Caravan towing weight.

[PotteringAlong]

I was wondering if someone could help me?

If you pass your driving test after 1997 you are allowed to tow with a max of 3.5 tonnes. So car, plus van.

We are looking at buying a caravan. We have a ( very old!) discovery 3 and 3 children, so are looking at a 5/6 berth one, probably about 15 years old.

We can get the discovery + van at under the 3.5 BUT not the discovery + van + us! Is the weight limit the unladen weight or the laden weight? Google is not helpful and we went to a caravan place today and they helpfully said they didn’t know the answer and we would have to check it out! That’s what we were trying to do...!

So I thought I would ask mumsnet!

‘MAM is the limit on how much the vehicle can weigh when it’s loaded.’
www.gov.uk/vehicle-weights-explained

Thank you - I had somehow managed to miss that!

As p.p says it's the laden weight of the car and caravan.

The test could be worthwhile if you're not experienced at towing.

Also It's recommended that the caravan shouldn't be more than 85% weight of the car.

Our car is a bit light for our caravan (around 86%) so we actually load the car down with the awning and all the heavy stuff to move the balance.

We want to buy a bigger car but we'd both have to pass as we both tow.