towing limits for an automatic renault captur

[AutomaticCaptur]

Hi, All hope you can help. I have an automatic Renault Captur 1.5DCI 90 with a max towing weight of 900KG. kirbweight is 1759kg. GVW IS 2659KG all weights are on vehicle VIN plate. My question is can I tow a caravan at that 900kg so 100% if that weight is the Miro weight of an unladen caravan. The reason am asking is as am an experienced caravan tower have towed 2 caravans over last 8 years 1 Avondale avocet 1200kg and a swift challenger 560 1500kg but after downsizing the tow car, I am now restricted to tiny caravans. There are some luxuries i cannot do without like a toilet cubicle for one thing. S could i leagally tow a Bailey D4-2 Miro 887kg with a MTPLM 998kg if i kept the caravan empty of everything. Or am i going to have to use a porta potty in the awning...thanks Robin

 

[otherclive]

Thats a thumping great difference between kerb weight and GVW at 900kg . Are you sure it's not Gross Train Weight. Even the Kerbweightt looks too high for that model car, Top Gear gives 1204kg for kerb weight. Could you reconfirm the tech specs please..

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

hi vin plat top number is 1759 2nd number down is 2659 prob the GTW but as vehicle is an automatic i am restricted to 900kg

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

i think the renault captur 110 might be 1204kg as opposed to my 90. So many variables.

 

[RogerL]

Hi, All hope you can help. I have an automatic Renault Captur 1.5DCI 90 with a max towing weight of 900KG. kirbweight is 1759kg. GVW IS 2659KG all weights are on vehicle VIN plate. My question is can I tow a caravan at that 900kg so 100% if that weight is the Miro weight of an unladen caravan. The reason am asking is as am an experienced caravan tower have towed 2 caravans over last 8 years 1 Avondale avocet 1200kg and a swift challenger 560 1500kg but after downsizing the tow car, I am now restricted to tiny caravans. There are some luxuries i cannot do without like a toilet cubicle for one thing. S could i leagally tow a Bailey D4-2 Miro 887kg with a MTPLM 998kg if i kept the caravan empty of everything. Or am i going to have to use a porta potty in the awning...thanks Robin

Have a look at Freedom caravans - their MTPLMs are as low as 750 kg - and made from one--piece GRP so no leaks - unlike conventional caravans.

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

just been rechecking details of my car kurb weight is 1204kg GVW is 1759 so GTW must be 2659kg but i did read someplace that i am restricted to the 900kg. Or is it the differ3ence between gvw and gtw which does equal 900kg. log book states 1200kg but if you add 1200 to gvw 1759 you get 2959 which is 300 more than the GTW.......Argh too many numbers

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

tried freedom but i am 6ft1in tall, even with poptop i would be banging my head lol

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello AutomaticCaptur.

I have carefully reread your postings in this thread, and I have to conclude whilst technically you could tow a trailer that weighs in total (load on wheels + load on coupling) of 900kg, becasue the towed load figure only applies to the load on the trailers wheels, the load on the coupling is technically available for some paylaod in the caravans.

Its likely to be only 30 to 40kg, but if that's all you need then its possible, but difficult to manage.

In reality you either need to find a smaller caravan, or change to amore capable tow car.

 

[trevormonty]

Any reason you can't change the tow vehicle?.

 

[Buckman]

In the unlikely event of being stopped, they will look at the plates and not weigh the caravan on its own so whether empty or full, you may be over the limit according to the plates.

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

well yes money, I have had the big 4x4's but road tax alone phew... The captur i bought for cash and don't want to get in debt for a bigger car as well as a newer caravan. Plus I want a caravan that can be tow'd by future electric cars etc which is why i went from manual 4x4's to an automatic so weight is now an issue, even now a lot of electric cars are not type approved to tow anything. Ok fine if you can buy a brand new tesla every 6 months. But i am a mere mortal on a measley 35k pa. So to recap 900kg...if we go 85%=765kg this means Teardrop caravans, Freedom, Some Eriba pucks, Go-Pods Most of which are really tiny inside with portaloo's to be used in the awning. I do like the

Freedom Carpento 310​

but this is so new it's way out of my price range
My last caravan was 24ft long tow'd with a citreon C Crosser (Outlander Copy but with better engine) even so the toilet was still cramped.

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

I quite like https://www.easycaravanning.com/en/ but still portaloo in awning. I don't know about how pop top would be in stormy weather. I once stayed at campsite on Skye that had small caravans rolling from one side to the other due to hurricane winds.

 

[Beachball]

I quite like https://www.easycaravanning.com/en/ but still portaloo in awning. I don't know about how pop top would be in stormy weather. I once stayed at campsite on Skye that had small caravans rolling from one side to the other due to hurricane winds.

Try looking at folding caravans like Gobur but good luck

 

[AutomaticCaptur]

thanks all for responses thinking,

Freedom Carpento 310​

Do you see storm trooper helmet or is it just me lol

​

 

[Beachball]

thanks all for responses thinking,

Freedom Carpento 310​

Do you see storm trooper helmet or is it just me lol

​

Looks like it be great for all sorts of weather thrown at it enjoy

 

[otherclive]

I quite like https://www.easycaravanning.com/en/ but still portaloo in awning. I don't know about how pop top would be in stormy weather. I once stayed at campsite on Skye that had small caravans rolling from one side to the other due to hurricane winds.

I had a Trigano Silver 420DD with 1000 kg MTPLM, and some versions have MIRO around 750kg. Ty
There are smaller Triganos. Headroom wasn’t a problem and I’m 6. ft 4inches. But although a four berth it was too small for two adults, teenage granddaughter and two Springers. Very good quality too.

 

[Raywood]

On the figures you quote 900 kg is what you can tow without invalidating the warranty assuming it is within that period.
In practice if you get the GVW weight down below the maximum you can put that weight in the caravan but in practice it might be difficult to be sure enough of the individual weights to get it that accurate.
Personally I would think an alternative car would be a better bet. If you do go for a Freedom watch the loading allowance,, as some get down to 60kg which to me is unworkable.

 

[ProfJohnL]

In the unlikely event of being stopped, they will look at the plates and not weigh the caravan on its own so whether empty or full, you may be over the limit according to the plates.

That is not right. The data plates only contain weight limits. It does not represent the the actual weight of a vehicle. Lawyers would have a field day if they attempted a prosecution based on what you have suggested.

 

[Buckman]

That is not right. The data plates only contain weight limits. It does not represent the the actual weight of a vehicle. Lawyers would have a field day if they attempted a prosecution based on what you have suggested.

Why don't you ask a traffic officer as many years someone called Steve on this forum got done for exceeding the plated weights although the trailer they were towing was empty. Would I be correct in thinking that you you are carrying tools to do house breaking there is no issue?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Why don't you ask a traffic officer as many years someone called Steve on this forum got done for exceeding the plated weights although the trailer they were towing was empty. Would I be correct in thinking that you you are carrying tools to do house breaking there is no issue?

Without knowing the specific details of the case and the offences he was accused of you cannot know if it corresponds to the issue we have been discussing.

A better analogy is : You car is capable of exceeding many speed limits, but you can only be charged with speeding if there is evidence you did exceed an applicable limit.

 

[Buckman]

Without knowing the specific details of the case and the offences he was accused of you cannot know if it corresponds to the issue we have been discussing.

A better analogy is : You car is capable of exceeding many speed limits, but you can only be charged with speeding if there is evidence you did exceed an applicable limit.

I do know the specifics of the case as Steve lived in Leominster. Do you really think they are going to detach the unit and weigh it when it is a lot easier simply to use the plates which are there for a reason?

 

[Lutz]

I do know the specifics of the case as Steve lived in Leominster. Do you really think they are going to detach the unit and weigh it when it is a lot easier simply to use the plates which are there for a reason?

The plates are there to allow actual values to be compared with allowable limits, nothing else. The only area where plated limits can be used for law enforcement purposes without reference to actual values is driving licence entitlement. If the vehicle is plated over 3500kg you need a Category C licence even if it's only loaded to something less.

 

[trevormonty]

well yes money, I have had the big 4x4's but road tax alone phew... The captur i bought for cash and don't want to get in debt for a bigger car as well as a newer caravan. Plus I want a caravan that can be tow'd by future electric cars etc which is why i went from manual 4x4's to an automatic so weight is now an issue, even now a lot of electric cars are not type approved to tow anything. Ok fine if you can buy a brand new tesla every 6 months. But i am a mere mortal on a measley 35k pa. So to recap 900kg...if we go 85%=765kg this means Teardrop caravans, Freedom, Some Eriba pucks, Go-Pods Most of which are really tiny inside with portaloo's to be used in the awning. I do like the

Freedom Carpento 310​

but this is so new it's way out of my price range
My last caravan was 24ft long tow'd with a citreon C Crosser (Outlander Copy but with better engine) even so the toilet was still cramped.

The following are similar size SUVs to Renault with 1200-1500kg towinga capacity, option of AWD in some models.
2008
Vitara (1500kg in new 1.4T mild hybrid)
Kona
Seltos

 

[otherclive]

The plates are there to allow actual values to be compared with allowable limits, nothing else. The only area where plated limits can be used for law enforcement purposes without reference to actual values is driving licence entitlement. If the vehicle is plated over 3500kg you need a Category C licence even if it's only loaded to something less.

The plates are also used in France wrt speed limits applicable to the vehicle when towing.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I do know the specifics of the case as Steve lived in Leominster. Do you really think they are going to detach the unit and weigh it when it is a lot easier simply to use the plates which are there for a reason?

If the authorities suspect that an excess weight offence is being committed , they MUST take whatever steps are necessary to provide evidence of the offence.

Using an axle load system they only need to measure the axles of the coupled out fit and the uncoupled tow vehicle, and they get -

Load on coupled tow vehicle front axle
Load on Couple tow vehicle rear axle
Load on the trailers road wheels
Load on uncoupled tow vehicle front axle
Load on uncoupled tow vehicle rear axle

With these they can verify if any axle load is overloaded

By calculation they can derive:-

Total weight of coupled outfit
Total weight of solo tow vehicle
Total weight of trailer including nose load applied to the coupling
Nose load applied to the hitch.

Just quoting weight limits without a set of calibrated measurements does not prove an excess weight offence has been committed. No lawyer, barrister would allow such inadmissible evidence to prevail.

I have specifically bee discussing excess weight offences. As Lutz and Otherclive have mentioned there are other licence offences where the data plates are all that is required, but in the case of the OP these are not relevant given the vehicle and trailers in question.