towing weights??

[mat osborn]

looking to buy a caravan and tow with my 2005 1.8 veccy.recommended max weight is 1400kg braked but would the car feel comfortable at this weight if not anyone recommended a comfortable weight to aim for thanks in advance

[Big Sig]

Have a look HERE

Input your car and caravan and it will give you a match ratio etc

[solorider]

the max towing weight is worked out on the ability of the car to tow at a certain gradient at a certain altitude,in most cases most cars will happily tow more,as the towing weight is on the log book you should idealy keep under this,incuding any extras that will be in the caravan,also keep an eye on the nose weight which i can confirm when i get home

[67688c]

Both the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravan Club strongly recommend you keep within the 85% limit. The legal limit is 100% but only a fool would run a rig at this figure on a regular basis.

The guideline of 85% has been in place for many years, deeming it unsafe or unwise to go above it, I'm sure many will say they tow safely with a higher ratio, thats their choice. (at present) However the government are considering lowering it to 90% at some time in the future. Whether they do or not remains to be seen, but with the support of the 2 big clubs and police backing the change, it could well happen.

According to the CC, more importantly insurance companies are taking a stance too against drivers who flout the recommended weights especially if the rig is involved in a serious accident. The police too (same feature in CC mag) are doing more spot checks on towing outfits, ie. taking the outfit to a weighbridge to assertain weights, again their guidline is 85%.

Its also worth taking the CC towing caravan course, I thought it was well worth the small amount it cost, when I took it a few years ago. We sold our caravan last year, but still receive the clubs magazines.