General towing weight

[Helz]

Whatever your interpretation of the rules I think most people would agree that if you're going to be towing a rather large trailer or caravan behind your car for the first time and into unknown territory then some lessons in how to do it wouldn't go astray. Now the provisional is gone I'll be booking some towards the end of the year once I've done the advanced test

 

[poggy]

Enough talk of caravans, we don't want them in Hampshire, they block up the country lanes

 

[The Negotiator]

Whatever your interpretation of the rules I think most people would agree that if you're going to be towing a rather large trailer or caravan behind your car for the first time and into unknown territory then some lessons in how to do it wouldn't go astray. Now the provisional is gone I'll be booking some towards the end of the year once I've done the advanced test

Well, to be honest, people have been towing caravans for years, I could quite happily jump into my parents car and tow their caravan no problem legally, and after some experiences (the only way to get good) I would be a good tower. Just because I got my license after 1997 doesn't change anything in terms of how could I would be compared to previous people. The rules don't attack the average person towing a 14ft caravan with a mini MPV which is fairly easy to be done safely, otherwise that would require an extra test too.

Andy, I'll make sure my parents clog up your road this summer

 

[Helz]

Yes you could but it doesn't make you a safe driver. I know from my own experience that trying to reverse with even a small trailer is bloody hard and it's far easier when you've got someone beside you telling you which way to turn the wheel, much like the first time you parallel park. I'm not saying someone has to take the test, I'm saying it's safer for all road users to get some advice on the matter. Also see my post above about overturned caravans - things like that could be avoided if people weren't so cocksure of their own abilities and took some advice.

 

[poggy]

Is it still true you don't get taught about the motorways or taken on them when your learning to drive. I think that is pretty dangerous and what makes it worse is that the day you pass your test, you can go straight onto the motorway towing a big caravn behind a small car.

Paul, maybe they should ban anybody towing who has a licence after 1997 and then in 20 years the lanes of Hampshire will be clear of caravans .

 

[The Negotiator]

You can't go on the motorway without a full license (for pretty obvious reasons) so yes, it is still true.

Some people do Pass Plus (I did) which should involve lots of motorway driving, understanding of weather conditions etc. Fact is that it's not as good as it should be, drivers of any standard usually get the certificate and it's not compulsary.

So yes, as a 17 year old when I passed with just 12 hours of driving experience on the road, I could have jumped into my dad's scenic (I was insured) hitched up the caravan and gone on the motorway.

 

[Helz]

You can't go on the motorway without a full license (for pretty obvious reasons) so yes, it is still true.

Well errrrrr most people don't anyway

 

[jayw]

sorry i didnt mean to cause a fight !!!! chill out ppl, after reading all that stuff you posted im back to square one (and yes i may be being a little thick). right lets try again

im 28 years old and passed my test in may 2004 so i think i need to pass another test before im allowed to tow a caravan,(where,who do i contact about this as far as im aware ive never seen anyone having caravan towing lessons)

and all i want to no is a weight of a caravan that i can legally tow with me ,the wife and the two kids in the car and all the other gear in the van

thanks Jay

 

[poggy]

Don't worry I just like winding Paul up, we are not fighting really. The thing is he is doing a Chemical Engineering degree so he's a bit slow to understand .

Seriously, you can tow upto the unladen weight of the Ulysse as long as the gross weight of the caravan and the Ulysse isn't greater than 3,500kg. I think this probably means a caravan of about 900-1000kg gross weight if it is a new shape Ulysse. The gross weight of a Ulysse is 2,505kg for a 2.0JDT.

I am no expert on caravans, but it sounds like quite a small one to me. Apaprently the towing lessons/test aren't difficult so it may be worth doing that to get a bigger entitlement to tow.

 

[jayw]

ok soooooo. at the moment i can tow a caravan up2 the unladen weight of the ulysse right ?

but if i take a test i can tow upto 3500kg ?

is that right ?

cheers Jay

 

[poggy]

ok soooooo. at the moment i can tow a caravan up2 the unladen weight of the ulysse right ?

but if i take a test i can tow upto 3500kg ?

is that right ?

cheers Jay

No you can only tow upto the unladen weight of the Ulysse or a maximum of 3,500kg gross weight for the caravan & car combined. In this case a caravan, which has a gross weight equal to the unladen weight of the Ulysse would bring you over the 3,500kg restriction. So basically take the gross weight of the Ulysse which is 2,505kg and subtract it from the total 3,500kg restriction, which gives you 995kg as a gross weight for the caravan.

The unladen weight of a Ulysse is probably approx 1,800kg, so if you took that as the caravan weight and added it to the gross weight of the Ulysse, it would total 4,305kg which is over the 3,500kg limit.

Hope this helps

 

[jayw]

YAYYYY I think i got it now but ( lol )
is this with my current licence or is this with me passing another test ? lol

soz

 

[poggy]

This is with your current licence, with the towing test you could tow upto the maximum the car will allow.

 

[Paul L]

kg. I think this probably means a caravan of about 900-1000kg gross weight if it is a new shape Ulysse. The gross weight of a Ulysse is 2,505kg for a 2.0JDT.

The 2505 you quote is the car weight guestimated with a 70kg adult in every seat and 5kgs of luggage each (don't quote me on that coz I may have remembered it wrong!). If you, like me only have two adults and two kids in the car with only a few kgs in the boot then the car weighs nothing like 2505 so I can tow a larger van upto the max braked weight quoted in the book.

The only real way to test is to load up and go to a weigh bridge.

Paul

 

[jayw]

thanks paul
thats me theres only 2 adults and 2 kids in the car (well the wife says 1 adult and 3 kids )

 

[poggy]

No you can't, the rules state that you must calculate the total limit of 3,500kg using gross capacity weight of the car (which is on the plate) regardless of whether you have any load in the car.

The gross weight isn't a guesstimate, it is listed for every car. Even if you only have one person in the car you still have to use the 2,505kg weight. It is listed on the DVLA website.

Of course this is only for post 1997 licence holders.

For pre 1997 licence holders the towing weight for a 2.0 Jtd is a max of gross 1345kg. Anything above this is breaking the law as the vehicle is only type approved for this capacity.

 

[jayw]

oh no......dont start again lol

 

[Stu DemonD]

What was the question :chin:

 

[poggy]

I don't think there was one.

 

[acbraid]

Paul,

I am just looking back through past threads re: towing capacities for the Ulysse. And i notice that you tow a 1650kg caravan with your 2.2jtd. I have a 2.0jtd and my tow capacity is only 1345, and from memory i think your 2.2 is about the same. I have though been in touch with several caravan dealerships and one has told me that Fiat uk will issue a letter stating that the vehicles can in fact tow upto 1850kg, as per the capacities for the Citroen/Peugeot variants. Did you buy your caravan through a dealer or private? As the dealers i have spoke to are not prepared to supply me the van i want until i can get confirmation from Fiat of the increased towing capacity. If you have already gone down this route with Fiat then any contact info would be gratefully received as my Fiat Dealer doesn't know where to start.

Cheers

Alex Braid.