You can determine the caravans your car can tow by identifying its towing capacity, and considering its engine power and torque.

Your car’s maximum towing may be listed on the V5C logbook or on a plate/sticker on the car itself (usually inside the driver’s door frame). It may also be published in the vehicle’s handbook.

Towing capacity can also be calculated from the weights on the vehicle’s VIN plate:

• On your VIN plate, line one is the gross vehicle weight, this is the Maximum Allowable Mass (MAM) of the vehicle including occupants, fuel and payload.

• Line two is the gross train weight, this is the combined maximum allowable mass of the vehicle and a trailer.

• Simply deduct line one from line two and you have the vehicle towing limit.

For safe towing, it is recommended that the fully laden weight of a caravan should be no heavier than 85% of the kerb weight of the tow car.

This can be calculated by using two figures: the kerb weight of the car and the maximum technically permissible laden mass (or MTPLM, for short) of the caravan.

Known as the 85% rule, if the mass of the caravan is 85% or less of the car’s kerb weight, the car should be suitable for towing the caravan.

However, weight isn’t the only consideration you need to make when matching a tow car to a caravan. After weight, the engine power and torque of the vehicle should be considered too. Using the engine power to vehicle weight ratio, you will be able to measure this.

Ideally, you should aim for a power to weight ratio of 40 BHP/tonne of the vehicle’s GTW. This will allow for reasonable performance, sufficient power for overtaking, and ensure you are not delaying other traffic.

The following website will provide a useful guide to whether your car is suitable for towing a specific caravan – https://towcar.info/

Do you need help finding out whether your car can tow a caravan we have for sale?

If you require assistance in identifying whether your car can tow a caravan we have for sale, our team will be more than happy to assist you.

You can call the team at our Daventry branch on 01327 703371, whilst the team at our Hitchin branch can be contacted on 01462 452856