Upgrade GVW

[Light3]

Hi All,

I need to tow a long ( > 7 m) caravan, which by law requires a towing car with more than 3500kg GVW.
Getting a large commercial van just for towing doesn't make sense to me.

I'm wondering if anyone did or heard about upgrading GVW on a car or van-based MPVs? All I need is 3501kg
I know there are people saying you shouldn't worry about that but I don't want to break the law.

Thanks all!

[Krikkit]

I very much doubt you'd be able to do that, but you might be able to find something like an F250 or Dodge Ram pickup which has the right GVW...

Why don't you just get a big camper instead?

[Light3]

"Camper" as a motorhome? There are couple of reasons to that, main are : 1) too expensive to buy 2) servicing costs

I don't want to buy a car just for towing - I can buy a large family car (a 7/8-seater) but not something that will be used just a dozen times a year.

Edited by Light3 on Monday 26th June 16:56

[normalbloke]

What does the caravan weigh?

[Evanivitch]

Interested to hear it but sounds expensive.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/modify-goods-vehicles-...

[Light3]

normalbloke said:

What does the caravan weigh?

Under 2 tonnes

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Not an expert, but I can't see many cars of being capable of that. Even the mighty Ford Ranger is only 3.5 t GVW (I reckon )

[kambites]

Presumably if you did manage to get the vehicle up-plated, it would then be illegal to drive it without a category C licence?

I assume you're aware that the 7m limit is for the body of the caravan, excluding the A-frame.

[Squishey]

The way I understand it is that you can tow up to 3500kg GVM (i.e. tow car + trailer/caravan + load = GVM) on a normal car license without having to take a towing test.

If you want a GVM over 3500kg then you need to take a towing test. Once you've passed this you can tow up to the rated towing capacity of the car.

[kambites]

Squishey said:

The way I understand it is that you can tow up to 3500kg GVM (i.e. tow car + trailer/caravan + load = GVM) on a normal car license without having to take a towing test.

If you want a GVM over 3500kg then you need to take a towing test. Once you've passed this you can tow up to the rated towing capacity of the car.

There is a specific exemption of towing a trailer of over 7m in length (excluding the A-frame) behind a category B car.

[Light3]

kambites said:

Presumably if you did manage to get the vehicle up-plated, it would then be illegal to drive it without a category C licence?

I reckon it will also incur different taxes / charges and higher insurance premium.

[Squishey]

kambites said:

There is a specific exemption of towing a trailer of over 7m in length (excluding the A-frame) behind a category B car.

Ah, I see the issue now!

A caravan with a body length >7m is huge!! The biggest 6 berth Bailey or Elddis aren't even that big.

What caravan are you looking to buy, OP?

[Light3]

Squishey said:

The way I understand it is that you can tow up to 3500kg GVM (i.e. tow car + trailer/caravan + load = GVM) on a normal car license without having to take a towing test.

If you want a GVM over 3500kg then you need to take a towing test. Once you've passed this you can tow up to the rated towing capacity of the car.

You are confusing 2 things:

• GVM / GVW is how much you can load into a car [on cat B must be less 3500]
• GTW is how much your car plus your trailer can weight [it's on your car plate]

[normalbloke]

Has this got anything to do with an imported Airstream?

[Krikkit]

Light3 said:

"Camper" as a motorhome? There are couple of reasons to that, main are : 1) too expensive to buy 2) servicing costs

I don't want to buy a car just for towing - I can buy a large family car (a 7/8-seater) but not something that will be used just a dozen times a year.

I'd be shocked if the annual running costs of a people carrier vs an F250 or something big enough to tow this would be sufficient, never mind that the big car wouldn't have enough seats.

normalbloke said:

Has this got anything to do with an imported Airstream?