New caravan towing guide

A new version of The Caravan Towing Guide, the definitive guide to how to tow a touring caravan in the UK, has been published by the National Caravan Council.

The guide has been written to help both experienced and new caravanners tow their caravans safely and legally. It provides simple advice on the safe matching of caravans to cars; the calculation of the ratio of caravan weight to car weight for safe towing; what you need to take into account before towing a caravan; good driving techniques so you can tow with confidence and the legal aspects to towing a caravan.

All the caravan jargon and terms are clearly defined – from MTPLM (Maximum Technically Permitted Laden Mass) and MRO (Mass in Running Order) to GTW (Gross Train Weight). There’s plenty of information on the sticky subjects of hitching up, and payloads, plus how to calculate the actual laden weight.

Critical advice such as checking the maximum towing limit of the car, the height range of the tow ball plus how to calculate the nose weight limit is also included.

In case this sounds complicated, the caravan towing guide unveils some useful hacks, such as:

Tow-Check, the car: caravan matching service that will tell you what you can legally tow
Loading (keep it light, keep it low) and how to make sure that the load is even. Take a look at our video on how to load a caravan correctly too
Hitching and unhitching – a pictural step-by-step guide and checklist