What weight can i tow safely

[Alan T]

I'm looking for my first caravan. I drive a 2017 BMW X1 x drive 2.0d. The kerb weight is 1615kg X 85 percent =1372kg.
My V5 and handbook say i can tow a braked trailer weighing 2000kg and my local caravan dealer says i can tow any caravan with a single axle, which i don't believe. I would be most grateful for some accurate advise Kind regards Alan

 

[otherclive]

I'm looking for my first caravan. I drive a 2017 BMW X1 x drive 2.0d. The kerb weight is 1615kg X 85 percent =1372kg.
My V5 and handbook say i can tow a braked trailer weighing 2000kg and my local caravan dealer says i can tow any caravan with a single axle, which i don't believe. I would be most grateful for some accurate advise Kind regards Alan

As you surmise your dealer is talking rubbish. The 85% guide is just that and isn’t absolute. It’s been around for quite a while during which cars have improved their suspensions, some have trailer assist and a lot of caravans now have ATC. Certainly 2000 kg is far too high related to a caravan tow. Caravans are lightweight large boxes with pretty poor suspension and are subject to cross winds, HGV turbulence, road imperfections etc. Also the owner can very much affect the outfit performance by their loading of car and caravan and their driving characteristics.
Perhaps look at the matching site Towcar.info I find it very useful over my last three outfits.

To answer your question which is a very sensible one; you could stick rigidly to 85% but I would think going higher should not be a problem given the vehicle. How much higher, well that’s a difficult one but just over 90% shouldn’t be impossible. You may find reviews from other BMW owners. Lastly sign up to a CMHC or CCCnewbies course. Invaluable.
Good luck.

 

[Woodentop]

You can tow any caravan, single or double axle, provided you don't exceed the weight limits. The 85% is only a guideline and although worthwhile for a newcomer to towing, if you have got everything balanced and correctly loaded you will soon have enough experience to go up to 100% if you wish. More importantly you must check the maximum weight that you can put on the towball - known as the noseweight of the caravan. There may be three figures: the maximum that the caravan chassis will take - often 100Kg, the maximum that the car chassis will take, and the maximum the towbar will take (should be a label on it.) Whichever of these three is the lowest is the MAXIMUM noseweight that you can use. Always a good idea to load up to put the caravan about 4-5Kg less than the maximum figure so that the load changes during driving should not exceed the limit by too much.

Per the towing capability of the X1, look for the vehicle plate - either on the B-pillar or under the bonnet. It will have four numbers on it. Of the top two, if you subtract the smaller from the larger it will give you the real maximum weight your car can tow irrespective of what the V5 says (mine was incorrect!) The lower two numbers, marked 1 and 2, are the maximum loads that the front and rear axles respectively can take - ignore.
(B-pillar is that between front and rear side doors. For a German vehicle like yours the label will most likely be on the UK nearside.)

 

[Alan T]

Many thanks to both of you for your advise.
I looked on the vehicle plate and it confirmed the maximum towing weight of 2000 kg as per the V5 doc.
I went on Towcar matching site and put in my car details and a swift Challenger 580, reducing my user payload to 100 kg.
The result came out showing an overweight of about 70 kg, but just about acceptable.
I'm still confused about the V5 and vehicle plate showing a max towing weight of 2000 kg.
I will learn about the noseweight and will be going on a towing course
As this will be my first caravan, I don't want to make a big mistake.
Thanks again

 

[Lutz]

I think you would be deceiving yourself by reducing your payload in order to get a more favourable calculated weight ratio. UK caravans generally have mediocre payload margins and experience has shown that many owners have problems in keeping within those limits. Don't underestimate what you will be carrying in the caravan-

 

[otherclive]

The max towing weight has to cater for the ability of the car to start on a 12% incline a number of times plus a number of other things. But as I said a caravan doesn’t behave like for example a four wheeled boat trailer or one carrying a load of cement or a couple of motorbikes. . There the CoG is low and where it’s supposed to be, and the trailer would not be as subject to disturbance as would a high sided 7-8m aluminium box which can have its load in all the wrong places, or even in the right places.

When looking at caravans please check what is included in the MIRO. My last Swift included fir one gas bottle of 10 kg total weight including gas. The EHU lead, supplied step, hose connecting aqua roll to caravan, spare wheel, makers documents and handbook. we’re in MIRO.The battery circa 23-25 kg is not included, nor is any fluid in any tank. Any post manufacture fitments such as motor mover, solar panels, side pull out awning etc all detract from payload. I dont know how you would plan to use the van, but if you have children , dogs etc 100 kg payload would not really be adequate. Given my comments about battery and mover. My last van a Sprite had 195kg with a makers upgrade of 30 kg and that was sufficient for a two week break in winter fir two of us and two dogs. If our granddaughter or grandson came on went the roof box. And we don’t live the “ high life”.

 

[Alan T]

In light of what you have all said, I will start looking at lighter caravans.
Many thanks

 

[ProfJohnL]

I agree with the advice you have received, and I think your last comment is very sensible. The 85% is only advisory but it does allude to the sensible approach of keeping trailers as small and light weight as possible.

However "safety" has a broader context. Good vehicle maintenance, and good driving habits probably have more influence than weight ratios on safety. Ultimately it down to the driver.

 

[Buckman]

As you surmise your dealer is talking rubbish. The 85% guide is just that and isn’t absolute. It’s been around for quite a while during which cars have improved their suspensions, some have trailer assist and a lot of caravans now have ATC. Certainly 2000 kg is far too high related to a caravan tow. Caravans are lightweight large boxes with pretty poor suspension and are subject to cross winds, HGV turbulence, road imperfections etc. Also the owner can very much affect the outfit performance by their loading of car and caravan and their driving characteristics.
Perhaps look at the matching site Towcar.info I find it very useful over my last three outfits.

To answer your question which is a very sensible one; you could stick rigidly to 85% but I would think going higher should not be a problem given the vehicle. How much higher, well that’s a difficult one but just over 90% shouldn’t be impossible. You may find reviews from other BMW owners. Lastly sign up to a CMHC or CCCnewbies course. Invaluable.
Good luck.

Actually if the car is capable to towing up to 2000kg the dealer is correct and not talking rubbish however from a safety point that is not recommended.

It must also be remembered that some caravan insurance companies have a clause stating that the caravan must not exceed 95% of the car's kerbweight.

As suggested use the 85% as a guideline, but there should be no issue pushing it to 90%. Just take it easy on your first couple of tows until you get used to towing.

 

[otherclive]

Actually if the car is capable to towing up to 2000kg the dealer is correct and not talking rubbish however from a safety point that is not recommended.

It must also be remembered that some caravan insurance companies have a clause stating that the caravan must not exceed 95% of the car's kerbweight.

As suggested use the 85% as a guideline, but there should be no issue pushing it to 90%. Just take it easy on your first couple of tows until you get used to towing.

This was a caravan dealer not a BMW dealer giving the advice that it could tow any single axle up to 2000kg. If as you say from a safety point of view that is not recommended then in my view the dealer is acting unprofessionally and more interested in a sale than the safety of the customer.

 

[Lutz]

Bear in mind that over on the Continent there is no such thing as a 85% recommendation and, in general, people have no qualms about towing at maximum capacity, and yet you don't see lots of wrecked caravans littering the road. However, putting things into perspective, with few exceptions, speed when towing is limited to 80km/h so that may also account for willingness to accept higher weight ratios. In Germany, 100km/h is permitted for caravans if, among fulfilment of other conditions too, the weight ratio does not exceed 100%. It's 120% for other types of trailer. If the weight ratio is any greater, the default 80km/h applies.

 

[Buckman]

This was a caravan dealer not a BMW dealer giving the advice that it could tow any single axle up to 2000kg. If as you say from a safety point of view that is not recommended then in my view the dealer is acting unprofessionally and more interested in a sale than the safety of the customer.

To be fair it is not the responsibility of the caravan dealer to determine whether a car is safe to tow as that is the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle.

However we are deracting from the OPs original question and we both agree that from a safety point the guideline is helpful, but not essential.

 

[Raywood]

This was a caravan dealer not a BMW dealer giving the advice that it could tow any single axle up to 2000kg. If as you say from a safety point of view that is not recommended then in my view the dealer is acting unprofessionally and more interested in a sale than the safety of the customer.

It can tow the caravan at the higher weights as he says, but not safely.
The aerodynamics of a caravan means that you do have to have regard for the weight ratio and personally I would not advise a beginner to exceed 90%, and a more experienced driver to pass 95%. It is all a bit theoretical, but any advice to go over 100% is potentially dangerous, I know I investigated the accidents. .

 

[Lutz]

It can tow the caravan at the higher weights as he says, but not safely.

Whether a car can tow a caravan safely is up to the driver and the road conditions. Of course an unfavourable weight ratio will place greater demands on the driver, but in the end it's the driver that will meet or not meet those demands by exercising appropriate due care and attention. It may mean, for example, that one would have drive slower than what one would normally do if the weight ratio were lower.

 

[RogerL]

Bear in mind that over on the Continent there is no such thing as a 85% recommendation and, in general, people have no qualms about towing at maximum capacity, and yet you don't see lots of wrecked caravans littering the road. However, putting things into perspective, with few exceptions, speed when towing is limited to 80km/h so that may also account for willingness to accept higher weight ratios. In Germany, 100km/h is permitted for caravans if, among fulfilment of other conditions too, the weight ratio does not exceed 100%. It's 120% for other types of trailer. If the weight ratio is any greater, the default 80km/h applies.

No 85% recommendation - but in Germany, Tempo 100 limits cars towing caravans to 80 kph (50 mph) if they exceed 80% and don't have a stabiliser and dampers.