| MATCH
THE VEHICLES |
Match
the towing vehicle with the load and trailer you are going to tow.
| |
| ENGINE
POWER |
Make
sure that the vehicle has a large enough engine and is sufficiently sized to pull
the load and make sure also that the trailer is large and strong enough to hold
the load. | |
| BRAKING
SYSTEM |
Also
make sure that the braking system of the towing vehicle is adequate to stop the
combined load efficiently and safely. | |
| STOPPING |
You
can do this by making sure that the weight of the load does not exceed the maximum
capacity of the trailer and the combined weight of trailer and load does not exceeed
the maximum towing weight for the vehicle. | |
| DRIVING
STYLE |
Amend
your driving style to cope with the extra load. Don't forget that the vehicles
handling and stopping capacity can be seriously changed when towing heavy loads. | |
| STOPPING
DISTANCES |
Stopping
distances are greater and acceleration will be slower
(So don't pull out in
front of someone thinking you can just put your foot down) | |
| COMBINED
LENGTH | 
The
combined length of the vehicle and trailer is also much longer than normal so
be careful when negotiating sharp bends. | |
| TOWING
CAPACITY |
The
maximum towing capacity for a particular vehicle can be found in the owners handbook
and/or on the chassis VIN plate. | |
| TOTAL
WEIGHT |
The
caravan Club recommends that the total weight of the trailer and load should not
be greater than 85% of the kerb weight of the towing vehicle provided that this
does not exceed the maximum towing weight for the vehicle. | |
| KERB
WEIGHT |
The kerb weight
is defined as the weight of the vehicle plus a full tank of petrol and 75kg (for
the driver and luggage) | |
|
|
