Subject: tow weights Author: david Date: January 22, 2010 at 22:17
please can you help although i have owned a bailey 2003 ranger caravan now for 3 years i am unsure of caravan and car towing weights i simply do not understand it all , i am very interested in buying a lovely 2007 Knaus 550 starclass unladen weght 1530 kg ,MTPLM 1700 kg , my car is Ford Galaxy 2.0 tdi auto 2009 , kerbweight 1835 , gross vehicle mass 2505 ,payload 670 and max towable mass 1750 , i would love to buy the Knaus but dare not without being sure if my car is legal and will not struggle when towing ..please help! Dave/Jan
Replies:
Author: Bert Date: January 22, 2010 at 23:14
The Knaus has only this modest payload of 170 kg? We stongly advise you to weigh it before you buy it...
Legally your car may tow up to 1750 kg. When the Knaus is actual weighing this the weight ratio between van and car is 1750/1835=95%. This UK method to determine a reasonable and safe combination is a recommendation and varies from 85% for novice caravanners up to 100% for more experienced caravanners.
The rest you may read after you put these figures in our matching program, or did you already? Did you read struggle when towing??
Author: David Date: January 23, 2010 at 10:51
Bert many thanks for the reply, but i have a problem understanding numbers and figures of any kind so still do not understand sorry ! , are you saying that its not such a good mach the Knaus and my Galaxy if so i would look for something else , but the Knaus looked such a lovely caravan ..regards Dave
Author: Bert Date: January 23, 2010 at 13:08
4 out of 5 orange (not green, nor red) stars for this outfit (see explanation in the menu...). This is the text when I put your figures in the matching program:
"The match between car and caravan is plausible in accordance with a mix of European standards. However, according to the British Towing Code the percentage (loaded caravan / kerbweight tow car) is 95%.*
The towing performances of this Ford with your Knaus are good (performance index = 95 km/h or 59 mph).
You may expect rather lively performances from this outfit. On flat roads you can come along adequately, in which case top gear is seldom applicable.
On motorway inclines you will be able to come along quite nicely. On steep roads you have more than sufficient power to keep going. On hill starts there will be more than enough power to get going, provided the wheels have traction."
* I've explained the UK recommendation in my first reaction, less weight (or lower percentage) is better of course. The decision is yours...
Author: Pete Date: January 27, 2010 at 23:37
Bert A simple yes or no would have sufficed. Copy and paste from whattowcar.com hasnt really helped. I understand the technicalities of weight ratio's but dont trust the site anyway
