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YOUR FIRST
outandaboutlive.co.uk
How much weight can your caravan carry?
Towing mirror laws –
What’s the biggest caravan I can buy?
When choosing a caravan
think about the items you’ll
want to carry and whether
the caravan has sufficient
payload for them. Items such
as caravan movers and large
solar panels can quickly
gobble up a payload margin.
It is essential not to exceed
the caravan’s Maximum
Technical Permissible
Mass (MTPLM). On UK-
manufactured caravans this
figure is normally on a plate
attached to the side of the
caravan, usually low down
near the entrance door. It is
the maximum weight that
the caravan is designed to
take and it should never
be exceeded. Failure to
comply could mean that your
insurance company may
If you fancy buying a really
large touring caravan you
might like to know what the
size limits are. The maximum
width of any trailer towed by
a car was increased from 2.3
to 2.55 metres in April 2010,
bringing the UK in line with
the rest of Europe.
So far, few manufacturers
have produced touring
caravans of this width.
An additional stipulation on
width is that the caravan
must not extend more than
30.5cm beyond each side
of the towing vehicle.
The maximum permitted
body length of any trailer
being towed by a car in the
UK is 7 metres, excluding
the towbar, and the overall
train length of the tow car
and trailer must not exceed
18.35 metres.
refuse to pay out if you are
involved in an accident.
Don’t overload!
If your caravan is found to
weigh more than its MTPLM
at a police or VOSA roadside
check, you will be required
to offload items before being
allowed to continue your
journey. You may also receive
points on your licence and
a fine.
The weight plate on this Lunar
twin-axle caravan shows an
MTPLM of 1725kg and a Mass in
Running Order (MIRO) of 1554kg.
Subtracting one from the other
gives a payload of 171kg
Continental caravans such as
this Hobby usually put the weight
plate inside the front locker. The
figures shown here are the
MTPLM and the maximum
loading on the axle
This 2.5 metre wide Tabbert (above and below) can now legally be
towed by a car in the United Kingdom
It is a legal requirement to
have mirrors capable of
enabling you to see clearly
down the side of your
caravan to a distance of 20
metres behind the driver.
This requirement almost
invariably means that towing
mirrors must be fitted, even
on wider 4x4 vehicles. Failure
to comply can lead to a Fixed
Penalty fine (for each missing
mirror) – or, in the case of a
more serious incident, three
points on your licence and a
fine of up to £1000.
Towing mirrors fitted to
cars registered from 26
January 2010 must comply
with European Directives
2003/97 or 2005/27 or ECE
Regulation 46.02. There is
a popular misconception
that compliance with these
standards is confirmed by a
simple ‘E’ mark on the mirror.
In fact mirrors have had to
have EC type approval since
1979 to be legally used and
have carried various ‘e’ and
‘E’ marks since that date.
Compliance with the new
standards is confirmed by E
markings similar to the ones
shown here.
TOWBAR
MATTERS
Cars registered after 1 August
1998 must be fitted only with
a ‘type approved’ towbar
conforming to European
Directive 94/20/EC. As proof
of this, the towbar should be
marked with the type approval
number and the vehicle for
which it is an approved fitment.
Normally this information is
found on a label or plate but
sometimes it is stamped directly
onto the towbar.
Here is a type approval label
on a Westfalia towbar. It
shows the towbar can take a
maximum vertical load
noseweight) of 150kg
