Towing a Caravan

average_runner · 15-01-2021 11:25am #1

Hi All
Thinking about towing our caravan this year. Originally was thinking of camping in Achill, but now wondering would it be better to get lessons and tow the caravan.

Any advice on towing a caravan, is Achill over aiming?

db · 15-01-2021 12:14pm

What car and what type caravan - weight, no of axles, age etc?

If the car and caravan are a good match and you take your time it is easy enough. Make sure you have towing mirrors so you can see behind you properly. Give yourself plenty of room going around corners and watch out for the tail swinging wide. It would be useful to practice reversing in a quiet carpark.

Make sure the tyres, brakes and tow-hitch are in good condition and you have the correct towball on the car. If the caravan has an Alko hitch the towball needs a longer neck than the standard one, the paint removed and no grease used.

Depending on how far you have to travel, you may want to stop overnight about halfway. 4 hours is about the longest I would tow in one day.

average_runner · 15-01-2021 12:17pm

db wrote: »

What car and what type caravan - weight, no of axles, age etc?

If the car and caravan are a good match and you take your time it is easy enough. Make sure you have towing mirrors so you can see behind you properly. Give yourself plenty of room going around corners and watch out for the tail swinging wide. It would be useful to practice reversing in a quiet carpark.

Make sure the tyres, brakes and tow-hitch are in good condition and you have the correct towball on the car. If the caravan has an Alko hitch the towball needs a longer neck than the standard one, the paint removed and no grease used.

Depending on how far you have to travel, you may want to stop overnight about halfway. 4 hours is about the longest I would tow in one day.

Cool will look into all that.

The car is a nissan xtrail 7 seater and caravan is one axle that holds 5 people.

Thanks

colm_mcm · 15-01-2021 12:20pm

What licence would you need to tow a caravan? 5 berth would probably be well over 1000kg?

Wally Runs · 15-01-2021 12:27pm

That should be no bother to you. Why not take your time, stop off at point along the way. Westport, Cong, Lough Ree East, In Achill, I would recommend Seal Bay. The last few km are the toughest, and bumpiest.

Have a look at the tag on the caravan, as far as I know it is the total mass of the car and caravan.

colm_mcm · 15-01-2021 12:32pm

I never understanding the towing rules

So if say an X Trail has a GVW of 2200kg and the caravan GVW is 1200kg, then you can use a regular B licence?

Or is there some rule about 750kg weight?

db · 15-01-2021 12:45pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

What licence would you need to tow a caravan? 5 berth would probably be well over 1000kg?

1000KG is irrelevant. For a braked trailer like a caravan, the maximum permitted loaded weight of the car and caravan have to be below 3500KG for a standard B license. Note that it doesn't matter if the car and caravan are empty except for the driver, it is the maximum permitted weight that applies.

A single-axle 5 birth would almost definitely be < 1500KG unless it is a Hobby which tend to be a bit heavier. The MAM of the Xtrail is probably a bit above 2000KG so you would want to check it out carefully. Both car and caravan should have maximum weights on plates attached somewhere.

colm_mcm · 15-01-2021 1:02pm

So would the 750kg thing come in if you had a car with GVW of 3400kg? You could still tow an additional 750kg?

Edit: just googled it and you can.

Sorry for derailing

_Brian · 16-01-2021 11:57am

colm_mcm wrote: »

So would the 750kg thing come in if you had a car with GVW of 3400kg? You could still tow an additional 750kg?

Edit: just googled it and you can.

Sorry for derailing

750kg refers to the limit of unbreaked trailer that’s allowed to be towed.

_Brian · 16-01-2021 12:03pm

average_runner wrote: »

Hi All
Thinking about towing our caravan this year. Originally was thinking of camping in Achill, but now wondering would it be better to get lessons and tow the caravan.

Any advice on towing a caravan, is Achill over aiming?

You can take the van out for a few shorter runs to build your confidence. Probably without the kids in the back (no offence).

Planning your route is essential. Hard to beat having a decent paper map, go through the route with your map reader in advance. Taking a wrong turn is multiple times more stressful with the van as you can’t just do a U turn easily. Same for stop off, you need a decent filling station to be able to get a van in and parked for a cuppa.

Get yourself a good set of towing mirrors.

Caravan is a big item behind a car, wider, longer, more clearance on corners needed. And that’s before you get into reversing it.

If you can identify a local industrial estate that might he quiet on a Sunday. Bring your van there amd practice reversing and turning.

We have our van a long time and I grew up towing trailers. We did achill last year, last section from mulranny out is pants with the caravan. You could choose a closer campsite to make a start. We’ve done longer journies on the continent, down near the alps was our farthest run.

Loading a caravan is difficult. They have tiny payload allowances. Typically 200-250kg. This has to cover everything including gas, food, clothes, kids stuff. Read up on nose weights. Typically your looking for 50-80kg down on the tow ball, never ever weighted to the rear of the van.

niloc1951 · 16-01-2021 3:19pm

Below is some simple to understand information, forget the RSA.

Click the following link for some useful information Car & trailer (caravan) weights

On the VIN plate of the car, the first weight in the list is the maximum weight the vehicle can legally be when fully loaded
On the VIN plate of the trailer (caravan) similarly, the first weight in the list is also the maximum weight the trailer can legally be when fully loaded.

Add the two together and if the trailer weight is over 750KG but the sum does not exceed 3,500kg a B (car) licence is ok. If the total weight is over 3,500kg an EB (car + trailer) licence is required.

If towing vehicle plated maximum weight is not over 3,500kg and the trailer plated weight is not over 750kg and the sum does not exceed 4,250kg a B (car) licence is ok

Where the towing vehicle is plated at between 3,501kg and 7,500kg a category C1 (HGV) is required and a towing licence (E) is required for any size trailer.

A basic regulation for all categories is that the trailer must not have a higher rating than the towing vehicle except when the towing vehicle is designed for towing alone and not carrying a load itself, eg the tractor units of arctics.

Finally, in Ireland, attaching a trailer of any size reduces the speed limit to 80km/h even on motorways, except for HGV's which have their own separate limits.

Del2005 · 17-01-2021 11:34am

_Brian wrote: »

You can take the van out for a few shorter runs to build your confidence. Probably without the kids in the back (no offence).

Planning your route is essential. Hard to beat having a decent paper map, go through the route with your map reader in advance. Taking a wrong turn is multiple times more stressful with the van as you can’t just do a U turn easily. Same for stop off, you need a decent filling station to be able to get a van in and parked for a cuppa.

Get yourself a good set of towing mirrors.

Caravan is a big item behind a car, wider, longer, more clearance on corners needed. And that’s before you get into reversing it.

If you can identify a local industrial estate that might he quiet on a Sunday. Bring your van there amd practice reversing and turning.

We have our van a long time and I grew up towing trailers. We did achill last year, last section from mulranny out is pants with the caravan. You could choose a closer campsite to make a start. We’ve done longer journies on the continent, down near the alps was our farthest run.

Loading a caravan is difficult. They have tiny payload allowances. Typically 200-250kg. This has to cover everything including gas, food, clothes, kids stuff. Read up on nose weights. Typically your looking for 50-80kg down on the tow ball, never ever weighted to the rear of the van.

Also be careful of overloading the car. Caravan, passengers and luggage could put the car overweight.

Alkers · 17-01-2021 2:00pm

@op it's not as difficult as you might think - with the exception of reversing :L On a site it's grand as you can take your time but if you have to do a U-turn or reverse into a driveway with traffic behind you, you'll know a new meaning of stress. That being said if you really get stuck be aware that manhandling the caravan really isn't a big deal either - even with two people.

It's important to load the caravan properly, keeping heavy items low down and near the axle and you want the centre of gravity of the loaded caravan to be slightly forward of the axle. Check the nose weight suggested for your van and car.

Check all your lights and rear visibility and know your route beforehand, it can be well worth taking a longer route to stay on better roads so be very careful following satnav / Google maps, particularly once you're getting off the main roads.

I find the caravan much easier to tow than a small trailer as you're always so aware of its massive presence behind you and people generally give you a lot more leeway. Just watch your braking distances will obviously be massively increased.

CJhaughey · 18-01-2021 8:36am

^^
Many people don't understand nose weight and the way it affects the handling of the Car+Caravan.
This video demonstrates the principle of improper and proper nose(tongue) weight.
https://youtu.be/w9Dgxe584Ss

PhilipJ · 19-01-2021 12:32pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

I never understanding the towing rules
So if say an X Trail has a GVW of 2200kg and the caravan GVW is 1200kg, then you can use a regular B licence?

Or is there some rule about 750kg weight?

I have a 2018 xtrail, which weighs 2170kg, the max weight limit is 3820kg including car, trailer, luggage and occupants. that will give me a max tow limit of 1650kg. So Im restricted in getting a caravan with a max MPTLM of 1650kg for it to be road legal and for insurance. I will have to do a test for towing as its over the 3.5T limit. If you want to tow without applying for tow license using the same figures, the max you can tow will be 1330kg MPTLM (total weight of caravan and luggage) and not the MIRO which is the actual weight of the caravan.

oinkely · 21-01-2021 4:02pm

For what it's worth - I've towed a fairly light (1100 kg) caravan for a few years with a renault trafic crewcab. It's no problem, it follows you! More seriously though, take your time, accelerating is slow, and stopping is even slower! Leave corners wide and take your time. Look at the trip as part of the holiday rather than something to be endured before the holiday can start. Take your time. High winds can be a bit unnerving, as can being overtaken by trucks on motorways.

Did the towing test two years ago having already been to france a few times and figured as my combo of caravan and van was close to the 3500kg limit I was pushing my luck.

Did two lesson with my van and a driving school trailer (large horsebox with the requisite number of bricks in it). The lessons were great for sorting out the technical bits before doing the test. Test itself was in Wicklow town and went fine, if you don't mind dealing with abandoned parked cars and narrow streets!. I would recommend taking a lesson or two and doing the test if you are going to be towing regularly as you do get a few tips from the instructor and the peace of mind knowing you are properly licenced and not skirting the edges of legality is great.

martinedwards · 27-01-2021 10:20am

it aint rocket science, but its a skill that takes some learning.

don't race, and be prepared to change your underwear the first time a big lorry overtakes you!

aquisce · 22-02-2021 4:25pm

I have just bought a caravan up North and going to land it on a site for the summer, anyone know of anyone I could hire to tow it down to Wicklow for me?

PhilipJ · 22-02-2021 5:06pm

aquisce wrote: »

I have just bought a caravan up North and going to land it on a site for the summer, anyone know of anyone I could hire to tow it down to Wicklow for me?

Ive seen a post for a company called car movers Ireland on facebook, an Ollie Conroy posted on the caravan & campers Facebook page about collecting and delivering caravans, seems to be a new business www.carmovers.ie.

Towing a Caravan

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