Towing a <span class="highlight">caravan</span>

Legally, it does not matter what the ATM of the caravan is. It is the ACTUAL loaded weight that counts. You must weigh that to know what it really weighs. You should also know what the empty weight is before you pay your money or you may find that it has insufficient load capacity to be practical.

In any case, a 25ft van is a big van and the yaw instability is likely far too much for a "medium size" 4WD. The tail will likely wag the dog, even if it is technically legal.
Your family deserves a decent safety margin.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

HI
Just because your vehicle is rated at 2.5t does not mean it will be comfortable doing so . Sounds like hard work.
I have a Ranger and would never consider over 2.5 ton . The over rating of towing capabilities by vehicle makers is rude .
Take a look at the vehicle max weight load capacity with out load levelers. It will shock u. This info can be difficult to find but generally is in the paper work with OEM tow bar . Some times in manual.
As the previous poster stated weight of the vehicle compared to the van should be considered . Remember also u need a good margin when considering set up .
At the end of the day if u r only doing very small trips it might just be ok .It would be a restrictive set up .

swampy

If you post your make and model of vehicle you will get more informed answers and good discussion here

good place to look

A lot depends upon what your tug is. A Pajero or Prado would be OK, their ratings are much more conservative than most other vehicles. Your question demonstrates the quandary you have left us by not being more specific about the equipment you have or about to purchase.

The thing that concerns me is the proposed van. A 25' van with an ATM of only around 2500 kg. Sounds a bit pie in the sky to me. What is it? I suggest you put it over the weighbridge and check its unladen weight, if it is any more than 2,000 kg I would walk away. If you are going to use your van for extended touring you will eventually carrying around 500 kg load in it.

If you plan to go offroad or rough-road you'd want to limit the van gross weight to two thirds or less the max capacity anyway.

if it was as simple as "the tug is too light to tow that load", how do prime movers get away with towing up to 100+ tonnes?
Anything over 2 tonnes must have its own independent braking system, operable from the driving position. purpose of which (amongst other things) is to stop the "tail wagging the dog".
The problem is more to do with competence than rated capacity

Why don't you just say what your vehicle is , rather than just saying a medium size