Towing a 240 with a 940
 

I wanted to know if I could tow a 240 estate on a trailer with a 940 estate or is that pushing it? Thanks

The trailer capable of holding a 240 would weigh around 3/4 ton empty...

however used to tow a 3/4 ton trailer with a 260 and 240's on in the 70's and they were ok a bit dodgy in the icy conditions especially if a 4 wheel trailer !

I’m sure the car would be physically capable of doing so but you need to know your weights. Going overweight would not be legal. You need to establish the maximum towing weight for the 940, I believe it is around 1800 kg but may vary between specific models.

Although cars were much lighter a few years ago I expect a 240 would weigh at least 1300 kg, the lightest car trailers are around 500kg and as clan said the heavier duty ones are 750kg plus.

When towing heavy stuff you should always know your weights, if you get stopped by the police (unlikely) or the DVSA (more likely) they are far more likely to leave you alone if you can give them confidence you know what you are doing.

Hi,

You may find that a 240 estate is close to 1450kg, I know there was a bit of a rework between the 740-940 but my 2.0 740 handbook states towing braked capacity as only 1600kg sounds a bit underrated to me.

Although my 2.0 240 is only rated at 1300kg braked.

Scott

Nobody so far has mentioned the key phrase nowadays - TRAIN WEIGHT. That is the total weight of everything being towed. Most more modern cars have the max. train weight either on their VIN plates or in the handbook, and that figure if exceeded will give you a hefty fine (or even vehicle confiscation) if stopped.

Years ago I towed a Volvo 164 (about 1500kg) on a trailer with my Amazon estate. No problems but illegal now. My 164 (manual 'box) can legally handle about 2 ton, but still isn't enough for a heavy-duty trailer loaded with anything much bigger than an Escort. I have done it with engine-less shells en-route the scrappies several times: was stopped once by the Police - who were very nice and were more interested in my tow-car!

To be legal do what I did - buy a Land Rover! Some say 4WD is also a legal requirement but I don't know if that is the case.

P

I spoke to someone in the know, they look at the towing capacity now over anything else..

Then look at the train weight

Whilst we haven't specifically it it's unlikely to be relevant unless the car is also heavily loaded (i.e. passengers and luggage)

Train Weight is the actual mass of the car and its contents and the trailer and its load. Also known as Gross Train Weight (GTW), Gross Combined Weight (GCW).

Both the trailer and the towing car also each have a maximum authorised mass (MAM) which can't be exceeded.

Sometimes vehicles are rated so that the Maximum Gross Train Weight (MGTW) is the sum of the MAM of the car plus the maximum towing capacity - i.e. you can fully load the trailer and the car.

Sometimes they are not - i.e. if you fully load the car you have to reduce the load in the trailer to stay under the MGTW.

The MAM of the car is usually the first number on the VIN plate, the MGTW is usually the second. Subtract 1 from 2 and you get the maximum trailer weight - but in some cases this may be higher - check column O1 on the V5.

None of the towing legislation is conditional on 4WD or AWD.

FYI the penalties for having an overweight vehicle, trailer or exceeding MGTW are as follows: Vehicle overweight by up to 10% = £100 fine; vehicle overweight by 10–15% = £200 fine; vehicle overweight by 15–30% = £300 fine. Over 30% is a court summons and a prohibition notice will be issues mean the vehicle cannot be used until the defect is corrected.