please help !!! aaaaaaaaarrrrrrr my head

[peanutcrusher]

can some please help me out this is really doing my head in.
in regards to towing my caravan, i've looked on the DVLA site i've read the PDF file in the members area, i through i had it all worked out till i got half way down the members area PDF and then i started to doubt my conclusion i had drawn up in my mind here is my headache. looking at my license i have category B and not category B+E as i passed my test in my car after 1 Jan 1997.
OK i have a 4x4 bongo weighting 2360kg and a caravan weighting 750kg.
now the main thing that I'm trying to get my head round is my caravan falls in the category B as it only weighs 750kg but will i be within the law putting bags ect in the caravan or do i need to put them all in the back of the bongo.
looking at all the info i currently have, with my old car which was a 406 weighing only around 1500 kg i could put all the bags in the caravan but due to the weight of the bongo i must keep the weight of the caravan under 750kg so i can stay within the law or do i have it all wrong please help.

[patnben]

Category B:
Motor vehicles with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg having not more than eight passenger seats with a trailer up to 750kg.
OR
Combinations of towing vehicles in category B and a trailer, where the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3500kg
and the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle.

Category B + E:
Combinations of vehicles consisting of a vehicle in category B and a trailer, where the combination does not come within
category B.

The first part of category B says that you can drive a vehicle up to a maximum mass of 3500kg AND also tow a caravan
provided it does not exceed 750kg. The combined mass in this case could be up to 4250kg. The second part allows for
trailers and caravans which exceed a mass of 750kg in which case the combined weight of both units must not exceed
3500kg. The important distinction here is the weight of the trailer or caravan.

If your loaded Bongo weighs 2360kg then your trailer or caravan can weigh up to 1140 kgs. If your trailer or caravan
weighs more than this then you must have category B+E on your licence. If you have B+E, you could in theory
drive a combined weight of up to 7000kg.

[peanutcrusher]

so i take it that i need to put all my kit in the bongo then and not the caravan.

[haydn callow]

AsI understand the figures above you can tow a trailer up to 1140 kg's.

That is max wt of vehicle + trailer = 3500 kg
Bongo = 2360kg
So 3500 - 2360 = 1140 kgs for the trailer.

I think that's how I read it..
Ben is normally pretty good at his facts.

[peanutcrusher]

so reading it as the trailer being 750kg max and that leaves me with the max weight vehicle up to 3500 kg. this would keep me under a combined weight of 4250kg therefore within the law.
looking at what you guys have replied i can put up to 390kg of luggage in the caravan.

so bongo 2360kg
caravan 750kg
luggage 390kg

therefore making the mass laden towing weight on my bongo equal to the 1140kg as you stated and be within the law.



happy days no more headache, thanks guys.

[patnben]

As I said earlier, the distinction between complying with part 1 and part 2
of the B category is the MAM of the caravan. MAM is Maximum Authorised Mass
or what used to be known as Gross Vehicle Weight. If you can ensure that your
caravan will never weigh more than 750kg fully laden then you can use part 1
which in theory would allow a combined weight of 4250 kgs.

As you have stated that your caravan weighs 750kg, It would be too easy to add
another 1kg and therefore exceed the 750 kg limit and break the law. So, forget
part 1. Specifically for a Bongo; you can easily comply with part 2 which is a
maximum combined weight of 3500 kgs.

The problem is we have to know the MAM of both the Bongo and the caravan. The
caravan should be fairly simple if it's made in Europe as the manufacturers of
the caravan or caravan chassis must provide this information. I don't know what
that MAM of the Bongo is as it's not specified anywhere in the English manuals
and I cannot translate Japanese, but you can make a guess similar to this.

The unladen weight of an SGL5 Free top without optional equipment is specified
as 1860 kgs. This is for an unconverted 8 seater. If it can carry 8 passengers
we have to guess the weight of each passenger, does it allow for the average
Japanese adult weight, or 8 Japanese Sumo wrestlers ?. In my case I made the
assumption of 8 passengers with an average weight of 70 kgs which = 560 kgs.
Add say 60 kgs for a full tank of fuel but no luggage and the total is 620 kg.

So a fairly conservative estimate for MAM would be (1860 + 620) which = 2480 kg.
To comply with part 2 of the B category, the caravan must weigh no more than
( 3500 - 2480 ) which is 1020 kgs. As the measured weight of your Bongo is
2360 kgs, you can add another 120 kgs to the Bongo and 270 kgs to the caravan
and remain within the law provided that the MAM of the caravan will allow this.

It would be good if someone could provide a better estimate or even published
figures for the MAM of each Bongo type.

Part 2 of the B category also states that the caravan MAM should not exceed
the unladen weight of the towing vehicle which for the Bomgo is specified as
1860 kgs for an SGL5 but even a 2 wheel drive tin top is more than capable of
towing your caravan and well within the lower recommended ratio of around 80%.

You should be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that the makers
published specifications are never exceeded as these are the values used if you
are unlucky enough to be pulled in for a test or involved in an accident.