85% rule on towing

[Darcey22]

Is the 85% rule a caravan thing? I have a vehicle that has a towing capacity of 2400kg, a trailer that weighs 920kg and a horse that weighs 550kg and a horse that weighs 500kg. Plus say, 100kg for water and hay. Makes it 2070kg. A friend told me that I shouldn’t be towing this as I need to bear in mind the 85% rule?

 

[Birker2020]

Is the 85% rule a caravan thing? I have a vehicle that has a towing capacity of 2400kg, a trailer that weighs 920kg and a horse that weighs 550kg and a horse that weighs 500kg. Plus say, 100kg for water and hay. Makes it 2070kg. A friend told me that I shouldn’t be towing this as I need to bear in mind the 85% rule?

The 85% rule is a recommendation it's not law and it is not legally enforceable in the UK. Its a rule of thumb. It's simply saying that a towing vehicle being heavier than whatever load its pulling should be safe and remain in control but there are many variations that also have an effect of towing safely, like weather conditions, road camber, type of load being towed, etc, etc.

It's there as a guide to help people to understand that if the guidance sn't followed they 'may have problems' handling their load or cause issues with wear and tear on the towing vehicle.

I think the guide was originally put in place by the caravan club to help people new to towing.

I towed a 650kg trailer carrying a 710kg horse with 250-300kg spare for tack, water, Haynets, 22 years without incident. All my cars were 5 door diesel saloons, Sierra Saffy, Peugeot 406, Vauxhall Vecta and Insignia.

The only thing I did struggle with was the Peugeot with long slow inclines, but I think the car struggled more than the others as it had a lower BHP.

 

[Widgeon]

On an earlier thread @ROG has stated that "The 85% ADVICE is for CARAVANS ONLY due to their construction. With a B+E on your licence you can legally and safely tow 1800 with a 2000 tow capacity"

Towing weight?

I’m new to towing and now really confused... So the cars maximum towing capacity is 2,000kgs. And the total weight of trailer + horses will be around 1,800kgs. I’ve heard about the 85% rule so 85% of the trailers maximum is 1700kgs. So it will be about 100kgs over. is that okay? I’ll only be...

forums.horseandhound.co.uk

However as @Tiddlypom stated on the same thread, "Whilst technically if a vehicle is rated to tow 2t it should comfortably be able to do so, not all vehicles are as good at towing as others."

 

[Jambarissa]

If your car can legally pull the weight of the vehicle you are good in the eyes of the law.

There are lots of useful rules of thumb like this. I also like kerb weight, some cars are very light.

Towing horses is a risky business, they're not a static load and move their weight around quite dramatically as you travel. So imo hitting as many of these rules of thumb as possible is advisable.

Consider where you are travelling - hills (in both directions) are the nemesis.

 

[Annagain]

Yes it's a caravan thing as they're usually single axle and with quite a high centre of gravity.

 

[phizz4]

Is the 85% rule a caravan thing? I have a vehicle that has a towing capacity of 2400kg, a trailer that weighs 920kg and a horse that weighs 550kg and a horse that weighs 500kg. Plus say, 100kg for water and hay. Makes it 2070kg. A friend told me that I shouldn’t be towing this as I need to bear in mind the 85% rule?

The 85% recommendation relates to the vehicle kerb weight, not the towing capacity. Ideally the weight of the vehicle, including fuel, passengers, luggage etc should be more than the weight being towed, so you don’t have the tail wagging the dog.

What Is The 85% Towing Rule? Here Are The Facts!

You've heard about the 85% towing rule, but what does it mean, how to work it out and is it legally enforceable? We have the facts!

www.towingcapacity.co.uk