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Topic: tow weight

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Neil63

28/2/2015 at 9:14am
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Hi all,
After reading about 1,000,000 posts about max tow weights for a car, I believe this to be correct.

Looking at the Skoda Octavia as an example.
Kerbweight = 1292kg therefore 85% = 1098kg MPTLM of the caravan.

So my question is "what does the braked towing weight of 1800kgs refer to"?

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kazo2014

28/2/2015 at 9:29am
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from what I can gather of skodas weird and wonderful ways, it seems to refer to the max the manufacturers made the car capable of towing, not that it has anything to do with what is actually legal to tow!

billy

28/2/2015 at 9:41am
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It would be legal to tow up to 1800kg provided you kept within car gross train weight limit but not advisable with a caravan of that weight due to large side area subject to cross winds. The max tow weight given is a technical figure based on ability of car to tow. Manufacturer technical spec is not advice on safe towing or driving.

The advice can be simplified down to it being safer to have loaded caravan somewhat lighter than than loaded towcar. That is good advice but to stay legal you only need to keep within manufacturer weight limits & licence law.

kazo2014

28/2/2015 at 10:31am
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sorry cant agree, esp if using that link from another post by a well known skoda salesman that regularly shouts the virtues of skodas on here! in that link he gave, it claims that a skoda yeti is capable of towing 2000kg! on a car that will weigh in no where near that weight I think they are a total of around 1400kgs on the road? so in other words towing over the max weight of the car which anybody knows is both illegal and a stupid thing to do,

paul.jolley

28/2/2015 at 10:50am
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Quote: Originally posted by kazo2014 on 28/2/2015from what I can gather of skodas weird and wonderful ways, it seems to refer to the max the manufacturers made the car capable of towing, not that it has anything to do with what is actually legal to tow!

It is very confusing - I'm considering getting a van next year and I think I have figured out what the law and safe limits mean for me.

My interpretation is that the manufacturer states a limit that the car can pull up an incline - 12% possibly - and, I assume, the chassis is designed to pull.

However, there is an often quoted 'safe' trailer weight which is 85% of the cars kerb weight. I assume this is as a guide for those new to towing, but does get challenged because it was created for previous car generations.

I have a pre 97 license, my car is 1900KG and plated towing limit is 2000KG with a gross train weight limit of 4400KG. Legally, I can tow a trailer up to 2000KG - but there is a generally accepted 'safety' factor of 85% of your cars kerb weight - so trailer should be around 1600KG if you are new to towing.

billy

28/2/2015 at 11:18am
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It is important that accurate information is posted on here. Posters need to understand the difference between technical max weights & towing safety. 2litre diesel Yeti 4x4 for example has max tow weight of 2100kg & max gross weight of 2110kg, as no separate gross train weight is quoted then train weight would be 4210kg & you would be legal to this weight with correct licence.

The usual advice given by 'Boab' is fairly typical of unscrupulous car & caravan salespeople wishing to make a sale with no regard for road safety as they are not actually suggesting any practise that would be against the law.

However, separate advice for towing caravans as mentioned in op exists & should be used as a guide. The use of words like 'stupid' & also 'illegal' when facts have not been researched is counter productive.

Neil63

28/2/2015 at 11:19am
Location: Lincoln
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I have just looked at my VIN plate and there are four weights written on it, they are as follows
2020kg
3520kg
1- 980kg
2- 1060kg
Can someone tell me what these figures relate to please.
My guess is
2020 kg - max car weight (including passengers, luggage etc)
3520kg - max train weight Combined weight of car + caravan
not sure what the bottom two numbers relate to.

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billy

28/2/2015 at 11:26am
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The bottom 2 are max weights of front & rear axles. these weights can be measured by driving across an axle weigher. It would be possible to exceed rear axle weight with heavily laden car even with correct caravan noseweight.

Once you start loading vehicles to their maximum you run up against these problems, which brings us neatly back to the sensible suggestion of having caravan somewhat lighter than car.

Post last edited on 28/02/2015 12:44:03

madasaman

28/2/2015 at 11:28am
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doesn't your hand book give the details of your vin plate? and what the different weights are

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Neil63

28/2/2015 at 11:46am
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Hi madasaman I've looked at the handbook and it confuses me even more with different figures. It tells me laden car as 2020kgs which matches the above then it tells me I can tow 1200kg braked which matches none of the above figures. DOH!

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janus

28/2/2015 at 11:59am
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Quote: Originally posted by kazo2014 on 28/2/2015
sorry cant agree, esp if using that link from another post by a well known skoda salesman that regularly shouts the virtues of skodas on here! in that link he gave, it claims that a skoda yeti is capable of towing 2000kg! on a car that will weigh in no where near that weight I think they are a total of around 1400kgs on the road? so in other words towing over the max weight of the car which anybody knows is both illegal and a stupid thing to do,

Towing over the cars kerbweight is not illegal for anybody as long as they abide by the weight restrictions on the weight plate of the car and the licence restrictions of their licence. Whether it is wise is another thing.

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Bill

For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013

Mondeo Titanium 140 tdci

billy

28/2/2015 at 12:45pm
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Versions of same car with higher power engines will have higher tow weights but suggestion of 85% weight of kerbweight for caravan remains the same. To confuse you further some cars with low power or 'eco' engines will have max tow of less than 85% of kerbweight weight.

Its possible your handbook my not correspond to exact date of model of your car so go on info on vin plate & also V5 doc which should state max tow weight.

Octavia4x4

28/2/2015 at 3:34pm
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My 2012 Octavia Estate 4x4 has a mass in service of 1,495kg (V5C) with a tow limit of 1,600kg. The 2014/15 model is about 50kg lighter with a tow limit of 2,000kg.

Local dealer wanted me to trade mine in for the new model and he was so happy to tell me that it will tow anything!!!

The handbook is very clear, it states the kerbweight includes 90% tank of fuel and driver 75kg, yet in the technical section of the book, there is no reference to kerbweight only 'unloaded weight ready for work'! which is 1,495kg same as the V5C

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Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0TDi 4x4 (2012) towing a Compass Omega 482 (2014)

ROG.

28/2/2015 at 5:32pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Octavia4x4 on 28/2/2015
My 2012 Octavia Estate 4x4 has a mass in service of 1,495kg (V5C) with a tow limit of 1,600kg. The 2014/15 model is about 50kg lighter with a tow limit of 2,000kg.

Local dealer wanted me to trade mine in for the new model and he was so happy to tell me that it will tow anything!!!

This has been the general trend for many years - better designed vehicles capable of towing greater weights

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navver

28/2/2015 at 9:15pm
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The makers will quote a max tow weigh for braked trailer but will usually qualify this that the gross train weight must not be exceeded.

Although this may seem to be confusing it is very sensible.

If you buy a caravan of the quoted max tow then think you can put all the heavy kit in the car along with 3 kids, roof box and bike rack on the back and then tow it because you haven't exceeded the max tow right, you are wrong.

It doesn't matter whether the weight is in the car or the caravan. It is the gross train weight (combined weight of loaded car and caravan) which counts.

Clearly the individual car axle weights are important as well. This stops you loading all the heavy kit in the boot and putting the max nose weight on the back.

Common sense really.

tango55

28/2/2015 at 9:51pm
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Each vehicle chassis is designed in different ways and extensively tested for it's maximum towing capability before the towbar frame is wrenched from it's mountings. This figure is then stated as the vehicle's maximum safe towing limit but under no circumstances does it mean that the a match is safe. It's nothing to do with safe towing at all, it's just a figure that the manufactuter has to provide by law if the vehicle can legally have a towbar fitted. If the vehicle is not designed for towing such as a sports version then most likely there are no figures supplied because the vehicle manufacturer doesn't allow a towbar to be fitted due to it's lightweight design etc.

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