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The NCC is the official UK caravan trade body providing safe towing advice and matching for over 25 years

NCC TowCheck for dealerships
TowCheck for Dealerships

Towing Information

NCC TowCheck has been created to help and advise you on a safe tow car match, including these features:

  • The safe matching of caravans to cars

  • What you need to take into account before towing a caravan

  • Good driving techniques so you can tow with confidence
  • A calculation report of caravan weight to car weight for safe towing.

Your Towing Experience

If you have limited towing experience you should not tow a caravan that exceeds 85% of the kerb weight of a car. However, this is not a legal restriction.  If this limit is exceeded we recommend a reduction in payload until your towing experience is more extensive.

If you have extensive towing experience it is acceptable to tow a caravan up to 100% of the kerb weight of a car.  Anything over 100% may invalidate your insurance.  If 100% is exceeded we recommend a reduction in the caravan payload to keep within 100%.

Caution when towing with commercial vehicles as their suspension must be very firm.

Driving Licence

You need to consider whether your driving licence will allow you to tow or drive the leisure vehicle you want. After December 2021 the UK Government changed the Category B driving licence in the UK to grant you an entitlement to drive any practical combination of car and caravan, subject only to a generous combined maximum allowable mass (MAM) of the combination of 7,500kg. Covering most large cars/4x4s towing caravans.

For further information on driving licence categories and what you can drive and tow, please visit www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories.

Gross Train Weight

This is the sum of the car's gross vehicle weight and the caravan's Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM), expressed as a percentage of the car’s Gross Train Weight (GTW).  Values up to 100% are acceptable. Values over 100% can result in prosecution. Please choose a combination that remains under the vehicle trainweight.

Noseweight

The caravan noseweight is the downwards force on the car’s towball and it varies depending on how the caravan is loaded. The caravan’s noseweight should be as heavy as possible, but not exceed the limits of the following:

  • The car manufacturer's maximum towbar load
  • The caravan coupling hitch limit (usually stamped on the hitch)
  • The tow bar manufacturer's limit

For stable towing this figure should be in the range of 5-7% of the MTPLM of the caravan. It is permissible to go a little higher provided that the limits above are not exceeded.  The user may need to experiment with loading to establish one which gives the best result.  It is desirable to check the noseweight with a suitable gauge before each trip.The caravan should be level when the measurement is taken.

Options

The fitting of options will reduce the payload available for other items - e.g. a mover by approx. 35kg (70kg where two are fitted on a twin axle caravan).

You must ensure that:

  • The car’s Gross Vehicle Weight is not exceeded
  • The caravan’s MTPLM is not exceeded
  • The caravan’s actual laden weight does not exceed the car's kerb weight
  • The combined actual laden weight of the car and caravan does not exceed the car’s Gross Train Weight.