Woodie106 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Again I'm starting a thread thats not strictly about caravanning, but saw something yesterday that got me thinking. A range rover pulled up alongside me yesterday at a set of lights. He was towing a car trailer that had upon it an identical range rover. Both were the L322 type. the tow vehicle was a diesel & it did chuck out a bit of the old black stuff from the exhaust as he pulled away. Now, i realise this isn't a caravan issue & towing cars might have different rules & i'm sure he wasn't breaking any laws, but the combination of range rover + trailer - which must come in at a fair few hundred kilos - must put him well over the 100% mark. I'm not sure what the towing limit on an L322 is, but he must have been upwards of 3 ton combined car & trailer weight. just one to ponder on a dull friday Quote I refer you to the Rt Hon Member for the 19th Century.....................pictured just to the left of your screen.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R0G Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Many modern vehicles are designed to tow well over their own weight The difference for caravans is because they are big empty 'balloons' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Within the limitations of your driving licence restrictions as to permitted category, you can tow up to the gross train weight of the car, taking into consideration the manufacturers declare maximum towing capacity. The main issue I think would be stability of the outfit and safety of the load. The 85 & 100% guideline with caravans is about tugging a slab sided tin box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshinetours Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Providing you don't exceed your gross train weight you would be legal. HGVs wouldn't exist if there was a 100% matching rule at the end of the day! Quote Unless you've tried it, you simply won't understand. ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WispMan Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Here in the Lakes, I regularly see cars towing trailers with enormous boats on them and wonder like Woodie has. At least the caravanning hobby has some guidelines and advice about what is advisable to do. Quote Graham Unless otherwise stated all posts are my personal opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barczyk Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 85% or 100% is only a recommendation. Range Rovers - indeed most Land Rovers including my Discovery have a maximum towing limit of 3. 5 tons. Whether I would be happy doing this on a long journey is another matter Quote David and Barbara Landrover Discovery with Hobby 495 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderDave Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 The only issue would of been if he held the correct licence and if the vehicle needed a Tacho . Towing trailers over 100% is different to towing a caravan they behave totally different . A few of my trailers MAM is over 100% the vehicles Kerbweight . and I often tow over 1005 and would not even give it a second thought which is totally opposite to towing my caravan . When I tow my boats the handling is different again due to the wheels set further back . Dave Quote Jeep Commander 3. 0 V6 CRD Isuzu D- Max Utah Auto Elddis Crusader Storm 2000 Kgs, Unipart Royal Atlas Mover . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 There is nothing wrong with towing over 100% provided you do not exceed any of the plated weights. A caravan is different to most trailers in that it is high sided with a high centre of gravity and more susceptible to side winds and bow waves from passing trucks and coaches. Hence the recommendation for a caravan only is 85% for an inexperienced tower and not to exceed 100% for anyone else. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipbroker Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Friend of a friend has a 25' cabin cruiser and he reckons it weighs in excess of 5000lbs, and a 40' one could be 20000lb plus depending on type of engines etc. ......add a trailer to that lot. ........weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! geoff Quote Kia Sorento KX-1 CRDI 4WD towing an Elddis Affinity 530 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison01326 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 We've trailered both a Scimitar GTE and a Lotus Elite behind our Bongo and as it coped admirably with both, we thought that it wouldn't be a problem towing a caravan. The poor old boy doesn't like towing the caravan very much, even though it's undoubtedly lighter than the cars. It's only really a question of getting very hot and bothered with the caravan, but there is clearly a difference between towing a trailered car and towing a big box (or there is if you're a fifteen year old Mazda Bongo!!!). Quote The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see (GK Chesterton) There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong equipment (Alfred Wainwright) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrypartridge Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I'm going to look at a twin axle Inos caravan. MTPLM is about 2500 kgs, the maker uses a VW Tiguan to tow the demonstrator. Caravan magazine did a road test using a Pathfinder which they said was perfect. Both these vehicles have kerbweight around the 2150 kg mark, similar to my D Max. Quote Isuzu D Max pulling Bailey Unicorn 2 Valencia Bailey Autograph 740 MH: Isuzu for sale LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OWOMW Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 The Discovery has a gross vehicle weight of 3. 2 tonnes and a gross train weight of 6. 7 tonnes. The Disco 4 has Trailer Stability Assist, which monitors the behaviour of the trailer and manages the tow car's braking. http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=5gyc4Dmgbew Quote Land Rover is now back towing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericfield Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I always understood that the 85% guideline, when derived, related to the combinations ability to do a specified inclination hill start, not how stable it was when towing on the flat. ...although that has an obvious relevance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtrailman Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) I'm going to look at a twin axle Inos caravan. MTPLM is about 2500 kgs, the maker uses a VW Tiguan to tow the demonstrator. Caravan magazine did a road test using a Pathfinder which they said was perfect. Both these vehicles have kerbweight around the 2150 kg mark, similar to my D Max. I don't think you meant to say the Tig was around 2150kg? I always understood that the 85% guideline, when derived, related to the combinations ability to do a specified inclination hill start, not how stable it was when towing on the flat. ...although that has an obvious relevance. Wasn't the recommendation 75% back then? Its manufactures tests for max tow weight that uses the 12% pull off method. I can only remember the 85% relating to MTPLM, but perhaps I'm younger? Edited January 24, 2014 by xtrailman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarty Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I don't think you meant to say the Tig was around 2150kg? Wasn't the recommendation 75% back then? Its manufactures tests for max tow weight that uses the 12% pull off method. I can only remember the 85% relating to MTPLM, but perhaps I'm younger? Maybe it was a Touareg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I always understood that the 85% guideline, when derived, related to the combinations ability to do a specified inclination hill start, not how stable it was when towing on the flat. ...although that has an obvious relevance. It's the the towing capacity of the vehicle that is based on the ability to restart on a 1 in 8 hill. On this basis the tow capacity of many vehicles is over 100%. The 85% guideline is for caravans primarily for stability. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie106 Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 I've towed a few car trailers in the past & to be honest i've never given the weight of them any thought as the cars were always smaller than the tow vehicle. Judging by the amount of smoke emitting from the towing range rovers exhaust when he pulled away, quite slowly i might add, this rangey didn't look too comfortable pulling that weight, but it might just be in need of a bit of TLC - or a new injector or 2 Quote I refer you to the Rt Hon Member for the 19th Century.....................pictured just to the left of your screen.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin1512 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I've towed a few car trailers in the past & to be honest i've never given the weight of them any thought as the cars were always smaller than the tow vehicle. Judging by the amount of smoke emitting from the towing range rovers exhaust when he pulled away, quite slowly i might add, this rangey didn't look too comfortable pulling that weight, but it might just be in need of a bit of TLC - or a new injector or 2 When towing for work, I regularly tow between 3500kg and 4000kg with my Defender. The kerb weight of my 110 is around 2300kg and has a max gross weight of 3500kg, and a max train weight of 7500kg. It is rated to tow 400kg as I have a hydraulic braking system added for hydraulically braked trailers. I usually tow with a NATO type towing jaw rated at 7500kg. The trailers I tow vary from small Sankey trailers at 1200kg to horse/livestock trailers up to 3500kg to heavy plant and logging trailers up to 4000kg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RADIOTWO Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 When towing for work, I regularly tow between 3500kg and 4000kg with my Defender. The kerb weight of my 110 is around 2300kg and has a max gross weight of 3500kg, and a max train weight of 7500kg. It is rated to tow 400kg as I have a hydraulic braking system added for hydraulically braked trailers. I usually tow with a NATO type towing jaw rated at 7500kg. The trailers I tow vary from small Sankey trailers at 1200kg to horse/livestock trailers up to 3500kg to heavy plant and logging trailers up to 4000kg. Hope you never get pulled, the very max you can tow is 3500kgs with overrun brakes so your Gross train weight is 7000kgs Quote Steve - Land Cruiser Amazon Auto + Pageant Series 5 Champagne The match between car and caravan is perfect in accordance with a mix of European standards. However, according to the British Towing Code the percentage (loaded caravan / kerbweight tow car) is 49%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin1512 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hope you never get pulled, the very max you can tow is 3500kgs with overrun brakes so your Gross train weight is 7000kgs Read my post again. My Landy is fitted with a hydraulic braking system for coupled trailers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobelcokid Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) OVER 100% NO PROBLEMS Edited January 24, 2014 by kobelcokid Quote . ....One life, Don't waste it fixing LandRovers . Ford F350 SUPERDUTY Towing 640 Hobby @ 1% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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