Brilliant - thanks Mark. We are about to embark on our first caravan purchase and goodness there are so many other things to think about - this being one. You explained this really well so thanks for that.
Hi Mark, I’ve just have a ‘conversation’ with someone who is saying that the total permissible braked trailer weight as stated in the V5, and in the handbook, is Not the legal limit that can be towed by the vehicle, and as long as the gross train weight is not exceeded you can ‘borrow’ weight from the tow vehicle if it is not fully laden and add it to the trailer or caravan. You can then exceed the total braked trailer weight of the vehicle as stated on the v5 and in the handbook. Not that you’d want to do this, but the point is that the maximum tow weight limit in the v5 is not the legal limit, in law, as I assumed and it sounds like you do as well??
Hi, yes I believe the law states that as long as the vehicle isn't overloaded (gross weight) and the caravan isn't overloaded then it's legal, so in theory a mini could tow a twin axle. But from a safety side I always say to work from the cars mass in service vs MTPLM. I believe from an insurance point they would say the insurance was invalid if the max towing weight was exceeded too. It's a bit of a grey area. hope you are doing well 👍
@@thecaravanplace yes, I advise the same thing, just always thought you couldn’t exceed the total permissible braked trailer weight with the MTPLM, you think know it all, every day is a school day! Yes doing okay, it sounds like I’m similar to you, I stopped doing new last year thank god, and I own everything I’ve got on the forecourt. Just hope it picks up next year.
@@thecaravanplace fingers bloody crossed that’s for sure, like I think you said, reckon they might be a few more dealers packing up if it doesn’t. Just a thought, have you listened to caravan radio yet?
Thanks for the detailed information. Do you know why on my V5, the Max permissible mass , braked , unbraked are all left blank. Where should I contact to get more information? Thanks
Just one question I have for my circumstance. My cars towing limit is 1.2 tonne. If I got a caravan with a MTPLM of 1.3 tone but a mass in running order of 1.15 tonne. As long as I don’t exceed 1.2 tonne with my additional load in the caravan. am I legal to tow it. Or because the caravan can go up to 1.3 tonne (even if I don’t get up to that limit) does that make it illegal to tow. Thanks
You have to go of the MTPLM unfortunately, you could change the weight plate and down grade the maximum weight. But if it's then overweight you are in the same problem with the police.
Hi Mark Great, useful video. I look in to buy a caravan and have an Audi 2L SLINE event estate automatic. Are automatics okay with towing? And my mass in service says 1605, so am I right saying I could have a caravan to a max weight of 1356.25kg?
Hi we are just looking to buy our first caravan but don't know what to get and what we can tow We have xc90 volvo and looking to buy 4 or 6 berth caravan
Hi, pretty much all the single axle caravans and a lot of the twin axle caravans. You should have a maximum braked trailer weight of about 2200kg. So anything upto around 1800kg mtplm on the caravan is nice and easy for your car and you.
Hi Mark sorry to bother you, stressing out now about weights etc. We have an Audi SQ5 2020 version, on V5 our Max Permissible is 2625, Mass in Service is 2118 and lastly Braked is 2400. We are thinking of buying a Swift Challenger 670 Grande SE, which has a weight plate of MRO 1683 and MTPLM is 1863 which we are upgrading to a MTPLM of 2000, can you please help, we will never use the 2000kg but at least it’s there as an option. So with all that in mind what would our max weight allowance be for pulling legally, so we don’t over step it? A good tip I heard, once you purchase a caravan weigh everything going in 😊
Hi Your legal weight is the 2400kg, Max braked trailer weight. The car empty will always be more than the 2000kg, so by the time you put stuff in the car you will be running about 85% of the car weight so it's a nice match. Hole this helps.
@@thecaravanplace Thank you, keep up the great work with YT, these type of helpful videos are fantastic for novice caravaners like my self. Yes that’s right this will be my first caravan, pulled a 750kg trailer but this will be my first caravan. To say I’m a tad nervous is an understatement, but you only live once 🫣😂
1300Kg is a safe weight realistically. Your vehicle can tow more than this. BUT if you have not towed before it's a good idea to keep a nice margin under the mass is service weight. This means no matter what the situation your vehicle is always a bit heavier than the caravan and means it should never become unsafe or heavier than the car weight. Hope this helps.
hi Mark, if someone is towing an empty caravan to move it from A to B, surely its legal to if the miro doesnt exceed the empty weight of the car and the braked towing limit? If the caravan is empty, the miro can be used instead of mtplm ? many thanks
Unfortunately the police and insurance work on the MTPLM, I had this argument that surely, it should be on actual weight. But legally it is worked from MTPLM. 👍
hi Mark, i phoned insurance and they said the caravan when fully laden cant exceed the kerb weight of the car, she interprets this as being the actual weight of the caravan, not the mptlm. My light estate can only handle 1200kg, and weighs the same, and the miro of the twin axle caravan im selecting is 1180kg, so if its empty, this doesnt contravene what she said, ive followed up with an email. Do you know which gov organisation can clarify, the police merely guess at how the courts will interpret legislation, and its down to the courts at the end of the day, the insurance contact never mentioned anything about 85% so this must be advisory not legally required. I would think the police could only charge with a formal weighbridge calculation, no? Someother caravan orgaisations ive asked said if you take bits out of the caravan you can even have a car with kerb weight less than the miro....
I think if you can get something in writing from the insurance company this should do. Actual law is, that as long as the car isn't overloaded and the caravan isn't overloaded then you aren't breaking the law. But it is a very grey area and they seem to change the rules to suit. It's when something happens that you need to have covered your back. So something in writing from the insurance should do. At worst case hire a pickup and use that to tow if its just once.
Hi, have a check on your v5 at mass in service and also braked trailer weight, mass in service is weight of car, and braked trailer weight is the max you are allowed to tow. Let me know what these figures are and we can piint you in the right direction.
@@thecaravanplace hi the mass in service weight is 1431 and the braked trailer weight is 1000 i think that means 1000 kg is the towable limit would this be correct thanks
Hi. I've subbed to your channel and I'm slowly going through your videos and came across thhis one. I'm wanting to move from camping to caravanning. I've been looking into a new daily user car and I've decided on a Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DIG-T 160 Tekna+ manual. I cant find the mass in service for this vehicle anywhere. But I found the curb weight, which is 1375. The gross weight is 1870. It's Max Trailer Load, braked is 1500 if these help. I'd got my heart and budget set on either a 2016 Bailey Unicorn Seville, or a Bailey Pegasus Genoa gt65 or gt70. Would these two be ok with the Qashqai? Thanks in advance
Hi, thanks 😊, it says you are able to tow 1500kg legally. But the car is only 1375 so the caravan could be heavier if you went for a caravan over 1375kg MTPLM on the caravan. Ideally you would want a caravan with a MTPLM of 1300kg which would keep you safe at all times. You want the car empty to be heavier than the caravan when its loaded so you know the car is always in control of the caravan. Hope this helps.
Thank you Mark. The SUV we are looking at(on the V5) has a Mass in Service of 1752. Max Permissable Mass 2352 and Braked Weight 2500. The MTPLM of the Caravan is 1800kg and MIRO 1610kg. We are getting conflicting info and very confused. Please help - is this safe to tow ? Many thanks
Hi, yes its a tricky one, its legal as the 1800kg is less than your braked trailer weight. Its also do able and experienced towers wouldnt think twice about it. If your new to towing then you just need to be aware that if the caravan is full then its going to be pretty much the same as the car if you don't have much in the car. If it was me I would keep the bare essentials in the caravan and any heavy equipment keep in the car. You just want to get the weight of the car up to be heavier than the caravan in all situations, so if just 1 person collected the caravan from storage and the caravan was full and you had nothing in the car, then you just need to be very careful. As long as you understand this you should be ok just keep as much weight in the car. Hope this helps.
@@thecaravanplace Thank you Mark, this has made it much easier for us to understand. Just wanted to add that we had previously checked with a recognised 'Club' and was told it wasn't a match. However, we put in all the info on Tow Car info and got it to 87% with 300kg in the car and 100kg in the caravan, with us obviously being aware of very careful loading etc., We also noticed on Tow Car Info that the figures down at the bottom of the page ie: the MTPLM were incorrect and showed 2000kg and the MIRO of 1710kg. So you can see why we are confused. Is it that the website isn't working correctly or doesn't have our particular model of Caravan with exact weights ? Or are we missing something ? We've recently sold our Motorhome so are aware of careful loading limits. But we are still a little nervous of having this combo of Car with caravan. Please can you help ?
Hi I have a b licence a 1.0 tsi se vw t roc max mass 1780kgs mass in service 1270 can pull a braked 1300kgs little confused on all this maths so what caravan weight could I drive with this? Thanks.
Well in theory your 1780 (car) + 1300 (caravan) =3080kg so under 3500kg. I would be looking for a caravan of about 1100-1200kg max weight just to keep you safe on the road. You always want the car heavier than the caravan max weight. You could go upto 1300kg but make sure you keep a good amount of weight in the car to make sure the car is heavier than the caravan. Hope this helps.
Hi, my logbook says revenue weight 2180kg gross. Mass in service 1730 - braked 1800 I've found it a bit confusing what is the max weight I can tow. Could you help please? Thankyou
Ideally about 1500-1600kg roughly for the caravan MTPLM. This will keep you nice and safe on the road. You can go upto 1800kg Mtplm on the caravan but the car and caravan will be about the same weight as each other, so a bit more dangerous if not towed before. Hope this helps.
Brilliant - thanks Mark. We are about to embark on our first caravan purchase and goodness there are so many other things to think about - this being one. You explained this really well so thanks for that.
Thank you. Its a difficult one to try and explain so glad it's made sense.
Hi Mark, I’ve just have a ‘conversation’ with someone who is saying that the total permissible braked trailer weight as stated in the V5, and in the handbook, is Not the legal limit that can be towed by the vehicle, and as long as the gross train weight is not exceeded you can ‘borrow’ weight from the tow vehicle if it is not fully laden and add it to the trailer or caravan. You can then exceed the total braked trailer weight of the vehicle as stated on the v5 and in the handbook. Not that you’d want to do this, but the point is that the maximum tow weight limit in the v5 is not the legal limit, in law, as I assumed and it sounds like you do as well??
Hi, yes I believe the law states that as long as the vehicle isn't overloaded (gross weight) and the caravan isn't overloaded then it's legal, so in theory a mini could tow a twin axle. But from a safety side I always say to work from the cars mass in service vs MTPLM. I believe from an insurance point they would say the insurance was invalid if the max towing weight was exceeded too. It's a bit of a grey area. hope you are doing well 👍
@@thecaravanplace yes, I advise the same thing, just always thought you couldn’t exceed the total permissible braked trailer weight with the MTPLM, you think know it all, every day is a school day! Yes doing okay, it sounds like I’m similar to you, I stopped doing new last year thank god, and I own everything I’ve got on the forecourt. Just hope it picks up next year.
@@atlanticcaravansUKDefinitely 👍
I think once we get into January, everyone will have forgotten about the budget and we can get back to normal ish 😂 👍
@@thecaravanplace fingers bloody crossed that’s for sure, like I think you said, reckon they might be a few more dealers packing up if it doesn’t. Just a thought, have you listened to caravan radio yet?
Thanks for the detailed information. Do you know why on my V5, the Max permissible mass , braked , unbraked are all left blank. Where should I contact to get more information? Thanks
Hi I would try the car dealer, they should be able to give you the information.
Just one question I have for my circumstance. My cars towing limit is 1.2 tonne. If I got a caravan with a MTPLM of 1.3 tone but a mass in running order of 1.15 tonne. As long as I don’t exceed 1.2 tonne with my additional load in the caravan. am I legal to tow it. Or because the caravan can go up to 1.3 tonne (even if I don’t get up to that limit) does that make it illegal to tow. Thanks
You have to go of the MTPLM unfortunately, you could change the weight plate and down grade the maximum weight. But if it's then overweight you are in the same problem with the police.
Hi Mark
Great, useful video. I look in to buy a caravan and have an Audi 2L SLINE event estate automatic. Are automatics okay with towing? And my mass in service says 1605, so am I right saying I could have a caravan to a max weight of 1356.25kg?
Auto should be fine for towing, we have never had any issues. Just check your max braked weight also but 1400kg should be no problems.
Hi we are just looking to buy our first caravan but don't know what to get and what we can tow
We have xc90 volvo and looking to buy 4 or 6 berth caravan
Hi, pretty much all the single axle caravans and a lot of the twin axle caravans. You should have a maximum braked trailer weight of about 2200kg. So anything upto around 1800kg mtplm on the caravan is nice and easy for your car and you.
@@thecaravanplace thank you for such a quick response
Do you have a caravan in your little store 🙂 up to £11.000 (4 berth with fix bed )?
Hi Mark sorry to bother you, stressing out now about weights etc.
We have an Audi SQ5 2020 version, on V5 our Max Permissible is 2625, Mass in Service is 2118 and lastly Braked is 2400.
We are thinking of buying a Swift Challenger 670 Grande SE, which has a weight plate of MRO 1683 and MTPLM is 1863 which we are upgrading to a MTPLM of 2000, can you please help, we will never use the 2000kg but at least it’s there as an option.
So with all that in mind what would our max weight allowance be for pulling legally, so we don’t over step it?
A good tip I heard, once you purchase a caravan weigh everything going in 😊
Hi Your legal weight is the 2400kg, Max braked trailer weight. The car empty will always be more than the 2000kg, so by the time you put stuff in the car you will be running about 85% of the car weight so it's a nice match. Hole this helps.
@@thecaravanplace Thank you, keep up the great work with YT, these type of helpful videos are fantastic for novice caravaners like my self. Yes that’s right this will be my first caravan, pulled a 750kg trailer but this will be my first caravan. To say I’m a tad nervous is an understatement, but you only live once 🫣😂
Hi Mark
Mass weight 1975
Mass in service 1395
Braked is 1600
So being safe what’s the weight I can handle please and thank you
1300Kg is a safe weight realistically. Your vehicle can tow more than this. BUT if you have not towed before it's a good idea to keep a nice margin under the mass is service weight. This means no matter what the situation your vehicle is always a bit heavier than the caravan and means it should never become unsafe or heavier than the car weight. Hope this helps.
hi Mark, if someone is towing an empty caravan to move it from A to B, surely its legal to if the miro doesnt exceed the empty weight of the car and the braked towing limit? If the caravan is empty, the miro can be used instead of mtplm ? many thanks
Unfortunately the police and insurance work on the MTPLM, I had this argument that surely, it should be on actual weight. But legally it is worked from MTPLM. 👍
hi Mark, i phoned insurance and they said the caravan when fully laden cant exceed the kerb weight of the car, she interprets this as being the actual weight of the caravan, not the mptlm. My light estate can only handle 1200kg, and weighs the same, and the miro of the twin axle caravan im selecting is 1180kg, so if its empty, this doesnt contravene what she said, ive followed up with an email. Do you know which gov organisation can clarify, the police merely guess at how the courts will interpret legislation, and its down to the courts at the end of the day, the insurance contact never mentioned anything about 85% so this must be advisory not legally required. I would think the police could only charge with a formal weighbridge calculation, no? Someother caravan orgaisations ive asked said if you take bits out of the caravan you can even have a car with kerb weight less than the miro....
I think if you can get something in writing from the insurance company this should do. Actual law is, that as long as the car isn't overloaded and the caravan isn't overloaded then you aren't breaking the law. But it is a very grey area and they seem to change the rules to suit. It's when something happens that you need to have covered your back. So something in writing from the insurance should do. At worst case hire a pickup and use that to tow if its just once.
Hi can you tell me what the max towing weight caravan i can pull with a 2012 1.6 petrol ford cmax titanium thanks
Hi, have a check on your v5 at mass in service and also braked trailer weight, mass in service is weight of car, and braked trailer weight is the max you are allowed to tow. Let me know what these figures are and we can piint you in the right direction.
@@thecaravanplace hi the mass in service weight is 1431 and the braked trailer weight is 1000 i think that means 1000 kg is the towable limit would this be correct thanks
Hi. I've subbed to your channel and I'm slowly going through your videos and came across thhis one. I'm wanting to move from camping to caravanning. I've been looking into a new daily user car and I've decided on a Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DIG-T 160 Tekna+ manual. I cant find the mass in service for this vehicle anywhere. But I found the curb weight, which is 1375. The gross weight is 1870. It's Max Trailer Load, braked is 1500 if these help.
I'd got my heart and budget set on either a 2016 Bailey Unicorn Seville, or a Bailey Pegasus Genoa gt65 or gt70. Would these two be ok with the Qashqai? Thanks in advance
Hi, thanks 😊, it says you are able to tow 1500kg legally. But the car is only 1375 so the caravan could be heavier if you went for a caravan over 1375kg MTPLM on the caravan. Ideally you would want a caravan with a MTPLM of 1300kg which would keep you safe at all times. You want the car empty to be heavier than the caravan when its loaded so you know the car is always in control of the caravan. Hope this helps.
@@thecaravanplace Thank you 👍🏻
Thank you Mark. The SUV we are looking at(on the V5) has a Mass in Service of 1752. Max Permissable Mass 2352 and Braked Weight 2500. The MTPLM of the Caravan is 1800kg and MIRO 1610kg. We are getting conflicting info and very confused. Please help - is this safe to tow ? Many thanks
Hi, yes its a tricky one, its legal as the 1800kg is less than your braked trailer weight. Its also do able and experienced towers wouldnt think twice about it. If your new to towing then you just need to be aware that if the caravan is full then its going to be pretty much the same as the car if you don't have much in the car. If it was me I would keep the bare essentials in the caravan and any heavy equipment keep in the car. You just want to get the weight of the car up to be heavier than the caravan in all situations, so if just 1 person collected the caravan from storage and the caravan was full and you had nothing in the car, then you just need to be very careful. As long as you understand this you should be ok just keep as much weight in the car. Hope this helps.
@@thecaravanplace Thank you Mark, this has made it much easier for us to understand. Just wanted to add that we had previously checked with a recognised 'Club' and was told it wasn't a match. However, we put in all the info on Tow Car info and got it to 87% with 300kg in the car and 100kg in the caravan, with us obviously being aware of very careful loading etc., We also noticed on Tow Car Info that the figures down at the bottom of the page ie: the MTPLM were incorrect and showed 2000kg and the MIRO of 1710kg. So you can see why we are confused. Is it that the website isn't working correctly or doesn't have our particular model of Caravan with exact weights ? Or are we missing something ? We've recently sold our Motorhome so are aware of careful loading limits. But we are still a little nervous of having this combo of Car with caravan. Please can you help ?
Hi I have a b licence a 1.0 tsi se vw t roc max mass 1780kgs mass in service 1270 can pull a braked 1300kgs little confused on all this maths so what caravan weight could I drive with this? Thanks.
Well in theory your 1780 (car) + 1300 (caravan) =3080kg so under 3500kg. I would be looking for a caravan of about 1100-1200kg max weight just to keep you safe on the road. You always want the car heavier than the caravan max weight. You could go upto 1300kg but make sure you keep a good amount of weight in the car to make sure the car is heavier than the caravan. Hope this helps.
@@thecaravanplace thanks so much for the reply. Appreciate it.
Hi, my logbook says revenue weight 2180kg gross. Mass in service 1730 - braked 1800
I've found it a bit confusing what is the max weight I can tow.
Could you help please?
Thankyou
Ideally about 1500-1600kg roughly for the caravan MTPLM. This will keep you nice and safe on the road. You can go upto 1800kg Mtplm on the caravan but the car and caravan will be about the same weight as each other, so a bit more dangerous if not towed before. Hope this helps.
@The Caravan Place thankyou for a really fast reply, helped no end 👍👍👍
What if my caravan is 4kg over weight, am i still ok to tow it?
If my car max permissible mass 3500kg with drive license category BE
So helpful, thanks
👍