Caravan Newbie in a panic- MTPLM - BMW530D M Sport
Hello Everyone
Firstly thanks for looking at this thread.
As a family of 4 (kids 10 & 12) we are looking to purchase a caravan and identified a Bailey Barcelona (MTPLM 1723kg) as our first caravan.
So speaking to friends etc they assure me that my BMW 530D which has:
A max towing weight of 2000kg, kerb weight of 1810kg / 1825kg (see two values) will be fine?
But can you help on the BMW MTPLM?
If the MTPLM is 1810kg and the caravan is 1723kg then this means 1810 = 95.2% have I calculated this correct>?
Can I tow this, some information seems to suggest you can tow between 85% to 100%
1810kg is the standard car with fuel etc, when we use the car with the caravan for holidays then we will have a roof box / boot and be putting the weight into the car, would this increase the MTPLM and make the car heavier and make it better?
The Caravan has ALDI breaks, twin axle and ALCO stabilizer (2015) model
Comments
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Towing
capacity
chart
Kerbweight 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400
% of kerb
weight The ideal MTPLM of caravans you can tow
Novice 85% 850 1020 1190 1360 1530 1700 1870 2040
Confident 90% 900 1080 1260 1440 1620 1800 1980 2160
Experienced 95% 950 1140 1330 1520 1710 1900 2090 2280
100% 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 24000 -
The legal requirement is that you don't exceed the car’s rated max towing weight or the GTW. The sensible ratio is to aim for the cvan's MTPLM to be around 85% of the car's kerb weight.
If the van has a MTPLM of 1723, then to achieve 85% the car needs to have a kerb weight of just over 2000kg. That’s a hefty caravan and my inclination would be to go for either a lighter van or a beefier car but only you can decide if you’re happy and legal in terms of weights and your licence categories to tow at 95%.
Don't forget too that the nose weight of the van needs to be compatible with the car. Also, don’t be fooled by the manufacturer's max towing weight ability of the car as that is a test under set conditions and doesn’t give an indication of how well the car will tow a big slab-sided white box at 60mph on the M6 in a side wind or how it will cope with hills.
If you're a complete novice at towing, I strongly recommend that you reconsider the suitability of the caravan.
Whatever you decide, enjoy your caravanning. 🙂
Finally, can I suggest that you change your user name via your profile at the top of the page? The system seems to be having a hissy fit and is allocating ridiculous names to new folk.
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So for example
If the car is assumed at 1810kg including the driver, then I add Adult (wife) and 2 kids with an estimated combined weight of 150kg. then add a roof box of 100kg - total 250kg to the 1810kg of the BMW = 2060kg?
The caravan Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass MTPLM is 1723kg this includes cloths and other weight?
Would this then mean 315kg is 15% of 2100kg so 85% is then 1785kg and its ok?
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https://www.thetowcarawards.com/tow-car/bmw-520d-3/
articles like this suggest no issue?
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You need to read in the handbooks/brochures how the weights are calculated and what they include, although the MTPLM of the van will be it’s all up fully loaded weight. (Take care not to exceed your payload.)
However, it is the kerb weight, or unladen weight, of the car that matters for the purposes here. No matter what you add to the car in terms of roof boxes etc, the kerb weight will not alter.
I'm sorry but I’m beginning to wonder whether you will be overloading the car with your passengers, luggage, roof box and that heavy caravan.
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I’m not going to plough through all that but perhaps you could ask yourself what weight caravan they were towing, was the van fully loaded, did the car have 4 people on board as well as a roof box and goodness knows what else, and is the article truly unbiased.
At the end of the day, it’s your choice.
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I am fine license wise, I past my test pre 1997
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You are looking at a hefty caravan for your first venture into our great hobby. There are plenty of other makes with much lighter weights that would probably meet your requirements and I would recommend that you look for a lighter caravan at or near the recommended 85% figure. You also need to look at the payload of the caravan, it is all too easy to exceed it especially with 2 kids and their holiday pieces. I assume you will have an awning, you may well have a motor mover fitted (recommended), chairs/table, BBQ, bikes; these will eat into your payload before you add your personal kit. The Club's outfit matching service, in the Advice Section link above, will give you a guide and there are others.
However, so long as your outfit is legal it is your choice, we just offer suggestions. Happy hunting.
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The Club's outfit matching service, in the Advice Section link above, will give you a guide and there are others.
I prefer https://www.towcar.info/ as I found faults with the CMC one.
A 160kg payload doesn't go far since it includes battery and a second gas bottle if that is your want. If you fit an allwheel drive motormover and battery you would be down to 80 kg payload. Our previous 4 berth was single axle with standard payload of 155 kg. By the time I subtracted a single axle mover and battery weights I would have been down to 100kg. With just two adults I could not have managed on that. I upgraded to about get about 155kg after battery and mover.
With your proposed van, as I need a mover to get onto my property due to a narrow road in front, and with a twin axle would have needed an all wheel drive I could not have managed with your standard payload and would have needed to upgrade the mptlm.
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Can you fit a tow bar to an M series or is it just the M5 that you can’t?
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What do you mean by BMW MTPLM?
You mean kerbweight, not MTPLM, don't you? MTPLM is an absolute maximum any can never vary.
Where did you get the kerbweight figure from? Kerbweight is specific to each and every vehicle so published figures only give a rough guide. The only accurate way of establishing kerbweight is to actually weigh the car.
My BMW X4 is roughly the same weight and I tow an 1800kg caravan.
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The outfit you suggest is legal. 85% is just a guide recommended by the club. It is not a good idea to try to increase the weight of the car with a roof rack. The BMW has excellent handling so you should be OK if you take it easy and don't overload the van or the car. Be strict with the family on weight for the first few trips and see how it goes..Stick below the speed limits, 60mph on dual carriageways, 50mph on single carriageways. And enjoy your trip.
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OP has obviously confused his/her caravan max weights with the car's gross weight & gross train weight. And surely if it came to the crunch, the weight numbers on the VIN plate would be used rather than a weight chitty from a local weigh bridge .... 🤔
There's a weight shown on my car's V5 .... I've no idea if that's anything like the actual weight of the car bearing in mind it has a various factory fit options (towbar, off road pack inc diff locks etc)
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surely if it came to the crunch, the weight numbers on the VIN plate would be used rather than a weight chitty from a local weigh bridge
The crunch is that the OP is basing his decisions on the kerb weight of the car wherever he obtained. The only thing of interest to police etc is the maximum permitted tow weights.
For my X-Trail there are a number of sources giving conflicting information. The only definite answer is to weigh the car. My V5 or the plate on the car does not give the vehicles weight in any event
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Comments on here about payload are very relevant. Our last van was a Barcelona. After owning it for 3 years, I eventually got round to taking it to the weigh bridge. With AWD MM fitted, gas bottles, battery, Aquaroll, Wastemaster, cutlery and plates/cups etc and the usual stuff we took away - but NO clothes, food, bedding etc, it came in at 1820 kg. Had to have a drastic re-think about what went in the van. It’s probably the main reason I changed the van to one with a more realistic payload of 360kg.
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Another point to remember when considering weight is that the load on your towball is part of the weight carried in your car. This will typically be somewhere between 75 and 100kg maximum and should not be exceeded. It will reduce what else you can put in or on the car by that amount. Your car handbook should give this figure but, whatever it is, the caravan hitch will almost certainly be limited to 100kg max.
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Kerbweight has no legal relevance, nor is it shown on the VIN plate, so a local weighbridge weight chitty only serves to allow accurate calculation of the weight ratio and that is only to satisfy your own personal interest, nothing else.
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Hi, hope you are finding all the info helpful, and not too confusing. When we started towing we struggled to get a van that was around the advised 85% recommendation.
We decided that so long as the van was less than the cars stated kerbweight it was OK and anything that could go in the car would.
Last year on a site in France my friend commented that a German van was obviously too heavy for his car.
Google, and Lutz, showed this to be incorrect and whilst he was not at 85% he was legal.
My take would be to avoid a twin axle van, get as close to 85% as possible and don't exceed 100%.
You may find looking at a site like caravan finder useful for seeing what options are available, I think my old Valencia is pretty much the same layout, to the Barcelona.
Hope you enjoy your vanning!
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Good advice in your 5th para, A&J.
It's quite true that over 85% does not break any laws (I stated the legal requirements in my first post) but, in the interests of safety, the closer to 85%, the better, especially for a newcomer with a huge van.
I have aimed throughout at keeping the OP safe and legal, as I'm sure have others. The OP is obviously confused on some points and I hope we might have helped and that he will return at some point with an update.
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Hi TW, whilst this and other forums may have been around I was unaware and at least the OP is trying to get info from people who have done it rather than just looking at a book-so to speak.
When we started the only thing that was mentioned was the 85% 'rule' and it was necessity, struggling to find a van that my 1087 kg Audi, that weight is burned into my memory, could safely tow that lead to the discovery that it was not a rule after all.
My car then, as now, is the car that I want to have and the van is chosen to fit the car-so we don't have the tail wagging the dog.
Friends that we rally with decided to go for a twin axle last year and after his first trip with his Discovery felt that was happening to him so changed to a Range Rover.
I think that's maybe what he was after all along and the twin axle was a means of getting it!
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Thank you all for the comments, tech details etc....
As I mentioned I am brand new to this and I want to get this correct, I will go and gather specific details from the log book.
It is all confusing tbh as there is alot of detail for a new comer, but i will check back later.
Again thank you, i recgonise there is a lot of experience and opinions, as tinwheeler mentioned what is legal and safe.
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Good luck 👍🏻
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I’ve had a Barcelona, and towed it with a Touareg. Personally I would not be happy with the weight match. It is legal, no question, but personally I put my wife and kids in the car and I’m more interested in safe than legal. Barcelona is a big, hefty van and I’d want something reasonably heavier than the van towing it. I’ve seen too many videos and a few actual overturned vans to risk it. You’re ultimately towing 2 tonne behind your car at 60ish mph, and that is quite significant. If you like the van, consider something like a Valencia which is slightly shorter but identical in layout, other than a missing chest of drawers. It will weigh about 1500kg and be a much better balance.
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Just in case it helps with your weight calculations, the weight of what I consider essentials in our caravan and therefore taken from the available payload is 116kg. This includes battery, motormover, ATC unit, Aquaroll, Wastemaster, assorted levelling blocks and wedges, step, loo fluid, crockery, pots & pans etc, bedding (for two people). This does not include any food or clothes which, depending on where and for how long we are going, can add another 40+kg.
Over the years we have weighed everything that goes into the caravan which isn't much of an arduous task using bathroom scales and I have kept a self totalling XL record of the weights and, where possible marked each item with the weight. If / when we change the caravan we know where we are starting from weight-wise.
Hope this helps.
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