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What are the Maximum Towing Weights?
When fitting a towbar to your vehicle, it is essential you are aware of the maximum towing weights for your car in order to ensure your safety and that of other road users. If the tow car is attempting to tow a caravan or trailer above it’s maximum capacity, the vehicle can become unstable if caught in heavy winds, or if driving at high speeds.
We’ve outlined how to find the maximum towing weights for your vehicle here.
Towing capacity figures
You can find the maximum towing weight for your vehicle on your Vehicle Identification Number Plate (VIN Plate).
The VIN plate can usually be located under your vehicle’s bonnet, or on a door pillar, and will be in the form of a sticker, or a plate riveted to the car body.
The plate will display 4 lines of numbers, including:
- Gross vehicle weight
- Gross train weight
- Maximum front axle load
- Maximum rear axle load
The gross train weight is the maximum combined weight allowed for the vehicle and a trailer/caravan. You can therefore establish your vehicle’s maximum towing capacity by subtracting the gross vehicle weight from the gross train weight.
It should be noted that some vehicles may not display a gross train weight, or have it displayed as 0000kg. This means that the vehicle is not suitable to tow a caravan or trailer, and should not have a towbar fitted.
Widths and Lengths
There are also legal restrictions on the width and length of any towing vehicle, and you must ensure that your caravan or trailer is in adherence with these regulations.
The maximum width of a trailer or caravan for any towing vehicle (no matter the maximum towing capacity) is 2.55 metres, with a maximum length of 7 metres excluding the A-frame. It is recommended that the caravan or trailer is kept as light as possible, making it far safer to tow.
If you’re unsure of the towing capacity for your vehicle, or are looking for an expert towbar fitting service, contact our friendly team here at Towbar2U.
We provide a professional mobile towbar fitting service at competitive prices, with a range of towbars on offer to suit the requirements of every customer. We’re always happy to answer any questions you may have on the correct towbar for you, and will provide up-to-date advice to ensure your towing vehicle meets the legal requirements to tow your caravan or trailer.
Simply get in touch with us today to find out more, and we’ll be more than happy to assist you.
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Our Reviews
Amazingly efficient and more importantly personable service from both the administrator, Rebekah, who booked my fitting (and was both knowledgeable and charming), and also the fitter, Neal, who did the job rapidly and tidily in the car park while I was seeing patients, and was happy to wait until I was free to come out and review his work. The whole process, including booking, fitting, and workmanship, was exemplary. This company deserves a 6th star.
Found towbar2u on Google when I searched for towbar fitting in County Durham enquired via email to get a quick response from Rebekah with all the quotes and details I needed I then rang and booked the appointment with Rebekah was booked and done within the week great service Simon came out and fitted the towbar would highly reccomend this company
Arrived when arranged. Did a great job. Cost was reasonable. Good warranty on towbar. Would use again.
3rd time I’ve used these guys. Excellent service, friendly and efficient. Highly recommend. Smooth fitting right from booking to installation. Excellent.
Good service, good price and neatly installed!
Absolutely brilliant service, Josh was really thorough and has made an amazing job on our car. In addition to his work, he's a lovely chap, very professional but also really friendly. I'd definitely recommend Towbar2U
This is my first try out at towing a caravan. The fitter was excellent, and he gave me some good advice, tips, I am very pleased with the towbar so far, very good.
Absolutely fantastic service from start to finish. I booked over the phone and paid in advance. I did have to change the fitting date which was handled professionally. Everything was done within an afternoon. The towbar is a removable one which is easy to fit and remove by following the instructions. Very highly recommended
Really happy with this company, the price was really competitive and the product was really good. The technician was a very nice and explained everything to me very well. He went the extra mile to make sure I was happy with the tow bar. Very professional and very thorough. Excellent 👍
Great job at a great price. They helped me understand which towbar I needed, and answered my many many questions!! Would definitely recommend
Excellent, lovely people to deal with, did a great job.
Brilliant service