Benny1234 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I have a vauxhall mokka 1.4t se auto with a kerb weight of 1400kg the legal towing limit is 1200kg but I'm struggling to find a van that I can tow at this weight as I need a 4 berth van but I can find a few for 1250kg and I would still be 90% Match, I'm a class 1 driver so towing is no issue. If anyone has towed with a mokka or no anything if this is legal then please comment. Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
craigderby Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 If it has a limit of 1200kg, then you can't tow 1250kg. Although not ideal you might be best to look at changing your car. 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WispMan Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 craigderby is 100% right. You can't tow anything over the car's tow limit. Change the car! 1 Quote Graham Unless otherwise stated all posts are my personal opinion Link to post Share on other sites
GaryB1969 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) You can providing you don’t exceed the cars Gross Train Weight. This is the cars Maximum Gross Weight plus the maximum towing weight. If the trailer is heavier the maximum weight of the car is reduced. All the info is on the cars VIN plate. Personally I wouldn’t as it’s putting the maximum strain on the car with everything “at the maximum”. Example below. One is my cars Maximum Gross Weight the other is the Maximum Gross Train Weight. The latter is the absolute maximum Edited October 27, 2020 by GaryB1969 Spelling 1 Quote 2018 Volvo V90 and 2018 Swift Sprite Quattro EB Link to post Share on other sites
Ern Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) In practice, your car will be heavily loaded with two adults and two children plus the usual accompliments, so adding a >75Kg nose weight is going to take you right to the cars limit. Add a 1200 Kg caravan and you will be right on the limit if not over the car's train weight limit for suspension, brakes, transmission, engine cooling etc. You would be heading for trouble if you went beyond the limits. Legally you would very likely be exceeding the Maximum plated train weight so committing a motoring offence. You would be risking the validity of your car insurance. Edited October 27, 2020 by Ern Quote Ern Link to post Share on other sites
robbie244 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 you may need to go older, my caravan is a 91 elddis and its 5 berth with mtplm 1050, towed by my focus with 1200 braked imit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaryB1969 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Some of the early/mid 2000’s Bailey Discovery models were also very light for their size. Quote 2018 Volvo V90 and 2018 Swift Sprite Quattro EB Link to post Share on other sites
Lutz Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Benny1234 said: I have a vauxhall mokka 1.4t se auto with a kerb weight of 1400kg the legal towing limit is 1200kg but I'm struggling to find a van that I can tow at this weight as I need a 4 berth van but I can find a few for 1250kg and I would still be 90% Match, I'm a class 1 driver so towing is no issue. If anyone has towed with a mokka or no anything if this is legal then please comment. Thanks The towing limit is the axle load of the caravan, not its total weight. Therefore, if your car has a towing limit of 1200kg then you can tow a caravan weighing 1250kg in total (MTPLM) so long as the noseweight is 50kg or more. However, you do need to watch that you don't exceed the gross train weight limit, as well. Edited October 27, 2020 by Lutz 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaryB1969 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Lutz said: The towing limit is the axle load of the caravan, not its total weight. Therefore, if your car has a towing limit of 1200kg then you can tow a caravan weighing 1250kg in total (MTPLM) so long as the noseweight is 50kg or more. However, you do need to watch that you don't exceed the gross train weight limit, as well. I wish this were a “sticky” somewhere! Crystal clear and easy to understand. Edited October 27, 2020 by GaryB1969 1 Quote 2018 Volvo V90 and 2018 Swift Sprite Quattro EB Link to post Share on other sites
Benny1234 Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 How do I find out what the gross train weight is? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WispMan Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Look at the plate inside your door. Look at Gary's post and it's the last of the four numbers. 1 Quote Graham Unless otherwise stated all posts are my personal opinion Link to post Share on other sites
GaryB1969 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 1 minute ago, WispMan said: Look at the plate inside your door. Look at Gary's post and it's the last of the four numbers. Yep, two examples (wife’s Fiat & my Volvo). GTW is the largest figure. 1 Quote 2018 Volvo V90 and 2018 Swift Sprite Quattro EB Link to post Share on other sites
Stevan Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Not strictly illegal to tow at over the towing limit as the towing limit is not a statutory figure. BUT you would be hard pressed to stay under the GTW, and this is a statutory figure. Also, with any load in the caravan at all, you would be way over the towing limit! The only accurate way to determine the actual train weight is on a weighbridge, adjusted by the actual load carried on the day. Overall, you could do it legally (but your insurers may object), you would struggle to keep it legal in normal use and it would be pushing the car to its limits, perhaps beyond. Best to change the car! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul1957 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) Our previous caravan was a year 2000 Elddis Firestorm 500/5, 5 berth, MIRO 1000 kg, MTPLM 1300 kg. You could tow one of these provided you do not put more than 200 kg in the caravan. Similarly, if you find a caravan you like that is MTPLM 1250 kg but its MIRO is well below 1200 kg then you could tow it provided once you put your stuff in the caravan does not weigh more than 1200 kg. There is also the adjustment mentioned by Lutz of the nose weight being part of the car payload but if you are having to do that then you are cutting it a bit fine on weights. Edited October 27, 2020 by Paul1957 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebasher Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Where are you getting the towing weight from? My wife drives a Mokka and that has a 1500kg towing limit Quote Lunar Solaris 524 Link to post Share on other sites
Dave87 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 6 hours ago, littlebasher said: Where are you getting the towing weight from? My wife drives a Mokka and that has a 1500kg towing limit Possibly a transmission or petrol/diesel thing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Townie Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 If your car has a stated MANUFACTURERS limit of 1200kg, you must not exceed it. The manufacturer gives this limit due to various parameters such as the chassis strength, engine power, braking power etc. If you exceed this, you will invalidate your insurance. The TOWING limit should be printed on the V5 and should not be exceeded. 2 Quote 2014 SsangYong Rexton W towing a 2017 Sprite Major 4EB. (After June 9th). Link to post Share on other sites
Lutz Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 2 hours ago, Townie said: If your car has a stated MANUFACTURERS limit of 1200kg, you must not exceed it. The manufacturer gives this limit due to various parameters such as the chassis strength, engine power, braking power etc. If you exceed this, you will invalidate your insurance. The TOWING limit should be printed on the V5 and should not be exceeded. The manufacturer's limit only covers his product liability and warranty. It is not a legal limit. Several manufacturers quote different towload limits depending on whether the outfit has to negotiate 8%, 10% or 12% gradients, but the gross train weight limit is always the same. 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stevan Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 5 minutes ago, Lutz said: The manufacturer's limit only covers his product liability and warranty. It is not a legal limit. Several manufacturers quote different towload limits depending on whether the outfit has to negotiate 8%, 10% or 12% gradients, but the gross train weight limit is always the same. Exactly as I said earlier, this is not a legally enforceable limit. However, taken with the other info, this outfit is not a good match. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Townie Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 31 minutes ago, Lutz said: The manufacturer's limit only covers his product liability and warranty. It is not a legal limit. Several manufacturers quote different towload limits depending on whether the outfit has to negotiate 8%, 10% or 12% gradients, but the gross train weight limit is always the same. Lutz, if YOU want to exceed the manufacturers towing limit, go ahead. I'm sure that YOUR insurer will be interested. My advice remains the same, do not exceed the MANUFACTURERS towing limit. 3 Quote 2014 SsangYong Rexton W towing a 2017 Sprite Major 4EB. (After June 9th). Link to post Share on other sites
Benny1234 Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 Thanks everyone for the comments I think it is best to upgrade my car to something bigger,, also my mokka is the 1.4 se turbo 140bhp so it's quite capable of towing a caravan.. I've seen smaller cars towing. Littlebasher maybe your misses has a 4x4 version or 1.6 diesel as these are higher towing but not strong pulling power then the 1.4 turbo. Happy caravaning Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stevan Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 140 bhp is, as you say, quite capable of pulling a caravan but that alone does not make it a good match. Additionally, meeting the statutory limits is not going to be easy and you would be pushing other characteristics of the car too close to their limits for comfort. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wildwood Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Not sure if you want a two berth or more. There are plenty of lightweight two berths you could tow, but if you want a fixed bed or four berths then it will be a struggle to find anything. I would not accept that towing over the manufacturers limit is permissable legally, but even if I am wrong the car may get stuck if you have to restart on a hill, so it makes no sense. The limit is based on starting on a 12% hill, but if you go over that the car may not start on less steep ones and you will have no idea what incline will be a problem. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave87 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Putting aside the weights etc.. i'm not sure the mokka would be a good car for caravanning anyway, since you said you need 4 berth i'm guessing they'll be more than 2 adults going. The mokka boot space is tiny so would soon fill up with the equipment needed. If your in a position to change the car i probably would. You get the picture i'm sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
junglejim Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Hi Benny, have you thought about keeping the car and going down route of a trailer tent or folding camper? easily suitable for 2 + 2 kids see how you like it before going down caravan route. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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