Caravanning Now - What weight caravan can I tow?

In theory up to the maximum permitted in your handbook, which might be 200% of the unladen weight of your vehicle!

In practice however, it depends upon your experience and confidence.

There are two factors that restrict your towing weight.

The vehicle manufacturers specify a towing limit for the vehicle which you may not exceed (for example 1800kg).
The vehicle manufacturers also specify the maximum gross train weight of the vehicle again which may not be exceeded (for example 3600kg).

Therefore, using the examples above, so long as your car and caravan, in total, weighs less than 3600kg, of which, no more than 1800kg is the caravan then with a licence first issued before 1st January, 1997 or if you have passed a supplementary towing test, then you can legitimately drive the combination at 60mph on the motorway.

What the government says:

Here are the links to the government web site relating to towing weights:

http://www.dft.gov.uk (you will need to search for 'trailer weight' from here as they keep changing the links, so I cannot reliability deep-link to any specific documents).

What the National Trailer and Towing Association says:

The NTTA represents the manufacturers of Trailers and has some good solid advice regarding safe and legal towing.

http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/preparing/preparing.htm

Caravan and Towcar matching:

See http://www.whattowcar.com/

How much does my Car weigh:

See http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/kerbweights.htm or http://www.whattowcar.com for a more up to date list.

How much does my caravan weigh:

See http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/vandata.htm or http://www.whattowcar.com for a more up to date list.

For the beginner:

Find out the Kerb Weight of your tow car (it should be in the vehicle handbook, on one of the vehicle VIN plates or look on the Towsure web site) then multiply that weight by 0.85 to obtain the safe all-up or Maximum Authorised Weight (MAW) for towing (See here) and look up the weight of your caravan (See here) and make sure that the weight of the caravan is within the 85% limit.

The WhatTowCar site (www.whattowcar.com) also has a calculator.

For the expert:

If you have years of experience towing, then you can probably get away with towing at 100% of your vehicle's Kerb Weight.

Dangers of exceeding recommended weight limits.

The greatest danger of exceeding the generally recommended weight limits are:

Lack of progress.
If the weight of the towed vehicle is too much, then your towing vehicle won't have the power to make reasonable progress.
Snaking
A far greater danger than lack of progress.
This is the condition that occurs when the caravan tries to steer the car. There are several causes of snaking, the most common ones being:

Side winds, causing the caravan to be blown sideways. The natural tendency to 'follow the car' will then take over and the van will go to other side, then the wind will blow it sideways again, etc.
Over-speed. This is a common cause, who hasn't seen a van on it's side halfway down a long hill. As you crest the brow of the hill, go gently on the brakes and go down the hill at about 10 mph less than you would use on the flat. (On French Autoroutes, they speed limit caravans and lorries on downhill stretches of the Autoroute - for good reason)
Being overtaken by large vehicles such as lorries or coaches. As the large slab-sided vehicle pulls alongside your caravan and tow-car while overtaking, the airflow around the large vehicle firstly pushes your van away from it (the bow-wave), then the air pressure reduces and your van will be 'sucked' towards the large vehicle. A technique I use is that when a large vehicle is overtaking, I keep well out towards the white line, to force the large vehicle to go a little wider, then when it's about to get it's cab level with the van, I pull in towards the other white line / hard shoulder to maximise the gap.

In all cases, when snaking occurs, take your foot off of the throttle and keep it off the brakes. A gentle reduction of speed is the only recommended method of stopping the snaking.

Glossary of terms:

Kerb Weight	There are various definitions for this (EU, Government and your car manufacturer). In some cases it's the weight of your towing vehicle when ready for the road (i.e. empty of luggage, driver and passengers, but including all vehicle fluids such as oil, water, full fuel tank & washer fluid, spare tyre, tool kit, etc.). See also the note below from Barry.
Maximum permitted towing weight braked.	The vehicle manufacturers maximum permitted weight that they calculate your vehicle can tow. Note: This weight may not be legal in all countries, as some will only allow you to tow up to the 100% of the Kerb Weight. See also Max. Train Weight below.
Ex. Works Unladen Weight	The weight of your caravan, with the bits it left the factory with. Note: This excludes items like the steps, awning, water containers, fluid in the toilet cassettes, crockery, cutlery, bedding, barbecues, etc. etc.
Caravan Allowable Payload (CAP)	The amount of weight permitted by the caravan manufacturer as the payload of the caravan. This includes the gas bottles, steps, spare tyres, bedding, crocks and cutlery, bedding, clothes, water, food and everything else not built in by the manufacturer.
Max. Authorised Weight (MAW)	Ex. Works Unladen weight + CAP (see above)
Max. Permitted Nose Load or Nose Weight	The lesser of the maximum weight permitted as nose weight by the caravan manufacturer and the maximum permitted tow ball weight permitted by the car or tow bar manufacturer. This should be checked every time you connect your caravan to your tow vehicle. It is a legal requirement that the noseweight should be 4% of the weight of the trailer or at least 25kg, whichever is the higher. Note: If your car is pre-1998 and you don't know this value, it can be calculated approximately as 7% of the MAW. So if your MAW is 1,000 kg your permitted Nose load would be 1000 * 7 / 100 or 70 kg (even though the caravan manufacturer might specify a greater weight). See also http://www.practicalcaravan.com and http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/ for what the markings on type approval label mean.
Max. Train Weight (or Gross Train Weight)	This is the limit specified by your vehicle manufacturer that determines the maximum weight (of the car and the caravan) and should not be exceeded.

Notes:

From Barry Lawton re "Definition of 'kerbweight'."
Your definition is too simple. The following are extracts from EU Directives:
EU 80/1268/EEC - 6.1.1.2.
For the purposes of this Directive, "mass of the vehicle in running order" means its total unladen mass with all tanks except the fuel tank full, the fuel tank being filled to 90 % of the capacity specified by the manufacturer, and with a set of tools and the spare wheel on board. (Audi use this one in 2010 A4 brochure.)
EU 95/48/EC - 2.6.
Mass of the vehicle with bodywork in running order, or mass of the chassis with cab if the manufacturer does not fit the bodywork (including coolant, oils, fuel, tools, spare wheel and driver) (o) (maximum and minimum):
Note the difference i.e. presence, or not, of a driver and/or 90% or 100% fuel.
Total confusion for us caravanners as the difference is about 70kgs.
There is no DEFINITIVE i.e. legal definition, is there?

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