towing weight (unbraked)
 

Being new to caravaning, not having bought one yet, I am still learning, and would like to know what towing weight (unbraked) means, Ij assume all modern caravans have a braking mechanism? :shrug:

Yes, most if not all caravans have brakes. Unbraked relates to small trailers, the capacity is lighter as it relies on the cars brakes only

unbraked, no brakes fitted to towed item.
braked, brakes fitted to towed item

probably all caravans in the last 40 years have brakes, not sure about trailer tents or pop up caravans or a mini caravan more 1 person size

the weights may also be based upon when you passed your driving test.
in this case Google will be your friend

macafee2

Thanks macafee2, the wife's looking at caravans at the moment ,lol.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

check all sorts of layouts, end bedroom, end bathroom, centre bathroom.
if going second hand try to take a test meter, new van, old van makes no difference both can suffer from damp.
Think about what facilities you want in the caravan
Check the fridge works on 12v, 240v and gas if it has the facility to work on all 3 but check it works.
Water heater again check it works on gas and 240v as well as any heater

make sure it has a suitable spare wheel and it is recommended tyres are change at 5 years even if in good condition.

How does the caravan with legs wound up ( not on the ground), is it square or leaning?

Almost anything you need that is required on the outside of the caravan can be purchased second hand, awning, water butt, electric lead.... get a long one.

motor mover. not an essential but depending on weight of van, type of pitch and you and your wifes fitness these can be a must. we are on our 3rd van, it is bigger and heavier then those before and we had a mover fitted.

macafee2

The maximum weight you can tow will be around 1450kg, as that is the kerbweight of the car. As a novice to towing, I would recommend doing a caravan manoeuvering course, offered by the Caravan Club, Camping and Caravanning Club, and various driver training organisations. The recommendations for an inexperienced tower, are the loaded weight of the caravan (MTPLM); should not exceed .85% of the tow car’s kerbweight. EDIT from one PCV driver to a former one, you should not need to do the course, as driving buses is similar to caravan towing, same speed limits on single and dual carriageways, same rules apply when cornering, eg, you need to keep to the white line on left turns lol. Its still worth doing though, as I had towed bike trailers for years,and worked for a farm trailer company for a while,and had been driving buss for 4 years when I did the course. but doing It did teach me things I didnt know. You may also get a discount on your insurance(caravan); if you complete a c m course.

Keith is a former bus driver Ian, so no problem there.;)

Motor movers are great, but they add about 30/40 kg on to the weight of your caravan empty,mthus reducing your load capacity. EG empty weight of caravan withiut mover 1050 kg, MTPLM(loaded weght 1250 kg, so a load of 200 kg can be safely applied, with a mover fitted, this weight reduces to 160 kg. The above is just an example to try and explain what I mean. I have been caravan ing for 11 years now, so if you want any info, feel free to drop me a pm.

Why is that? Cars braked towing capacity is 1600kg so that is the most he can tow. The only thing that will limit the towing capacity is license. If it was obtained after 97 then the car and caravan will have to weigh less than 3500kg

As stated though, those with little or no towing experience the caravan should weigh a max 85% of car but don't forget, driver + passenger + luggage will be in the region of 1700kg so a caravan upto 1445kg will be OK.

agree they add weight but and its a big but it may be the only way some people can move their van as they are just to heavy to push.
we have to take ours along a gravel drive, jockey wheel sinks in. Over a man hole, if we stop we cant push van over manhole. Storage space is very tight, van at times is only a couple on inches from scraping front and opposite side at same time.

Can also help with getting van on and off a pitch as there may not be enough space for car to remain hitched to van.

it is a trade off but as we travel light we can afford the weight of a motor mover. We were 15 plus years without one but the other two vans were smaller and lighter

macafee2

There is some confusion over towing capacity and kerbweight Reece, I dont know wny, but I have been told that you can only go on the kerbweight of the towing vehicle.:shrug: