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Can my car tow a caravan? How to check the limits

A vehicle can be allowed to tow 2 000 kg and still be overloaded once the family, the luggage and the caravan's nose weight are in it. Check the combination on paper before you buy. The lowest limit is the one that counts.

Find your vehicle's limits

Look in the owner's manual, on the vehicle's papers and on the plate inside the door for:

• the braked towing limit: the heaviest trailer with its own brakes that the vehicle may tow;
• the unbraked towing limit, which is much lower, often about 750 kg or less;
• the gross combination mass (GCM): the most that the vehicle and trailer may weigh together, loaded;
• the vehicle's own gross vehicle mass (GVM) and payload;
• the maximum nose weight on the tow ball.

A bakkie may be allowed to tow 3 000 kg, but if its GCM leaves room for only 2 200 kg once the bakkie is loaded, then 2 200 kg is your real limit.

Five checks

1. The caravan's GVM must be no more than the braked towing limit.
2. The nose weight must be no more than the maximum for the vehicle and for the towbar.
3. The loaded vehicle (its own mass plus people, luggage, fuel, any canopy or roof rack, plus the nose weight) must be no more than its GVM.
4. The loaded vehicle plus the caravan must be no more than the GCM, if one is given.
5. Your driving licence must cover the combination.

Leave a safety margin

The legal limits are the minimum, not the target. A caravan that weighs nearly as much as the vehicle can push it around in wind, on downhills and under braking. A widely used rule of thumb, especially for new caravanners, is to keep the loaded caravan at no more than about 85% of the loaded tow vehicle's mass. It is guidance, not law.

The towbar

The towbar must be made for your vehicle model and properly fitted. Its plate shows what it may tow and its maximum nose weight. A towbar rated lower than the vehicle limits the whole combination.

Brakes

A trailer without its own brakes may weigh no more than 750 kg loaded, with further limits that depend on the towing vehicle. Almost every caravan is heavier and must have brakes. Most have overrun brakes, which work as the caravan pushes against the coupling, along with a handbrake and a breakaway cable.

Your licence

In outline, at the time of writing:

• a Code B licence covers a light trailer of up to 750 kg GVM and, within limits, some heavier ones;
• most caravans weigh more, so most owners need a Code EB licence.

Check the rule for your combination at your testing centre. Driving a combination that your licence does not cover can leave you uninsured.

Mirrors

If the caravan is wider than your vehicle or blocks the view behind, fit towing mirrors on both sides.

If the vehicle is not enough

Choose a lighter caravan or a camper trailer, carry less, or change the vehicle before you buy the caravan. Do not tow above a limit and hope. Stiffer springs, air bags and bigger tyres do not raise the legal limits.

The vehicle's papers, not the seller, decide what it may tow.

This guide is based on Chapter 3 of Caravanning in South Africa, which includes a mass and towing worksheet.