You need to know your caravans MTPLM weight that is the maximum laden weight the weight that your caravan would be fully loaded, then check your cars kerbweight and max tow weight.

Recommended tow weight is 85% but you can tow safely up to 100%.

To work out percentage divide your caravans weight by your cars kerbweight then times by 100 that will give you your %, also divide caravan weight by cars max tow weight as long as none of these exceed 100% you will be fine.

I would think your car would safely tow your caravan as your car is quite a heavy vehicle, if you bought your car from a dealer they should give you a print out from Towsafe hpi which works out the percentages based on your car etc.

Found this so far for a 2007 model .

Sonata > Symphony

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X-Trail	In production	Kerb Weight KG	85% Weight KG	Max Ball Weight KG	Max Towing Weight KG
2.0	2005	1430	1216	75	1500
2.5	2005	1470	1250	100	2000
2.5 Auto	2005	1490	1267	75	1350
2.2 TDi	2005	1520	1292	100	2000

Judging from the weights found it's possible the car isn't going to be heavy enough if the caravan was fully loaded , i would seek advice from a caravan dealer .

atb

Wizard

Wizard,

have just looked up the exact same information.

Darren, I have to agree with Wizard. Your vans MTPLM is 1700kg your car is 1525kg. You are not allowed to tow more than 100% of the cars weight so you can only have a load allowance of 230kg.

It's also a hell of a long van for just one axle.

harryb

are you getting this `van through a dealer ??

if so he should be shot for not going through all this with you before you committed to purchase...

Quote: Originally posted by landsdowngolf on 20/3/2007

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I stand to be corrected but I think the above outfit is perfectly road legal  -   all you need is a B + E license to drive it

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This is not about "legal"

It's about safe

A well balanced van at 93% will tow better and safer than a badly loaded van at 85%

Check your noseweight and drive sensibly.

Hi,

Here is my answer – hope it helps.

Your vehicle’s manufacturer will tell you what is the maximum you can tow.

It is unlawful to tow more than that. (not sure of the exact road traffic act section, but take it from me it is).  Not only is it unlawful but your insurance could also be void.

However this figure does not take into account safe towing limits.

i.e. your 2.2 diesel X-Trail can tow up to 2000KG (braked).  So you can tow a braked trailer up to 2 tonnes say round a field shunting it from one place to another but you would not really want to tow it any distance.

This is because the recommended ideal towing weight ratio is 85% of your vehicles kerb weight.  This is an ideal weight and you can get away with towing a braked trailer that is up to and including 100% of your cars kerb weight (but it is recommended that you are experienced at towing to do this).

It is not unlawful to tow more than 100%, its just classed as unsafe for very good reasons – you get the tail wagging the dog.

So that is the towing weights done.

Now onto your new caravan.

Its net weight is 1290kg.

The gross weight is UPTO 1700kg.

That means that you have a total payload of UPTO 410kg.

It does not mean that you have to put 410kg in it’s just that you can if you wish to.

If you look at other caravans you will see that an average payload is about 230kg to 250kg – I stand to be corrected by someone who has gone through them all and actually worked out what the average is, this is only a guesstimate.

410kg is a very large payload figure.

So if you choose to only put in lets say 230kg, your gross weight will be 1520kg now this is a lot closer to the safe towing limit for your car.

If your X-Trail is a 136bhp then the kerb weight will be 1650kg which is more than the lesser powered diesel which is about 117bhp ish  and about 1525kg

So it depends on your model and how much weight you choose to put in your caravan.

I know this because I have just bought a 2.2 diesel (136bhp) X-Trail specifically to tow a Fleetwood Sonata Symphony that I will be buying 2nd hand in 12 months to replace my smart Abbey Expression.

The Symphony looks like a fab ‘van and I fell in love with it at the Birmingham Show.  It ticks all the boxes for me.

Hope this helps

Dave