Almost every element of caravanning involves weight considerations. This crucial factor affects your tow car, packing, licences, manoeuvring, additional equipment, and much more. Our comprehensive caravan weights guide explains all.
Knowing your tow car and caravan weights, and how they impact your towing, is all important.
The key things to know about this are:
- Your caravan MiRO, MTPLM and Payload figures
- The 85% rule (for towing novices) and 100% rule (for experienced tow car drivers)
- Noseweight
- Driving licence provisions
We’ll start this guide by explaining what the most important weights in caravanning are.
Mass In Running Order (MiRO/MRO)
MiRO is the empty weight of the van in kilogrammes when it leaves the factory. I say ‘empty’, but it includes the following:
- the weight of one gas bottle
- flush water
- and an amount of freshwater stored in any onboard tank.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t include the weight of a leisure battery, even though they can weigh more than 12kg.
Find the MiRO weight and other details on the weight plate near the caravan door in modern tourers.
Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM)
The ‘Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass’ is the heaviest weight at which you can safely tow your caravan. The weight plate displays the weight in kilogrammes. For most caravans, the MTPLM falls between 1000kg (for lightweight two-berth caravans) and 2000kg (for larger, luxurious family tourers).
As well as the weight of the caravan, the MTPLM encompasses all items inside or attached to your caravan. These items include the leisure battery, flush water, clothing, foodstuffs, awnings, motormovers, and air conditioning units, etc. When weighing your holiday tourer, it should be lighter than the maximum weight allowed for your van.
In fact, the MPTLM figure isn’t a legal limit. Factors like axle and tyre ratings determine its basis. Exceeding it could invalidate your warranty and insurance.
A police check could result in authorities charging you for careless driving, towing a dangerous load, or breaking a general law. Overloading a caravan can significantly alter its towing performance and safety.
Payload
Payload refers to the weight of items you can load into your tourer before exceeding its weight capacity. To calculate the allowable payload, simply subtract the Mass in Running Order (MiRO) from the Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM).
This will give you the weight in kilogrammes of contents and caravan accessories that you can safely carry in your caravan when towing.
Typically, this includes:
- clothes
- food
- gadgets
- toys
- books
- games
- sports equipment
- awnings
- camping furniture
- your water carriers
- and other accessories.
For instance, in the weight plate image, the MTPLM of the Coachman 630 Vision caravan is 1701kg. While the MiRO is 1531kg, leaving a potential payload of 170kg.
The weight of clothes and food may seem like a lot. But there are other things to consider.
These include leisure batteries, motor movers, satellite dishes, bedding, footwear, televisions, and awnings. These items can add significant weight to the van.
Noseweight
The noseweight is the force that pushes down on the towball. This happens when you lift the jockeywheel and corner steadies of the caravan.
Noseweight is measured in kilogrammes and should ideally be between 5% to 7% of the fully-laden weight of the caravan. For example, a 1500kg caravan should exert a downward force of 75kg to 105kg on the hitch.
Noseweight limits are also specified by the tow car and the towbar manufacturers, and should not be exceeded.
Typically, a towbar has a weight limit of around 80kg to 110kg. Refer to your car’s manual for specific details. Some car towbars only have a weight limit of 50kg. These models are not suitable for towing a caravan
You measure the noseweight of a caravan using a noseweight gauge, a specialist scale which you place between the caravan hitch and the ground. When you raise the jockey wheel, the gauge supports the weight on the nose of the caravan, allowing you to read the weight measurements.
Make sure that the gauge meets the BS7961 standard. A 130kg model can be purchased from Milenco for £43.52.
Alternatively, you could place bathroom scales on the ground under the hitch and place a piece of strong wood in between the hitch cup and the scales.
As you carefully wind up the jockeywheel, you’ll see the weight on the scales increase, until the jockeywheel is off the ground. At this point, you can read the noseweight.
Achieving the correct noseweight should result in the caravan having a slightly nose-down angle. This delivers optimal stability and aerodynamic effect while towing.
Reading a car’s weightplate
Usually, a vehicle’s weightplate is found inside one of the front door jambs.
Typically, they display four weights. From the top these are:
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) aka Maximum Allowable Mass (MAM)
These terms describe the same thing: the maximum weight of a vehicle for safe driving. It includes all contents, luggage, fuel and passengers. Driving above this weight is likely to cause damage and produce an unsafe drive.
GVW is the weight used when working out the total mass of a caravan outfit for B+E purposes. Do not use the kerb weight for this calculation.
Usually, GVW is around 400kg more than the kerbweight. My tow car, for example, has a kerbweight of 1730kg and a GVW/MAM of 2115kg. That means I can carry 385kg of people and luggage. Get to know your car’s kerbweight.Gross Train Weight (GTW)
This describes the combined maximum allowable mass of the tow vehicle and trailer.
It’s the combined weight of the tow car’s GVW and the caravan’s MTPLM. It’s shown on the data plate in the picture as 3790kg.
To find the weight of the maximum allowable caravan weight, you subtract the GVW figure from it. In this case, a caravan weighing up to 1675kg could be towed.
Front and rear max axle loads (respectively)
Here, the front axle can carry 945kgs and the rear axle 1180kgs.
Kerbweight
Your tow car’s kerbweight is used to assess your 85% and 100% tow-match status.
It denotes the weight of the tow car with all standard equipment and a full tank of fuel – but no driver, passengers, or cargo.
You can find your tow car’s kerbweight figure in the owner’s manual, on the manufacturer’s website, on your V5 registration document (G Mass in Service – XXXXKG) and sometimes on the car’s weightplate.
Kerbweight shouldn’t be confused with other weights like Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM).
The 85% and 100% towing rules
The NCC, both major caravan clubs, and a number of industry experts came together to develop the 85% rule, guidance which is designed to provide safer towing on Britain’s roads.
While not a law, the advice is eminently sensible and infringing it could cause problems in the event of an accident or insurance claim.
The 85% rule states that novice caravanners should only tow caravans that weigh no more than 85% of the kerbweight of the tow car.
As an example, if your tow car weighs 1600kg, a novice caravanner can safely and sensibly tow a tourer with an MTPLM weight of up to 1360kg. (1360 is 85% of 1600).
Conversely, if you’ve bought a caravan with an MTPLM of 1450kg, you’ll need a tow car weighing at least 1705kg.
Once the caravanner has racked up a few towing miles and become a confident tow car driver, this limit is raised to 100%. That means the same 1600kg tow car can safely pull a caravan with an MTPLM weight of 1600kg.
Under no circumstances should you tow a caravan that is heavier than the tow car.
These rules may contradict other guidance on the tow vehicle’s weighplate or in the manual, but these figures are accepted across the industry as safe and sensible.
Our graph below shows the suggested minimum kerbweights for a number of caravans with different MTPLM figures.
Minimum Towcar Kerbweights’ Guide
| Caravan MTPLM | Min Kerbweight Novice (85%) | Min Kerbweight Experienced (100%) |
| 750kg | 882kg | 750kg |
| 1000kg | 1176kg | 1000kg |
| 1250kg | 1470kg | 1250kg |
| 1500kg | 1764kg | 1500kg |
| 1750kg | 2058kg | 1750kg |
| 2000kg | 2352kg | 2000kg |
Knowing your car’s towing limit and towing weight capabilities are important factors to grasp.
Tow Match Calculator
If you’re not sure if you meet the 85% guideline, use our free caravan weight calculator below. Type in your tow car kerbweight and the caravan’s MTPLM, click ‘Calculate Tow Match‘ and you’ll see the recommendation.
85% Tow-Match Calculator
Enter your tow car's kerbweight and your caravan's MTPLM to check how well they match.