Can I Tow this Caravan ?

[Circlip]

Help Please ...

I own a 2010 Peugeot Partner Tepee 110bhp.
The caravan is a 2005 Bailey Ranger 380/2 weighs 1058kg MTPLM.

I`ve looked at lots of info on the web and other Forums for an idea but i`m getting more and more confused.

Towing limits I have found are 1275kg and this is taking 85% on the safe side of the weight of my `TP`. Then there is the Nose Weight of only 55kg ... my sums have come up with 5.2% instead of the 7% of 1058kg MTPLM advised by these Forum calculators.

 Confused or don`t want to admit i`ve made a bad mistake of putting down a deposit for the above  

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[ricc]

forgrt the 85 percent of kerbweight its got no legal standing.

all vehicles have a max towing limit set by the manufacturer, most models of the partner tepee its 1300 kilos.

my daihatsu fourtrak has a max toing limit of 3500 kg and a kerbweight of about 1700 kg, so shows how silly the 85 percent of kerbweight guidline can be.

regarding noseweight... too much will overload the towcar rear suspension and make hitching up difficult, not enough will lead to the tail wagging the dog. 40 to 50kg is about right for most cars and caravans.

just remember the heavier the caravan the smoother you need to drive..avoid violent braking and steering inputs.,

[Solent]

Also check that your driving license covers towing, persons passing their test after a certain date don't, without a seperate test.

[Opensauce]

MTPLM means max gross weight so yes you can tow the caravan although you might struggle to get noseweight down to 55kg with gas bottles in place. It does depends on the caravan though. My 900kg Abbey 2berth with 2 gas bottles & spare wheel in front locker struggles to get 55kg noseweight.

You won't need a B+E on your licence to tow that caravan though. Combined max allowed weights of car & caravan come to under 3.5tonnes so you are ok on a B licence which is what you have if you passed your test after 1997.

[geoff]

Ask the dealer for a towing " test drive " ..............

I reckon it will be fine .... my 1955 Land Rover used to tow a 1050 Kgs caravan albeit slowly so the Berlingo will fly long !

[malgpz900]

http://www.towcar.info/mobile/index.php

This may help you.
Whilst the 85% rule is not a legal requirement it is there for a reason, get as near to that figure as possible.

[ricc]

http://www.towcar.info/mobile/index.php

This may help you.
Whilst the 85% rule is not a legal requirement it is there for a reason, get as near to that figure as possible.

perhaps youd be good enough to enlighten us as to what the reason is for the 85 percent guidance

[Circlip]

Thank you for your replies,

I passed my driving test in 1976 but i`d figured out I was Ok with what is on the back of my driving licence.
The Towbar has not been fitted yet so can`t do a test-drive ...    

We will only have one Gas Cylinder in the front hatch, room for two though. There is also the spare wheel.

So I found the TowCar.info very interesting. As there are more reviews from Berlingo `111`1.6HDi drivers, I put that into the equation and one owner tows a Swift Challenger 470 of (laden) 1342kg and it comes out as a GOOD MATCH at 76%    (though `noseweight` allowance is 70kg).

Who are the bods that set the 85% guidance ?

The confusion continues.

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[Col]

Just bare in mind all the *stuff* You will be putting in the caravan and car all adds weight. You have to add in all the water, crockery, clothes, pots & pans, bicycles on car roof all count towards the gross train weight (which is also called other abreviations)

[ntm1275]

I have the Citroen equivalent of your Peugeot Partner 110, a 100 XTR.

I would assume that the weights are the same as mine, so the maximum towing weight is 1300kg, the Kerb Weight is 1504kg and the Gross Train Weight (maximum of car and trailer combined) is 3065kg.
This means if you load your caravan up to it's limit of 1058kg plus the kerb weight of 1504kg, then that leaves you with 503kg to put in to the car.

I have a similar size 2 berth and I struggle to keep the weight within the 3065kg legal limit when all the things I want to load both car and caravan are included.

My advice is to empty the caravan of everything and then take it to a weighbridge. This will be your minimum weight. Subtract that figure from the 1058kg and this will give you the maximum kg's of load you can pack in to the caravan.

Do the same with the car, empty it of everything and weight that as well - I found that the actual kerb weight was more than the Citroen specified kerb weight.
I actually always take out the three rear seats when we go away and still the actual kerb weight was more that the specified kerb weight
Actual kerb weight was 1520kg and specified kerb weight is supposed to be 1504kg.
The Citroen kerb weight figure would include the three rear seats, plus weight of driver and fuel tank filled to 90%.
Don't forget to include the extra weight of the towbar.

Because the noseweight is only 55kg, I cannot tow with the gas bottle(s) and spare wheel in the front locker because this would give a nose weight of about 70kg. I have to put the spare wheel in the caravan over the axle and carry the gas bottle(s) in the car behind the front seats.
Even then, the nose weight only drops to about 60kg and I have to put the water roll and waste container in the back of the caravan along with a couple of extra items to balance it all up.

Weigh everything, put all the small items in a box and weight the whole box, include the awning, poles, pegs and carpet (if you have one), steps, bedding, food, aquaroll, wastemaster, cutlery, any passengers you will carry, cooking pans, dishes, caravan jack, dogs, clothes, tv, aerial, camping chairs, bikes, bin, rucksacks, bags, fire extinguisher, toilet fluid, shoes, wheel clamp, hitch lock, any tables, etc etc.
Everything.
If the caravan has a motor mover, you can add another 30 to 40 kg for that as well
I end up putting 334kg in the car and only 91kg in the caravan.
The reason for the low caravan load is because of the 55kg nose weight limit. I have to put stuff at the back of the caravan to balance out the nose weight, so if I put anything else in there it will make it too tail happy and could become dangerous in cross winds.

One last word about loading the car, put all the heavy items as far forward as you can, preferable behind the front seats, so that the load doesn't lower the ride height of the rear of the car significantly and keeps the caravan hitch and towbar almost level.

As long as you keep within the legal weight limits, your Partner should easily pull that weight of caravan with no problems. Mine does.

Happy caravanning