Confused by Weights
We are looking to change the car and I am getting in a bit of a flap over weights!!! OK 85% is a reconmendation, would you go to 100% - 10 years experience under my belt.
Looking at Skoda Suberb Estate. 2.0l TDI 150ps has listed KW of 1430 - but does not include driver @ 75% - thus 1505. My van is 1500.
Add in, wife, kids, dog, towbar and fully loaded boot (awning, bikes etc in the car) I am going to be easily pusihing 1620 - so 92%.
Or do I pay the extra and get the 4x4 that is the above weight anyway.
Very confused as to what to do, I know some take 85% as gospel, others dont - what are people thoughts please?
Comments
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85% is not gospel but it's a figure that has been recommended for decades. It's a good figure to aim for. I personally would be concerned with anything even approaching 100%.
The reason is safety margin. Certain conditions can provoke instabillity when towing and at that point you need as much weight in the car as possible and as little in the caravan as possible.
The KW figure of the car should be reduced by 15% to get the ideal maximum weight of the caravan. Don't get over concerned about what weights these figures do or do not include.. If the Skoda's KW is 1430 then you want to be around 1215 kg with the caravan loaded. The closer you get to the 1430 kg of the car, the smaller your margin of safety.
Shuffling luggage and passengers will help if something happens but do not alter the basic figures I have given.
Hope this helps and you don't get too many contradictory replies.
If confused, consult the Caravan Club handbook. It's a gem for this kind of info.
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nicko, was that higher than quoted in manual then?
yes cant remember what figure actually was,but remember asking salesman to check registration document,only towing 1300 mtplm van so well within 85% if it helps make sure to look at wheel sizes mine had 16inch rims and was very low so had to be cautious
of speed bumps,as far as towing was an absolute dream so 150 bhp diesel should be fine cannot fault superb it really is,only problem with petrol was very thirsty0 -
As someone involved in investigating accidents too heavy caravans did seem to be a problem. From my experience I would not go near 100%, I would be reluctant to go past 95% at all and would prefer to stay around the 90 mark. Whatever others think my experience
suggests caution should be your first priority and if you want that caravan I think you need a heavier car.0 -
We are looking to change the car and I am getting in a bit of a flap over weights!!! OK 85% is a reconmendation, would you go to 100% - 10 years experience under my belt.
Looking at Skoda Suberb Estate. 2.0l TDI 150ps has listed KW of 1430 - but does not include driver @ 75% - thus 1505. My van is 1500.
Add in, wife, kids, dog, towbar and fully loaded boot (awning, bikes etc in the car) I am going to be easily pusihing 1620 - so 92%.
Or do I pay the extra and get the 4x4 that is the above weight anyway.
Very confused as to what to do, I know some take 85% as gospel, others dont - what are people thoughts please?
Write your comments here...I have been towing at over 90% now for nearly 6 years, with three different cars.
A 1565kg caravan towed by a T31 Xtrail with a kerb weight of 1725kg, and two CX-5 one at 1663kg, present one at 1703kg.
Can't say i have noticed any difference towing from previous lower ratios.
The 85% is the recommendation for newbies.
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As someone involved in investigating accidents too heavy caravans did seem to be a problem. From my experience I would not go near 100%, I would be reluctant to go past 95% at all and would prefer to stay around the 90 mark. Whatever others think my experience suggests caution should be your first priority and if you want that caravan I think you need a heavier car.
I think one will find that if the driver of an outfit is to blame for an accident then his set up is probably so way off the mark anyway that the weight ratio is hardly relevant any more. There are so many other factors which can cause an accident that one should not always put the weight ratio down as the cause. Besides, I would challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference between the way an outfit handles at 90% compared with 85%, for example, all other criteria remaining equal. It's only when the difference exceeds about 10% that one would even start to notice any change and then it sets in only gradually anyway.
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I was faced in the early 90s with a situation where I was being 'told' that I could only tow a van at 85% of my 1087kg towcar so it was necessity that drove me to look at it in detail and decide, based on my towing expierience which was quite a bit
due to my work, that so long as the car with myself and my wife,our actual weight not a notional figure,was more than the van then I was happy. To aid safe use I always, and still do, put luggage/equipment etc in the car not the van.As others have said it is usually poor loading and/or driving that leads to the majority of problems when the weight then becomes part of the problem.
You seem to be coming to the same conclusion yourself.
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The new Skoda Superbs are quite rare at the moment. I took delivery of one in May, the 150PS diesel manual hatchback. I went for the 4 x 4 as it has a higher kerbweight. I tow a Sterling Eccles Sport at about 1480 kg. Towed down to Cornwall in August, over
330 miles trip each way and over 1200 miles in 2 weeks in total and the car behaved faultlessly. I tend to run at 55 to 58 mph with cruise control set on motorways. It struggled a bit in the hilly bits in Devon and Cornwall and changing down to 4th was needed
on occasions. Economy was around 35 mpg when towing, even better than my previous car a VW Passat. In everyday use the car is very comfortable and easy to achive 60 mpg on a long run. Highly recommended.0 -
It's the cars permitted tow weight that you need to look at, my car is 2.6t with a tow capacity of 3.0t this tells you what the max is you can find it under the bonnet, on a sticker somewhere mine is inside the rear door or even in the handbook
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