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 Topic: Looking for some towcar recommendations
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23/7/2018 at 1:48pm
Location: Midlands
Outfit: 2019 VW Arteon + 2002 Avondale Dart
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Look at 'family estate' cars such as VW Passat, Ford Mondeo, Skoda Superb, Audi A4 etc, but as Navver says, if you're looking for a caravan with a MTPLM of up to 1400kg you're going to be sailing close to the wind with a 'Category B' licence.
Taking as an example the Passat estate 2.0 TDI (2015-present) - partly because I have one so it's easy for me to check the weights and partly because it's a brilliant car both towing and solo driving. In automatic guise its MAM is 2180kg, meaning that the MTPLM of your chosen caravan would need to be 1320kg or less in order for your wife to be able to tow it legally.
It's important to note that licence requirements are based on maximum weight capacities and NOT actual weights.
The '85% recommendation' is a lot more vague. Both of the main caravanning clubs recommend that the ACTUAL towed weight (note: not necessarily the MTPLM) should not exceed 85% for those new to towing, but that this ratio can be increased to 100% for "experienced" caravanners. Define "experienced"? That's a genuine suggestion, because nobody else has.
This recommendation has no legal basis and is based, as far as I can tell, on very limited research that is now several decades old. Whilst I agree that it's a matter of common sense for the caravan to weigh less than the towing vehicle, it's certainly not the case that at 84% you're guaranteed to be safe and that at 86%, or even 90%, you're bound to have problems.
The other limit you need to bear in mind is the manufacturer's towing limit, which it is illegal to exceed. For most larger cars, especially those with reasonably powerful diesel engines, the towing limit is often well in excess of the weight of the car itself. However, the limits are determined (a) using trailers and not high-sided caravans and (b) based on the weight that the car can physically move from a standstill on repeated hill starts - not necessarily what will be stable at motorway speeds.
The best advice I can give is, once you've found a suitable car and caravan is to make a few weekend trips with the caravan lightly loaded to get a feel for towing it. As you gain a bit more experience and confidence you can start loading it more heavily for longer holidays.
Good luck! 
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