Is My Caravan Too Heavy for My Car?

This is one of the most common — and most quietly stressful — questions in caravanning.

Not because people don’t want to do things properly…
but because the answers are often delivered like a maths exam you didn’t revise for.

Let’s slow it down and explain what actually matters.

A quick reassurance first

If:

  • Your car and caravan are legally compatible

  • Your caravan is sensibly loaded

  • And you understand why the limits exist

Then towing doesn’t need to feel like guesswork or blind faith.

This page explains how to judge that — calmly.

Why this question feels so complicated

Most towing confusion comes from mixing up three different ideas:

  1. What’s legal

  2. What’s recommended

  3. What feels comfortable and confident

They’re related — but they are not the same thing.

Once you separate them, the panic tends to disappear.

The weights that actually matter (plain English)

You don’t need to memorise acronyms, but you do need to understand the ideas behind them.

🚗 Your car

  • Kerbweight – roughly what the car weighs on its own

  • Maximum towing limit – the heaviest trailer the car is legally allowed to tow

This limit is fixed. You can’t negotiate with it.

🚐 Your caravan

  • MIRO – the caravan as it leaves the factory

  • MTPLM – the maximum the caravan is allowed to weigh when fully loaded

What matters in the real world is:

How much the caravan actually weighs when you tow it.

Legal doesn’t always mean comfortable

This is where many people get caught out.

You can be:

  • Legal, but uncomfortable

  • Comfortable, but misinformed

  • Or both legal and confident (the goal)

The law only cares whether you’re within limits.

Your confidence depends on:

  • How the caravan is loaded

  • How it behaves on the road

  • How relaxed you feel when towing

Those are different things.

The 85% guideline (quick clarity)

You’ll often hear:

“You should stick to 85%.”

What this means:

  • The caravan’s MTPLM is around 85% of the car’s kerbweight

What it isn’t:

  • A legal requirement

  • A safety guarantee

  • A pass/fail test

It’s simply a confidence guideline, originally aimed at newer towers.

Some people outgrow it.
Some people never feel the need to.

Both are fine.

What really makes a caravan feel “too heavy”

This is the bit spreadsheets don’t explain.

A caravan can feel heavy when:

  • It’s poorly loaded

  • Nose weight is too low

  • Speed is too high for conditions

  • Wind or overtakes unsettle it

  • The driver feels tense and reactive

None of those automatically mean the caravan is too heavy — but they can make it feel that way.

Loading matters more than most people realise

Two identical outfits can feel completely different.

Good loading:

  • Heavy items low and near the axle

  • Nothing heavy right at the rear

  • No guesswork balancing

Poor loading:

  • Reduces stability margins

  • Amplifies movement

  • Makes confidence evaporate

This is why loading and nose weight matter so much in this hub.

“But someone online tows more than this…”

They do.

And sometimes they do it confidently.

That doesn’t make it:

  • Sensible

  • Comfortable

  • Or appropriate for you

Towing confidence isn’t a competition, and copying someone else’s setup rarely ends well.

A calmer way to answer the question

Instead of asking:

“Is my caravan too heavy for my car?”

Ask yourself:

  1. Am I within legal limits?

  2. Is the caravan sensibly loaded?

  3. Does the outfit feel calm and predictable?

  4. Do I feel in control, not on edge?

If you’re answering “yes” to those, you’re doing it right.

How this fits into Towing Without the Panic

This page is the foundation.

It links directly to:

Together, they explain not just what the advice is — but why it exists.

Final thought

Most towing anxiety doesn’t come from doing things wrong.

It comes from:

  • Being given rules without explanations

  • Being told to worry without context

  • Feeling judged instead of supported

Once you understand the why, towing stops feeling like a test — and starts feeling predictable, calm, and manageable.

That’s the point of this page.

Where next?

If this page raised questions (that’s normal), the next helpful reads are:

👉 Caravan Nose Weight Explained (Without the Maths)
👉 What Actually Causes Snaking?

Both are part of Towing Without the Panic.