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I was all excited yesterday.As I told you last week we decided to buy a  baileys pageant provence and it took along time to make our minds up.However we got to the place and the salesman completely confused us about the tow weighs, last week he said we could tow it and this week he wasnt sure.We didnt order it as we lost our confidence.I notice alot of people giving advice so could you give a little to me so i can buy my caravan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We have an  Audi A6 which has a kerb weight of 1520kg.The provence has a MTPLM of 1420kg and a MRO of 1206kg.Despite reading all your fab advice i cant seem to grasp it, can i tow it or are my dreams to be shattered.

HELP

Hi Tuts , it's recommended that you tow no more than 85% of your cars kerb weight , and if you towed the bailey fully loaded ie 1420kg , you'd be towing at 93% , unless you've had years of towing caravans i wouldn't recommend the bailey as it really is a bit to heavy in my opinion , But with careful loading ie keep the payload to a minimum in the caravan it is possible to tow it and stay near the 85% . If the caravan weighed 1300kg loaded , it would give 96kg of available payload ( which isn't a lot ) and you'd be at 86% .

You should also check the maximum weight your car can tow , this should be in your handbook . And that you have a powerful enough engine .

atb

Wizard

Hi

   tuts sorry but I cann't help you but if your a member of the camping and caravanning club they will help you with this.

Tuts

The really important weight is the manufacturers (Audi) max towing weight of a braked trailer. It is this weight that is law. The '85% Rule' is a guideline and whilst ideally this would be around the weight you would tow it is not always practical given the weight of modern caravans. Not sure of the year of your A6 but in 2001 the kerbweights were between 1500kgs and 1650kgs so you might be OK but please check the handbook for max towing weight.

David

Hi Tuts, Just checked for a vehicle match on What Towcars website , the results for Audi's are here! Hope that you get a clear answer from the list.

Laymens terms -

The weight of the unloaded caravan is 1200kg - which is 80% of the weight of your Audi A6      -    good so far.

Load the caravan to the max allowable will make the caravan weigh 1400kg - which is 93% of the weight of your car - a little on the high side but not dangerous.

Keeping the load in the 'van down to about 75 ~100kg (which is quite a lot) will see the weight of the 'van about the magical 85% mark. Putting the awning in the car for example would lighten the 'van and make the car heavier - the perfect answer.

Using the above reasoning, we bought our outfit as complete novices and are still waiting for our first serious wiggle (God forbid).

I'd buy the Bailey. BUT - I'd keep the loading to a minimum until I felt confident.

ps Which A6 is it? The weights vary across the range.

Thank for advice, our car is 1.8T audi 2001. I looked in hand book but couldnt see the info, so i will phone them. I presume when caravvaning you pack most things into the van e.g awnings. If i got more into my car as, i could get a roofbox, would this still count towards the extra weight. I just want to be absolutely sure. I like the pageant 5 berth as it has a seperate shower.

My gut feeling on this is that you would find this car to be a tad underpowered for towing this particular van. There are other vans with a similar layout that are lighter. Have you looked at the Fleetwood and Adria ranges?

No matter where you carry the stuff, the car has still got to pull it all

For more detailed information, have a look at the Caravan Club Matching Service or Matching Car and Caravan Tech Leaflet from the Camping and Caravanning Club.

In my view, Max Drawbar Loading  (Popularly called "Nose Weight") is more important that the exact ratio of vehicle to van.  This ensures correct balance of your rig and should be between 4% and 7% of the van weight. Again NEVER EXCEED THE MAX DRAWBAR LOADING SPECIFIED BY THE MANUFACTURER OF YOUR VEHICLE.  This figure is usually between 50 & 75 kilos for most cars and 75 - 100 kilos for 4x4's.

John Jory