What Weight Can Your Car Tow? - Chart Inside...

[Nicky]

This in not a chart/site showing what you can tow at your leisure. You must be licensed and insured before towing a trailer, so look into that before buying a car on the strength of what it can tow, or indeed attaching a trailer and thinking you can just pull on...

That said, I stumbled upon this useful site showing the legal towing capacity of the majority of vehicles on our roads:

http://www.uktow.com/towing capacity.asp

Simply select manufacturer's logo, then select which model you are enquiring about from the drop down menu.

Some others here may find it useful, given that a few of us would tow cars/trailers/caravans regularly, and it is good to know what your legally allowed to pull, B+E licencing permitted..

 

[Graham]

1400kg for the astra bus, that is more than I would have thought.

have towed this or more weight no bother though in fairness.

as for the license, well errrrrm....

 

[forde]

you only need to do b + e if you passed your driving test after 97 (sept i think) if you passed before that you already have it

 

[Boydie]

Doesn't list my car but 85% of its weight it can tow I guess - doubt it will ever tow anything though lol

 

[deevtec]

When I select my car from the drop down menu it just brings me back to the home page

 

[Ben]

Same as me dee

 

[miniator]

Doesn't list my car but 85% of its weight it can tow I guess - doubt it will ever tow anything though lol

it may not be listed as the S3 may not be certified to tow. For example, the accord type r and leon cupra r arent yet their lesser spec'd models can

 

[stevieturbo]

Regardless of what the manufacturer says the car can pull...I'm sure I read somewhere in one of the governments silly rule books, that the weight of the towed unit "must" not exceed the weight of the tow vehicle.

Drivers who passed their test since 1 January 1997 are only allowed to drive a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes (category B) and tow an unbraked trailer up to 750kg. Drivers may tow larger trailers or caravans over 750kg if the combined maximum authorized mass (MAM) does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and the gross MAM of the trailer/caravan does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle

There is nothing simple or easy about their rules/laws, although that rule would make it difficult to tow anything

 

[tbdevpaul]

2.7 Tonnes That'll do

Basically even if you are towing an empty trailer that has a MAM of 2.5tonnes stamped on the trailer you are not legally allowed to tow it if your cars towing capacity is below that. Your trailers MAM should be the same or exceeded by your tow capacity. If you are also carrying a load of stuff in the car this can easily push you over the limit too.

 

[RallyCiaran]

I find Parkers to be much better, they seem to have pretty much all cars listed and the site has less bugs. Find your car and then go to facts and figures.
http://www.parkers.co.uk/

 

[DaddyCC]

Good shout there Nicky, dont think we've had a thread like this before and the ins/outs that most wouldnt think of Dont forget to check your insurance and that they allow you to tow also.

Ive added this to the stickied legal threads

 

[Nicky]

It just shows that the majority of folk are using far too light of a vehicle as a tow car going to the track and the likes.

It's the same with going to the horse events and stuff now. I see people using A3's, Bora's, 3 Series BMW's and the likes to tow a twin horse box with 2 horses on board at over 500kg a piece. Never mind the legalities, trying to stop something like that in a hurry or steer on a loose surface = death wish...

 

[syecadelic]

Same as me dee

When I select my car from the drop down menu it just brings me back to the home page

scroll down caught me out first time round,

doesnt list the i30, but think its around the 1400ish mark, though towed a transporter and VR6, about 1600 comfortably, and stopped easy enough etc..

 

[Bryan]

It seems caravan people only drive Fabias... they don't list the Octavia either.

 

[StephenMcC]

Civic 1200kg More Than I Thought... As The Car Only Weighs About 1150kg... lol

 

[ewok]

3500kg for me lol

 

[tbdevpaul]

Yeah Ewok good man. As far as I know thats the maximum for the UK. So even the likes of yamaharaptors monster could tow 8 tonnes easily he is still restricted to 3.5 LOL

 

[Big Pimp]

i'm with 3500kg too, yeow

 

[Coog]

Doesn't appear to be quite right for the Cherokee. Mine's plated to do 3300kg though maybe the ones without the towing package can only do 1000kg or something.

Regardless, check your manual before you tow something substantial. Also check your driving license!

 

[Coog]

It just shows that the majority of folk are using far too light of a vehicle as a tow car going to the track and the likes.

It's the same with going to the horse events and stuff now. I see people using A3's, Bora's, 3 Series BMW's and the likes to tow a twin horse box with 2 horses on board at over 500kg a piece. Never mind the legalities, trying to stop something like that in a hurry or steer on a loose surface = death wish...

Yep a standard family saloon is generally allowed to tow 1500kg. Even if the actual weight of the set-up doesn't tip you over the scales the MAM of your rig probably will (no empty, plated car transporters behind a Passat/Mondeo for example). See so many ropey set-ups out there its unreal. People completely oblivious about what they're doing.

There is nothing simple or easy about their rules/laws, although that rule would make it difficult to tow anything

It's not that difficult Stevie. Seems to be set up so that they can check you at the side of the road without having to take you to the local weigh bridge. Unplated trailers make things more difficult mind you!

 

[ewok]

Doesn't appear to be quite right for the Cherokee. Mine's plated to do 3300kg though maybe the ones without the towing package can only do 1000kg or something.

Regardless, check your manual before you tow something substantial. Also check your driving license!

True true but on my books I can hop into a 7.5 tonne lorry

 

[Smick]

1200kg for me. Sideways.

 

[stevieturbo]

Yep a standard family saloon is generally allowed to tow 1500kg. Even if the actual weight of the set-up doesn't tip you over the scales the MAM of your rig probably will (no empty, plated car transporters behind a Passat/Mondeo for example). See so many ropey set-ups out there its unreal. People completely oblivious about what they're doing.

It's not that difficult Stevie. Seems to be set up so that they can check you at the side of the road without having to take you to the local weigh bridge. Unplated trailers make things more difficult mind you!

But it is. You are suggesting an average car can tow 1500kgs. Looking at some of what is mentioned above, people say they can tow a trailer heavier than the tow car.
Yet the government also say the weight of the trailer must not exceed that of the unladen tow vehicle ? So there are contradictions or misinformation somewhere. So based on that, towing virtually any car/trailer with a normal saloon would be almost impossible to be legal unless the trailer/race car was very light ?

The horse comparison is a good one though....doubt the cops would tackle those people though ?

 

[Coog]

But it is. You are suggesting an average car can tow 1500kgs. Looking at some of what is mentioned above, people say they can tow a trailer heavier than the tow car.
Yet the government also say the weight of the trailer must not exceed that of the unladen tow vehicle ? So there are contradictions or misinformation somewhere. So based on that, towing virtually any car/trailer with a normal saloon would be almost impossible to be legal unless the trailer/race car was very light ?

It's not really.Take 5 minutes and study the guidance if you're really interested.

Regarding your first point - you can only tow to what your license allows you.

Regarding the standard saloon. You're correct.

This link explains it a lot better than I can to be honest:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

 

[stevieturbo]

And again I go back to this statement.

and also the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle

So regardless of what the chart in the first link says, many of which claim the car may be able to tow more than it's unladen weight. From the governments own info, it is not allowed to tow more than it's unladen weight.

This would effectively rule out almost any passenger car towing a transporter/car combo for all but the lightest of race cars.