Slimy38
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 08:51 AM |
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Towing limits
Good morning, I have a small towing question. I'll be trailering my car to the IVA and I wanted to check I'm within limits. My Skoda Superb
has a tow capacity of 1800Kg, the trailer I'm hiring is 670Kg and the car is 770Kg. Basic maths suggest I'm within limits, but the trailers
gross weight is 2600Kg. I have a vague recollection that the towing capacity needs to exceed the gross weight even if you're not using it.
I'm fairly confident the Superb is capable (and it wouldn't have got so many 'caravan tow car of the year' awards if it
wasn't), but I am wary of the gross weight. Problem is outside of some random posts on here and elsewhere, I can't find anything official.
Everywhere I look it talks about the Maximum Authorised Mass, which is the number related to the towing vehicle not what is on the trailer.
I've already checked my licence, thankfully I'm old enough to have the trailering categories and they're still there.
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JoelP
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 11:51 AM |
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I believe it's done off the rated limits rather than actually weights, on the basis that the police can't actually weigh it on the road
side. However, it's ludicrously unlikely you'll get stopped. I have towed enormous trailers literally up and down the country, even homemade
ones, and never been stopped.
Pretty sure everyone has the +E now though don't they? Didn't they just add it through covid?
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obfripper
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 12:38 PM |
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Look at your vin plate, there will be 4 weights listed, take the first weight(MAM) away from the second (GTW/GCW) and that will give you the normal
trailer capacity, and may be slightly different to the weight stated on your v5 due to how the manufacturer calculates that figure.
AFAIK the figure stated on the v5 can override this, but I'm not 100% sure on this, I've noticed several cars that have a braked trailer
figure of say 1500kg, but only 600kg unbraked which does not seem to correlate to the law.
There is also some leeway in that if the car isn't fully laden, that difference to the MAM can be used for the trailer to remain legal as long as
the GTW and trailer plated weight are not exceeded.
If you were stopped for overloading, they would use the actual weights of the vehicle and trailer to determine it's legality as towed, not the
trailers plated weight (unless exceeded), and they would have to lead you to the nearest weighbridge to determine this. There is also a 5% allowance
in your favour before an offence is applied, ie a 3500kg GTW would have to exceed 3675kg to be legally overweight.
Things like the "85% rule" are caravan club recommendation, not the law, and are only intended to help inexperienced towing drivers, hence
it is fine to pull a 3500kg trailer with a c.1700kg unladen landrover defender.
Dave
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Slimy38
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 12:57 PM |
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Aye, I took my numbers off the VIN plate because I can't find my V5 at the moment. Car weight is 2139 and total weight is 3939 for the 1800kg
towing capacity.
Thanks for the responses both, I appreciate it's not strictly to the letter of the law but given I'm not taking the mick and staying withing
the actual limits of my car and myself I think I'm good.
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gremlin1234
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 03:29 PM |
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some of the towing limits on cars are what the manufacturer 'guarantees' for a restart on a significant hill (about 1 in 8 at sea level with
a fully laden car).
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gremlin1234
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 03:44 PM |
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thinking further, the car spec works with gross train weight (ie total real weight), but licence works on mam, maximum authored mass of the components
added together.
it should be fine.
no-one would notice, except if you happened to arrive at a dvsa/vosa test station... So perhaps ask them first
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gremlin1234
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 03:58 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by obfripper
I've noticed several cars that have a braked trailer figure of say 1500kg, but only 600kg un-braked which does not seem to correlate to the
law.
The max un-braked trailer is 50% of the cars curbside weight (upto max of 750kg)
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 05:02 PM |
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I'd urge caution, one upon a time I ignored these things but certainly on social media there's a lot more cases of the plod catching people
slightly over limits, or towing cars for recovery using the wrong flatbed size. So they're clearly not just assuming e everything is fine
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Slimy38
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| posted on 24/1/26 at 06:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
I'd urge caution, one upon a time I ignored these things but certainly on social media there's a lot more cases of the plod catching people
slightly over limits, or towing cars for recovery using the wrong flatbed size. So they're clearly not just assuming e everything is fine
Agreed, I have seen quite a few of them. Although to be fair it's either quite obvious (rear arches resting on the top of the wheels, half a
dozen skips being trailered by a Nissan Micra, etc), or they're pulled over for other reasons (no insurance/tax, no seatbelt, no ability to drive
in a straight line).
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nick205
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| posted on 26/1/26 at 02:07 PM |
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Excuse me if I've missed it before, but any reason you're not driving to/from the IVA?
Drove my MK Indy to from the SVA (SVA was the test prior to IVA).
Had a support car follow me and avoided motorways.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 26/1/26 at 05:08 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nick205
Excuse me if I've missed it before, but any reason you're not driving to/from the IVA?
Drove my MK Indy to from the SVA (SVA was the test prior to IVA).
Had a support car follow me and avoided motorways.
A two to three hour drive at 5 in the morning in a (mostly) undriven car is probably the main reason. 
I may have considered driving it back if it passes, or if it fails I will be driving it for the retest, but I think I'm just being a bit cautious
for now.
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nick205
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| posted on 26/1/26 at 06:05 PM |
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Fair play - mine was just 18 miles each way + support car.
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Sanzomat
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| posted on 27/1/26 at 08:11 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
Good morning, I have a small towing question. I'll be trailering my car to the IVA and I wanted to check I'm within limits. My Skoda Superb
has a tow capacity of 1800Kg, the trailer I'm hiring is 670Kg and the car is 770Kg. Basic maths suggest I'm within limits, but the trailers
gross weight is 2600Kg. I have a vague recollection that the towing capacity needs to exceed the gross weight even if you're not using it.
I'm fairly confident the Superb is capable (and it wouldn't have got so many 'caravan tow car of the year' awards if it
wasn't), but I am wary of the gross weight. Problem is outside of some random posts on here and elsewhere, I can't find anything official.
Everywhere I look it talks about the Maximum Authorised Mass, which is the number related to the towing vehicle not what is on the trailer.
I've already checked my licence, thankfully I'm old enough to have the trailering categories and they're still there.
The rules are quite hard to interpret. The way I read them the authorities (police or DVSA) can use the max plated weight of both car and trailer to
determine if the train weight exceeds your licence maximum (3500kg if licence passed after 1997 or 8250kg if passed before or you've passed a
separate trailer test) but for all other restrictions the actual weight applies (which would require a weighbridge to enforce) so I believe that from
what you say in your post you are fully legal as the plated weights are within your licence entitlement (as you passed before 1997) and the actual
weights are within your vehicle and trailers capacities.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 27/1/26 at 09:03 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Sanzomat
The rules are quite hard to interpret. The way I read them the authorities (police or DVSA) can use the max plated weight of both car and trailer to
determine if the train weight exceeds your licence maximum (3500kg if licence passed after 1997 or 8250kg if passed before or you've passed a
separate trailer test) but for all other restrictions the actual weight applies (which would require a weighbridge to enforce) so I believe that from
what you say in your post you are fully legal as the plated weights are within your licence entitlement (as you passed before 1997) and the actual
weights are within your vehicle and trailers capacities.
Yeah that sounds quite reasonable, and I'm clear on both counts. Thanks for the additional view, it's appreciated.
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 27/1/26 at 11:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Sanzomat
The rules are quite hard to interpret. The way I read them the authorities (police or DVSA) can use the max plated weight of both car and trailer to
determine if the train weight exceeds your licence maximum (3500kg if licence passed after 1997 or 8250kg if passed before or you've passed a
separate trailer test) but for all other restrictions the actual weight applies (which would require a weighbridge to enforce) so I believe that from
what you say in your post you are fully legal as the plated weights are within your licence entitlement (as you passed before 1997) and the actual
weights are within your vehicle and trailers capacities.
The rules changed recently. A pre-January 1997 licence still allows a gross train weight of 8250kg, but a post-January 1997 licence now allows a tow
veicle with a MAM of up to 3500kg, *PLUS* a trailer with a MAM up to the maximum allowed by the tow vehicle manufacturer or a trailer with a MAM of
3500kg (excluding the tow vehicle), whichever is the lower.
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