just purchased our first caravan, an avondale perle ibiza.
ive just had a bar installed on my 2005 avensis 2.0 petrol and plan to tow my van with it. i have a b licence issued in 2002 the avondale is 849kg and total cap 1100kg the car is 1400kg can i just check i can legally tow this combination. ive got the towing mirrors, and insured the van and added the towbar to my car insurance for third party cover. is there anything else i need before i set out on my adventures?
You need to know the max weight your car can tow and ensure that the caravan MTPLM is below that.You need also to add the max gross weight of your car to the MTPLM of the caravan, if the total is under 3500kg your licence cover you.
Yes, the Avensis has a towball weight limit of 75 kgs. so you need a caravan noseweight gauge and ensure that the noseweight doesn't exceed that limit which ideally you need to aim for around 70 kgs. You need the weight for stability reasons as the damper behing the hitch compresses and operates the caravan brakes. Too heavy and it will affect the steering and too light could possibly cause a snaking effect. Make sure you also load the caravan correctly too.
Aim for 75kg noseweight, and your Avensis will be fine to tow that caravan with a B licence. The licence condition is that the plated max weight of the caravan plus the plated max weight of the car must not exceed 3500kg which with that caravan would allow you to use a car that had a max weight of 2400kg. Your Avensis is nowhere near this. Be aware that the Avensis that you have is restricted to a max tow of 1300kg by Toyota.
------------- 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
with regards to loading the van suitcases go in the boot of the car, the only thing in the van really is an empty water carrier, the gas bottle and the battery which are in their storage compartments
If you weigh all the stuff in the caravan such as hook up lead, crockery, cooking utensils, food, waste container, bedding,chairs and awning, you'll be surprised how much weight you are carrying.
The gas cylinders alone can influence the noseweight as I had to convert from 2 x steel propane cylinders to Calorlite ones which are half the weight to meet the required 75 kgs. weight limit.