Towing weight of a caravan
 

Hi

I am taking the delivery of a caravan this weekend.. impulse purchase!! Anyhow, Now I'm noticing that there is a max weight for the caravan I can tow.

Can anyone give advice on this please because at Gross Vehicle weight of 1,700kg is this caravan too heavy for my diesel 75? :shrug:

Alan

the 75's are all rated at 1600Kg, with a maximum noseweight of 100kg, so if you dont overload and keep your noseweight to a minimum you should be ok.

is it fitted with a stabiliser- if not, get one.

caravan weights
 

the rover will pull 1600kg .find out what the caravan weight is empty then load up to a max of 1600 ie caravan weights 1000 you can put 600 which is pots pans /awning/gas botts /etc you dont say which engine you have as 1.8 is 1200kg /2.0 1450kg/2.5-160-190+2.0 diesel 1600kg.it is best not to go to max.

Thanks for this

Sorry for sounding a bit thick.... :lol: but what's the nose weight?

And what does a stabiliser do?

the nose weight is what sits on the tow bar at front of van .i find it is easyer to put nothing in the front locker .the more weight you put on the front .the weight will bring the back end of the car lower.a staberlizer is to stop the swaying and in thery stop it tipping over

Nose wieght is the amount of wieght pressing down on the towball, the car will pull up to 1600kg but loading the caravan with most of the wieght at the front will exceed the nosewieght limit.

The stabiliser is there to lessen the amount of sideways movement of the caravan due to sidewinds and other forces.


Russ

Here you go, just click the link and all the information ref towing weights are at your finger tips.. just click the link below

http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/kerbweights.htm

Easy way to see what the nose weight is if you dont have a nose weight gauge...get a pair of bathroom scales, put a sturdy piece of timber under the caravan hitch and rest the other end on the scales.

Definately get a stabilizer worth there weight in gold also gives you peace of mind and more control over caravan should you be caught by sidewind or vortex created by lorries passing you too closely.

Heavy items should be placed on the floor over the axle of the caravan. common sence really, ensure that the caravan is sitting level i.e not nose end high or too low.

Alan,

I would recommend joining the Caravan Club - I'm a member and you will be entitled to loads of Technical Sheets which give advice on towing, loading your caravan so it's safe, setting up and breaking camp, maintaining your caravan, security etc etc. There are loads of Club sites across the UK which are well maintained and there's a monthly magazine that's full of excellent information.

My recommendations are: speak to folks who've towed caravans and can pass on handy hints, dos and don'ts (er, like us, really!), join the Club, make sure you insure the caravan (phone around), if it's second hand, get it serviced by a specialist, buy the best security measures you can (at least a wheel clamp and a hitch lock but think about tracking devices, extra locks etc.

Go for a short journey over a weekend, to get the hang of things. If you've forgotten the important equipment (like a corkscrew) you can pop home! get your confidence before setting off on a mega-tour. I'm off to France in 2 weeks and towing there is very straight-forward!

Alan, what's the make and model of the caravan? Details of weights and nose weights are often on line. If it's new and the dealer knew what car you've got, they should not have sold you one too heavy for your towcar. If they have, Trading Standards will want to know!!!

If you need more advice, just ask!

Steve

:wot::wot::wot: excellent advice.