Towing with nissan xtrail

[izzeybear]

My good lady has fallen in love with a caravan with max wt of 1580kgs. Research suggests that the kerbweight of my vehicle is 1515kgs.. The plate and V5 suggest that I can tow 2000kgs. What is the legal implication if I tow this van.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Izzy,

There are a lot question marks about this combination.

Mechanically the car can tow the caravan, at a ratio of 104% Technically legal but not advised. Although the car is rated to tow up to 2000Kg, that refers to an ideal trailer, and caravans are about as far from ideal as you can get. The industry advice is novices should not attempt to tow anything above 85% and experienced caravanners should not attempt anything over 100%

But that's not the whole story. It will also depend on when you passed your basic driving test. If it was before Jan 1997 then you will automatically have Cat Be on your licence that will cover the out fit, but if you passed after Jan 1997, then I'm afraid you only have Cat B whic limits you to a combined MAM not exceeding 3500, and the MAM of the trailer must not exceed the ULW of the tow vehicle . Which in your case it does by 4%

For you information MAM stands for Maximum Authorised Mass which for the car is its GVW and the caravan is its MTPLM, So you cant even do it by claiming the caravan isn't fully loaded.

 

[MikeyW]

My 2005 X trail was listed as 1520kg kerb weight but when I put it on a weigh bridge with just the driver and 3/4 tank of fuel it weighed 1720kg so it might be worth doing the same and find out the actual weight of your model. I was towing a1500kg caravan at the time with no problems.

Mike

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello mike,

Im quite certain the car tows well, and is prbably, but the problem might arise if the driver does not have cat Be on their licence. The authorities would look at the paper evidence of kerbeweight, and your quoted kerbweight is massively different to your measured weight. I would susspiciuos about what you had in your vehicle when you weighed it.

 

[izzeybear]

thank you all for your input. I think the weighbridge option is the route I will take. I have just found a site that shows so many different weights for X trails I am still in the land of confusion.

 

[MikeyW]

Hello John

Just to clarify, whwn I weighed my car it was empty apart from me (the driver), 3/4 tank of fuel (or there abouts), and any tools / jack / spare wheel that came with the car, oh and obviously the tow bar. Yes the listed weight was 1520kg and it weighed 1720kg. As stated there was a lot of different weights listed for the X trail but that is what mine weighed empty. If the car was fully laden when I weighed it then thst is what I would have put in my first post.
Sorry if you are still suspicious.

Mike

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mickey,

I'm sorry I used the word suspicious, this was not meant to imply anything underhand on your part, just the possibility you may have overlooked something that had been left in the car. For example floor mats, drinks bottles, etc just a number of smaller items and of course the tow bar and wiring which can all add up to quite a surprising weight. However I agree the discrepancy is unlikely to be fully explained by these items.

Its not entirely clear if a legal question we were raised involving 'kerbweight/unladen weight whether the authorities would accept the manufacturers figure or your own weigh bridge docket.

This could be significant if trying to defend a driving licence Cat B charge of trailer MAM exceeding tow vehicles ULW

 

[Dustydog]

Are there any statistics available to show how many caravanner have been prosecuted because of incorrect weights?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dusty,

Such weight related statistics are not readily available to the public. In any case it would not show up as a weights violation, it would be driving without a licence.

 

[Dustydog]

So is there any data about licences not covering the weights.
Just wondered about the freedom of information act?

 

[raccoon]

Hi, I am towing with a Nissan xTrail di, 2.2 deisel. I cannot give any advise about weight but can do about towing with the car.
I have found that the turbo kickes in at 2000rpm which is near to 56 mph in 6th gear. The mpg will drop a lot if you go over that. I find I get 43mpg normal running and 30mpg with the caravan on which is a Bailey Ranger 510-4. On motorways if they are flat then I can stay in 6th and around that 56mph no bother at all.
Mine is only the 114 bhp motor so I think yours being a younger car it will be a higher bhp. The four wheel drive will only stay locked in up to 20mph then drops out. Its best to leave it in the Auto losition. Last year in the snow I had to use the four wheel drive and it worked a treet.
Hope this helps.

 

[ProfJohnL]

So is there any data about licences not covering the weights.
Just wondered about the freedom of information act?

Yes you could try a FOI request.

 

[seth1]

Its getting like a Spanish inquistion this forum.I,d be interested to see how many people who use this forum have actually been stopped and checked by VOSA,because every time my company is called to a check point i never see a caravan being checked.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

Its getting like a Spanish inquistion this forum.I,d be interested to see how many people who use this forum have actually been stopped and checked by VOSA,because every time my company is called to a check point i never see a caravan being checked.

once in 44 years of towing trailers, on the A75 just outside Dumfries. and even then they did not weigh anything, just asked some questions looked around the outfit and that was it 10mins tops .

 

[ProfJohnL]

Its getting like a Spanish inquistion this forum.I,d be interested to see how many people who use this forum have actually been stopped and checked by VOSA,because every time my company is called to a check point i never see a caravan being checked.

Many of us have seen caravans and other trailers behaving badly on our roads. Only recently we had a thread bemoaning the apparent poor driving of a caravanner, so clearly there is a need for further education for some drivers, about many aspects of driving outfits. weights known to be a significant contributor to maintaining an outfits stability, so surely it makes sense to provide good sensible and safe advice about such things, in the hope that it will prevent another caravanner suffering any sort of mishap. After all you might be affected if the outfit that goes wrong is next to you on the motorway.

I have personally been stopped for one random inspection when towing in about 1986. In about 1990 I saw three caravans pulled over in the VOSA vehicle inspection site site in Hampshire, I've seen a joint Police/VOSA team inspecting caravans & trailers at the Sandbach Services M6.

Just because the incidence of inspections may be low does not detract from the need to try and get towing weights right, and if it saves one or more drivers hassle then its worth getting the information into the public domain. Its not worth pushing the envelope through ignorance. or bravado. so lets work together to improve standards.

 

[seth1]

Quite right John L,but no mention of ignorance or bravardo from me.Without sounding harsh it always seems to be worst case scenario with you and verging on the point of scare mongering.In actual fact the op asked about a Nissan X trail not a driving license.I know very little about Nissans and as such did not post because of this.