Towing weights of a 940

[retrorhys]

ive got a 940 estate and ive been looking to buy a large touring caravan, im baffled when it comes to legal towing weights etc, this is what the caravan club has listed for the car

Towing Weights for the Volvo 940 Estate (90-98) 2.3 L Turbo 5d

Towing Car Weights IconKerb weight: 1432 kg's
Un-braked Manufacturers towing capacity: 0 kg's
Braked Manufacturers towing capacity: 1600 kg's

75% of Kerb weight: 1074 kgs
85% of Kerb weight: 1217.2 kgs
95% of Kerb weight: 1360.4 kgs

now ive heard when towing its the cars kurb weight i not allowed to excede, but whats the braked manufacturers 1600kg all about, as these are the specs for the van now and to me if i can go buy the braked weights its legal,


Mass in Running Order weight: 1220 kgs or 24.0148025668 cwt / hundred weight
Maximum allowable weight is: 1600 kgs or 31.4948230385 cwt / hundred weight

The kerbweight of the towing car needs to be at least 1882.35294118kgs to achive an 85% match, to achive a 95% match the tow car would need to be at least 1684.21052632 kgs. A tow car weighing less than 1600 kgs is very likely to be illegal and likely to result in a prosecution if you were stopped by the Police as well as invalidating any insurance for your car and caravan.
Avondale Landranger 5900 1997 dimensions

The internal length of the caravan is 5.91 metres or 19.3848 feet
The external shipping length is 7.35 meters or 24.108 feet
The width is 2.17 meters or 7.1176 feet
i dont want to tow illegally but i dont want a small van or have to upgrade, ive also been told if i tow the van empty and put cloths, food etc in the car its safer and then i can tow more weight, any advice is much appreciated

[rogerthechorister]

1996 Handbook - Section 3:18 is clear. The Volvo maximum towing weight is 1600kg with a Volvo towbar, 1800 kg with also the Volvo reinforcement kit and preferably vibration damper, 1900 kg in Germany with mandatory reinforcement and vibration damper.

Volvo says the maximum speed for ANY towing (S 3:17) is 50 mph!

1990 handbook - up to 1500kg, max speed 50. Up to 1600 kg, max speed 45. Up to 1800 kg only with Volvo reinforcement kit, vibration damper, auxiliary oil cooler, and avoid hills of 12% (about 1 in 8) or steeper. And for any weight, if it's an auto, an ATF cooler.

1989 handbook (for a 760T) - Up to 1500kg, max speed 50. Up to 1600 kg, max speed 45 and autobox must have atf cooler. Up to 1800 kg only with Volvo reinforcement kit, vibration damper, auxiliary oil cooler, and avoid hills of 32% (about 1 in 3) or steeper - but I suspect that this is a misprint and it should say 12%.

1987 handbook - max towing weight of 900kg in high temperature regions where overheating is possible.

Up to 1500kg, max speed 50.

Up to 1600 kg, max speed 45 and autobox must have atf cooler. Up to 1800 kg only with Volvo reinforcement kit, vibration damper, auxiliary oil cooler, and avoid hills of 12% (about 1 in 8) or steeper.

[rogerthechorister]

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/c...d-width-limits


The 75% or 85% limits are NOT imposed by law.

[rogerthechorister]

Mind you, the above may explain why I tend nearly to overheat my 960 hoofing it up a long hill at about 65! Mr Volvo says "slow down" and other parts of the handbooks do specify using a lower gear.