WinnieSophie said:
Hi everyone. I've been on towcar website, but it doesn't list our van. It's a panel van 115 T300S FWD
All I can see on V5 about weight is technical permissable max towable mass of trailer :
braked 1600kg, unbraked 750kg
There's nothing about kerb weight or any other weight that I can see.
So what's the maximum we can tow please??
Hello Winnie,
I wish this could be a simple answer, but your question raises a number of issues which you need to address.
The first is the fact that your planning on using a commercial van This raises my concern about the driving licence you will need to tow a caravan. If you passed your driving test before 1st January 1997 then you won't have a problem as you will have entitlement BE as standard.
If you passed your test after 1st January 1997 then you will have entitlement B, and this restricts you to driving a vehicle (with or without a Trailer) where the combined MAM must not exceed 3500kg. This is absolute with no latitude. as its based on the documented figure for the vehicles involved.
The reason its concern is because a quick search discovered the Transit 300 series vans range in MAM (Also known as its GVW) from 2600 to 3300kg, and whilst it may be possible to find a caravan with a 900kg MAM (also known as its MTPLM) suited to the 2600kg model as the GVW increases the size of caravan would have to reduce. to keep the combined figure within 3500kg.
So please check your driving licence If you don't have entitlement BE or B+E then the project is a no go. You can take an extension test to attain entitlement B+E and that would mean you'd be fine with any practical combination of tow vehicle and caravan.
To answer your specific question, the Towed Weight Limit you have quoted from the V5 1600kg is the legal maximum towed weight the van should tow. But the UK caravan industry does suggest (and its only a suggestion with no legal force) that especially novice caravanners should aim to have a caravan whose MTPLM does not exceed 85% of the tow vehicles kerbweight. This is principally aimed at car drivers, where the caravan could easily dwarf the car and it might adversely affect the cars controlability in adverse condition. When it comes to using a van as tow vehicle the issues are perhaps not as critical, but never the less it is always sensible to aim to keep the trailer as light as possible. One of the problems is that Kerbweight is not a statutory figure, and not all manufactures quote it and some don't quote it with the drivers weight included.
In the absence of of kerbweight figure a close value would be the Mass in Service or Unladen wight. In any the manufactures stated towed weight limit must not be exceeded.
For simplicity if you choose a caravan with an MTPLM that does not exceed the Towed Weight Limit of the van then you can be certain the weights of the outfit are at least legal.
Weights are only part of what you need to do to make the outfit good to tow. The tow vehicle and the caravans should both be in good mechanical condition, Tyres must be properly inflated and the pressure adjusted according to the manufactures for towing, Good loading practice should be observed to set a 5 to 7% of MTPLM nose load and ensure stable towing. Most of all the driver drive well.
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