‘towcar.info’ lists each model with the auto given as 1200 max. You are pretty limited therefore on caravans beneath this max.
I would like to think that it is not their problem as it is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that they are within the law if they are towing.
I was replying to Mel’s post at #10. I'm quite aware of my responsibilities but these days the "duty of Care" does lead to more dealerships asking the customer about their car etc and offering to use Matching Sites. Heavens if they sold a mismatched caravan perhaps the FCA would have something to say about it....is its product or a service failure?
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How can it be either? Why should there be a duty of care for a caravan dealer? after all they be getting a friend to tow the caravan site it permanently. Just saying!
Parksy
Moderator
It's in the dealers own interest to ensure that the caravan can be towed by the purchasers vehicle or by someone nominated by the purchaser.
There's not much point in selling a caravan that's likely to be returned because the owner can't tow it or have it towed
There's not much point in selling a caravan that's likely to be returned because the owner can't tow it or have it towed
thanks for all the advice so realy speaking I nead a biger car so I drive a mobility car at the moment and the largest engine size I can find is a 1.5 so what size engin do I need I will be thinking of a four berth caravan and what are the best makes as we are new to al this and what is a reasonable price
A lot depends on the car and not so much the size of the engine. The Suzuki can tow up to 12ookg and there are many caravans that can be towed with the 1.4l engine.
An alternative is considering buying a car on HP and using your mobility allowance to pay for the car. many people do this instead. At the end of the term, the car is yours. Also you may be entitled to the disability rate for road tax which is zero.
An alternative is considering buying a car on HP and using your mobility allowance to pay for the car. many people do this instead. At the end of the term, the car is yours. Also you may be entitled to the disability rate for road tax which is zero.
At a bit extreme, but if you buy frozen food is it the responsibility or duty of care of the shop to make sure that you have somewhere suitable to keep the food frozen. There are numerous other examples so why should a caravan dealer be concerned about how you are going to get a caravan towed?
There are so many factors to consider that the question is a bit like asking "how big is a piece of string". Realistically you could buy a large SUV and a twin-axle 4 berth or keep the Suzuki and buy a lightweight 4 berth.
The car manufacturers towing limit is pretty much the legal maximum limit the manufacturer has placed on the car, as caravans are high sided trailers (and hence can become unstable due to cross winds etc) there is a recommendation by the various UK organisations to keep the maximum laden weight of the caravan below the unladen weight/kerbweight/mass-in-service of the car. You will read a magical figure of 85% but don't get hung up on that as it stems from many years ago from foundations that no-one knows.....
If I were you I'd visit a few caravan dealers and have a look round at what sort of layout/price/maximum weight (shown as MTPLM) works for you then understand what sort of car you'd need to pull it. Also have a look at lightweight caravans as well and see if any of those are within the capabilities of your current car.
As an example, my car has a kerb-weight of 1825kgs, a maximum towing weight of 2000kgs. My caravan has a maximum laden weight (MTPLM - maximum technically permissible laden mass) of 1475kgs. You can see here that the caravan falls below the manufacturers towing limit and is also quite a bit lighter than the car itself in an empty condition.
By narrowing your wish list you'll then be in a better place to know what sort of car and caravan you are looking for. Don't get too hung up on engine size, nowadays some of the smaller engines can produce a decent amount of torque and power for towing a caravan.
Over the years we've purchased nine caravans from five different dealers and none asked what I intended to tow it with, only one asked me to sign a disclaimer saying that I'd done my own checks to ensure that my tow car was suitable. I suppose in today's society of blame culture a dealer might fear being blamed if he told someone their car was suitable when it wasn't.
Clearly not all dealers are the same as I had a printed tow match to my previous car provided as routine when I bought. For the dealer it’s just accessing a bit of computer software so perhaps if you insisted they would do the same for the Suzuki. But at least you now know the kerbweight of the car and the maximum tow so you can tour dealers or their websites and see if caravans in this range will suit your requirements. Good hunting!
I've never been asked by a dealer with what I am going to be towing the caravan and quite frankly I wouldn't expect him to, either, although it would be a sign of interest on his part if he does, If I'm going to take up caravanning it is reasonable to expect me to do my homework first. I believe there's too much of passing the buck to others when it comes to taking responsibility and not enough emphasis placed on an obligation of being responsible for one's own actions.
In the UK, its supposed to be inherent in the process of buying and of selling that all parties carry out due diligence and ensure that what you are buying or what you are selling is fit for the intended purpose, to reduce the possibility that goods might need to be returned.
Where a product is sold from a catalogue or a sample (Such as new caravans), it is expected the buyer will use the manufacturers published specifications supported by the dealers expertise to know the goods are fit for purpose, which is why so much emphasis is placed on advertising accuracy and the need for them to be "as described"
This is one of the main reasons that customers need to be "buyer aware" and to ask if anything is unclear - before closing the deal.
Presently there is no legal obligation on caravan dealers to enquire about a customers towing vehicle, Dealers are probably wary about being proactive, just in case there is a problem and they could be held liable if they gave incorrect information or advice. However I do think dealers should remind customers to check their towing limits.
As Buckman has written, the legal requirements are the driver must ensure their outfit complies with all road usage regulations that responsibility is the drivers and not the selling dealer's.
Where a product is sold from a catalogue or a sample (Such as new caravans), it is expected the buyer will use the manufacturers published specifications supported by the dealers expertise to know the goods are fit for purpose, which is why so much emphasis is placed on advertising accuracy and the need for them to be "as described"
This is one of the main reasons that customers need to be "buyer aware" and to ask if anything is unclear - before closing the deal.
Presently there is no legal obligation on caravan dealers to enquire about a customers towing vehicle, Dealers are probably wary about being proactive, just in case there is a problem and they could be held liable if they gave incorrect information or advice. However I do think dealers should remind customers to check their towing limits.
As Buckman has written, the legal requirements are the driver must ensure their outfit complies with all road usage regulations that responsibility is the drivers and not the selling dealer's.
Correct me if I’m wrong but Mel was talking about her car dealer and Clive about the caravan dealer. A big difference imo. As said by Prof there is no legal requirement on the caravan dealer to ensure either you or your car is capable of towing. The true answer for the OP lies in Lutz post #9. BTW no one at the frozen food shop has ever asked if I have a freezer 😄
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