outandaboutlive.co.uk
YOUR FIRST
3
supportedby
Finding a caravan that’s of a suitable weight for your towcar is just a matter
of straightforward maths, but be aware of some important guidelines
CAN I TOW ?
P
erhaps one of the
most fundamental
considerations is what
sort of caravan you can safely
tow. If you are lucky enough
to have a substantial 4x4
or large estate car, you will
probably be able to tow the
majority of tourers available in
the UK, but if your car is more
modest, you’ll need to work
out what it can pull.
The key figures here are
your car’s
kerbweight
and
the caravan’s
Maximum
Technically Permissible
Laden Mass (MTPLM)
. You
should never tow a caravan
TOWING
ADVICE
TOWCAR
CARAVAN
Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec
Elddis Xplore 302
Kerbweight
1276kg (
85%
1085kg)
MTPLM
950kg
Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CDTi
Bailey Orion 460-5
Kerbweight
1613kg (
85%
1371kg)
MTPLM
1332kg
BMW 525D SE
Lunar Quasar 556
Kerbweight
1790kg (
85%
1522kg)
MTPLM
1442kg
Honda CRV 2.2 iDTEC
Swift Charisma 560
Kerbweight
1773kg (
85%
1507kg)
MTPLM
1450kg
Land Rover Discovery 3.0 SDV6
Coachman Laser 640/4
Kerbweight
2476kg (
85%
2105kg)
MTPLM
1810kg
that, when fully laden, weighs
more than the kerbweight
of your car – it’s dangerous.
Ideally, the fully laden caravan
should weigh 85% of your
car’s kerbweight.
Below are some ideal
matches from
Caravan
magazine’s regular car and
caravan matcher pages.
Finally, if you passed your
driving test after January 1997
and you want to tow a heavy
car and caravan combination,
you may need to pass an
extra test. For the complete
low-down, visit
direct.gov.uk
and search for ‘towing’.
HOWBIG A CARAVAN
