rav 4 weight 1275kg--whats the most i can tow unbraked?-help please

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lenten

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just bought a rav 4--2003 petrol---weight 1275 kg---does anyone know what is the maximun weight i can tow with an unbraked trailer----thanks
 
lenten said:
just bought a rav 4--2003 petrol---weight 1275 kg---does anyone know what is the maximun weight i can tow with an unbraked trailer----thanks
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Seems to vary between 600-1200 kg depending on the exact model. Do a Google search putting in the correct model and year and there's lots of sites that'll tell you the max permitted towing weight.
 
Unbraked limit is 750kg or half the towing vehicles kerb weight whichever is less.. So if your kerb weight is 1275 then you can tow a gross unbraked weight of 637.5kg maximum..
 
thanks for all replies---i did a google query but all i got was caravan sites quoting braked trailer weights---i have put the boat on a weighbridge and can safely squeeze in under 637 kgs ---however for some trips i might be slightly over --can i carry some gear in the car to keep the trailer load legal ?
 
http://www.batesontrailers.com/prod...eneral-purpose-single-axle-disabled-mobility/

"Trailers do not have to be fitted with brakes until the gross weight exceeds 750 kg, or if the weight of the trailer and load does not exceed half the weight of the towing vehicle." - so you should be fine.

The data plate isn't fully relevant for unbraked. The 4 numbers are gross weight of your vehicle, Max train weight - i.e. the above plus the max weight of a braked trailer, and front and read axle loadings.
 
hi yachtailsa---just been out to the car---the data plate reads as follows from the top----------------------------------------------------------1825--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3328--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------922----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------510--------------------i haven t got my registration document yet and have taken car weight from web--have i got it wrong in this thread saying 1275 kg-----ps thanks for the link to batesontrailers
 
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lenten said:
hi yachtailsa---just been out to the car---the data plate reads as follows from the top----------------------------------------------------------1825--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3328--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------922----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------510--------------------i haven t got my registration document yet and have taken car weight from web--have i got it wrong in this thread saying 1275 kg-----ps thanks for the link to batesontrailers
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Kerb weight is the weight with fuel, oil and other fluids normal tools but no cargo or passengers.. You should find that figure in your owners handbook.

The V5 document gives a more closely defined figure that includes 90% of a full fuel tank and 75kg for the driver called "Mass in Service"


The first figure on the VIN plate is the max gross vehicle weight ( maximum allowable mass, MAM, I think they call it now).

The second, and highest, figure on the VIN plate is the maximum gross train weight. This is the max allowable total weight for vehicle, trailer and load.

The other two are, as said, maximum axle loadings


Most of these should be explained in the owners handbook

sorry I have used the words weight and mass as interchangeable.. Anything quoted in kg is of course mass.( I have to add this or some pedant will tell me the difference between mass and weight and all that stuff about gravity and Newtons.)
 
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If you think you are going to exceed the 637kg max for the trailer, put the rest of your gear in the car, as long as that doesn't exceed the Gross Train Weight.

One of the reccuring comments on here is that stated weights of boats and trailers are rarely accurate, so check with a weighbridge.
 
DownWest said:
If you think you are going to exceed the 637kg max for the trailer, put the rest of your gear in the car, as long as that doesn't exceed the Gross Train Weight.

One of the reccuring comments on here is that stated weights of boats and trailers are rarely accurate, so check with a weighbridge.
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Wrong. Maximum Vehicle Weight should not be exceeded, not Maximum Train weight.

Figures quoted by lenten look wrong for the axle weights. Normally the sum of maximum axle weights exceeds the maximum vehicle weight. His figures are less.
 
http://media.toyota.co.uk/wp-content/files_mf/1330424760120221MTOYOTARAV4TECHNICALSPECIFICATIONS.pdf I found this on toyota website and there are two points I would make.

The legal limit for an unbraked trailer for any vehicle is 750kg From the data above the toyota RAV 4 models all are capable of legally towing a 750 kg unbraked trailer.

just found the correct data for your model year http://media.toyota.co.uk/2003/09/2004-model-year-toyota-rav4-gets-the-%E2%80%98x%E2%80%99-factor/ so it is actually 640kg for yours.
 
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thanks all---looks like 640kg is the limit---i have put boat on a weighbridge and can get under that---only thing that will take me over---maybe --is fuel---i have a horror of running out so usually carry twice as much as i use---70 -90 litres in the back of the car is worrying---especially as my previous diesel car caught fire and burnt out completely last week--which is why i now have the rav 4--- regards lenten---ps if anyone needs it---there is a weighbridge on the a23 just before it meets the m23---drive slowly across car and trailer---see digital reading on screen---disconnect trailer ---drive across slowly with car and take the car weight from the pevious total weight
 
Graham_Wright said:
I saw a Range Rover on a substantial trailer being towed by an identical model.

How can that be legal?
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Because until relatively recently Landrovers and Range Rovers had no specific upper towing limit specified by the manufacturer, only guidelines. And it is only a guideline, not the law (although it is often presented as being the law) that the tow mass should not exceed the kerb side mass of the tow vehicle or a percentage thereof

Therefore it is (or was, it may have changed since last I looked) perfectly legal to tow one Landy or Rangie with another.

Later models of Landrover and Range Rover do have manufacturer specified towing limits though so this doesn't apply to more recent products of Solihull
 
Graham_Wright said:
I saw a Range Rover on a substantial trailer being towed by an identical model.

How can that be legal?
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And I have seen a disproportionate number of these combinations on their side on motorways, having suffered irrecoverable snaking when towing too fast. Most trailer and caravan flips seem to be 4x4s - their high centre of gravity often making less stable than other cars, whereas false confidence is higher
And vehicles on car trailers are generally much more unpredictable than either boats or caravans when things get tricky, due to double sets of suspension. Hence RR towing RR needs care and a lot of experience to do safely.
 
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