Hi i need help
I have an 2006 Ace Jubilee Statesman weight with the following weights
 1403kg  (this is the higher of the 2 weights on the plate)
I need to know if my 2005 320d BMW can tow it.
I'm unsure if the van weight is full laden.
Pls help.
Cheers

hoods@hoods.karoo.co.uk wrote in news:d758194d-502b-471e-b184-
9513740108f5@k2g2000yql.googlegroups.com:

> I have an 2006 Ace Jubilee Statesman weight with the following weights
>  1403kg  (this is the higher of the 2 weights on the plate)
> I need to know if my 2005 320d BMW can tow it.
> I'm unsure if the van weight is full laden.

The short answer is "yes", although at 94% it's well above the 85% 
recommended maximum.

If the van has two weights the larger will be the maximum technically 
permitted laden mass - the weight above which the van must not be loaded. 
This value is confirmed in the caravan data at 
http://www.clicreports.co.uk

Clicreports don't have figures for the 2005 320d but they do have them 
for the 2002 car. Since the kerbweight of 1490kg is the same as the 
kerbweight given in http://sn.im/f2bb0 (which gives the technical specs 
for the 2005 car) I suspect that the 1800kg towing limit given for the 
2002 car applies to the 2005 car also. However, you need to check the VIN 
plate on your own car and calculate the towing limit from the MTW and MAM 
to be sure.

HTH,

Geoff

Geoff Lane wrote:
> hoods@hoods.karoo.co.uk wrote in news:d758194d-502b-471e-b184-
> 9513740108f5@k2g2000yql.googlegroups.com:
>
>   
>> I have an 2006 Ace Jubilee Statesman weight with the following weights
>>  1403kg  (this is the higher of the 2 weights on the plate)
>> I need to know if my 2005 320d BMW can tow it.
>> I'm unsure if the van weight is full laden.
>>     
>
> The short answer is "yes", although at 94% it's well above the 85% 
> recommended maximum.
>
> If the van has two weights the larger will be the maximum technically 
> permitted laden mass - the weight above which the van must not be loaded. 
> This value is confirmed in the caravan data at 
> http://www.clicreports.co.uk
>
> Clicreports don't have figures for the 2005 320d but they do have them 
> for the 2002 car. Since the kerbweight of 1490kg is the same as the 
> kerbweight given in http://sn.im/f2bb0 (which gives the technical specs 
> for the 2005 car) I suspect that the 1800kg towing limit given for the 
> 2002 car applies to the 2005 car also. However, you need to check the VIN 
> plate on your own car and calculate the towing limit from the MTW and MAM 
> to be sure.
>
> HTH,
>
> Geoff
>   
For car and van matching you can always try www.whattowcar.com

>>
>> The short answer is "yes", although at 94% it's well above the 85% 
>> recommended maximum.
>>

Not many manage that then?

Guess only the big 4x4s with small caravans can.


-- 
Regards,
David

FREESAT HD  as it is now it is a joke.

David wrote:
>
>
>
>>>
>>> The short answer is "yes", although at 94% it's well above the 85% 
>>> recommended maximum.
>>>
>
> Not many manage that then?
>
> Guess only the big 4x4s with small caravans can.
>
>
Towsure shows the van with a 2005 BMW 320d as being 105% as I see it, 
which I believe is not only unsafe but possibly illegal?

"Ian"  wrote in message 
news:WridnRA9sp2ci0jUnZ2dnUVZ8vSWnZ2d@posted.plusnet...
> David wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>>
>>>> The short answer is "yes", although at 94% it's well above the 85% 
>>>> recommended maximum.
>>>>
>>
>> Not many manage that then?
>>
>> Guess only the big 4x4s with small caravans can.
>>
>>
> Towsure shows the van with a 2005 BMW 320d as being 105% as I see it, 
> which I believe is not only unsafe but possibly illegal?

The problem as I see it is none of us with family cars should be towing if 
we worried about this rule.

Anyway I thought it was something cooked up by the Caravan Club and 
Practical Caravan mag.?

I go by what my car maker says and caravan is within that.

-- 
Regards,
David

FREESAT HD  as it is now it is a joke.

Thanks for the responses all.  I have checked on Whattowcar as
suggested and feel much better now.
cheers

Snipped

>> Towsure shows the van with a 2005 BMW 320d as being 105% as I see it, 
>> which I believe is not only unsafe but possibly illegal?
>
> The problem as I see it is none of us with family cars should be towing if 
> we worried about this rule.
>
> Anyway I thought it was something cooked up by the Caravan Club and 
> Practical Caravan mag.?
>
> I go by what my car maker says and caravan is within that.

Snipped

I hope you will not be one of the casualties seen with the caravan and car 
on its side ignore good advice at YOUR (and families) peril......

"Tom" <nospam@ten> wrote in message 
news:TfadnclXc77ZVEjUnZ2dnUVZ8oCdnZ2d@bt.com...
> Snipped
>

>
> I hope you will not be one of the casualties seen with the caravan and car 
> on its side ignore good advice at YOUR (and families) peril......

So would you have us all stopping caravanning and have only those with big 
heavy 4x4 etc. caravan?
 Take the weight of an ordinary persons car and look down a list of caravan 
weights you will be hard put to find one that is light enough.
Myself found only a couple of 2 berths to suit the rule with my car.

The advise is well founded but not just not practical for most people cars.

-- 
Regards,
David

FREESAT HD  as it is now it is a joke.

On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 15:05:45 -0700 (PDT), hoods@hoods.karoo.co.uk
wrote:

>Hi i need help
>I have an 2006 Ace Jubilee Statesman weight with the following weights
> 1403kg  (this is the higher of the 2 weights on the plate)
>I need to know if my 2005 320d BMW can tow it.
>I'm unsure if the van weight is full laden.
>Pls help.
>Cheers

Your BMW has a kerbweight of 1490kg if it is the 2002-07 model and
1505kg if it is the 2007-   model this will give you a match of 93% or
94% depending upon which it is. With this you should be fine but if I
were you I would load the van conservatively for the first trip and
keep the speed down to about 50mph so as to give you the best idea of
how the combination tows, it is beter to take things easy and get
there rather than have an eventful journey. 
As a comparison my van has a maximum weight of 1450kg and the mondeo
has a kerbweight of 1496kg and it tows wonderfully well and is the
most stable unit I have ever had, though I doubt that it is ever
loaded up to it's limit.
Bill Lord
I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money

e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk 
( Get rid of the spaces  and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )

On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 21:08:33 +0100, "David" 
wrote:

>The problem as I see it is none of us with family cars should be towing if 
>we worried about this rule.

To be clear it is not a rule but a recommendation that was sorted out
many years ago to give a safe staring point for deciding what it is
possible to tow, but what is not clear in the basic statement is that
all the groups which put this recommendation out also make it quite
clear that up to 100% is acceptable with care. 
 
>Anyway I thought it was something cooked up by the Caravan Club and 
>Practical Caravan mag.?

Not so, the whole of the caravan industry had a hand in it's
formulation but that was many many years ago.
>
>I go by what my car maker says and caravan is within that.

Your maker quotes you an maximum train weight ( which by law you must
not exceed), and sometimes the manufacturer will give a maximum towing
weight which you would be well advised not to exceed ( your insurance
company might have something to say if you do )  but which is
basically decided upon by finding how heavy a van can be attached and
the outfit will still start on a 12.5% hill, it actually gives little
indication of how the outfit will behave at ordinary road speeds. 

Basically you should load carefully, keep your speed down, and try to
get a match that is as close to 85% as is possible and then with care
you should arrive safely. 
Bill Lord
I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money

e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk 
( Get rid of the spaces  and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )