What the fark is the point of a SUV with 2000 Kg towing capacity if it only has a maximum towball weight of 85kg with the factory fitted towbar NO Nz boat or caravan weighing close to 2 tonne would have such a low ball weight Lucky for most NZ drivers that the police rarely if ever enforce this . would only be a problem of you had an accident and the attending cops were smart . Over the ditch the cops regulalry stop large caravans, make the driver unhitch and then then use portable ball weight scales . BIG fines if caught exceeding the maximum ball weight as certified on the towbar
mojo49,
Sep 6, 3:21pm
It is all about trailer balance. I have a 2 tonne caravan and can pick up the towbar from the ground.
intrade,
Sep 6, 3:26pm
85 is the downforce load in top of the tow ball not the pulling force the towball can handle . Basically what ever is written on it is void in nz. In nz we are upside down and gravity dont works the same as anywhere else its why we suposedly die at 101kph . The rule is you must be able to stop within 7 meters at 30kph. Thats the nz trailer rule . Sortof makes sense just like overtaking left or right. solong as it is save to do so is another nz rule. UMM yea and winter tyres are banned and m&S are ok to wear out . m&s are f,,,kn winter tyre. but hey we live in a half-. w t country where f. kd up morons make laws and rules. So yea i guess you need to lear to live with your complaint. ah yea we also have police making up rules as they go along. so expect a fine for all and everything you could possible dream off. The f. k t leader from national said its good that we dont have a constitution it enables us to make any rules we like unlike usa. is what he said on national tv.
monaro17,
Sep 6, 3:32pm
You should aim for between 5-10% of the weight on your towball. Its amazing the amount of people who use the 'i should be able to lift up the draw bar' and wonder why the trailer wanders. I have advised many a person over the decades of my towing life to add a bit more weight to the front of the caravan/trailer and they have been amazed at how much better the towed vehicle travels. mojo49 you should not (unless you are unbelievably strong) be able to lift the draw bar off the ground if your caravan weighs 2T. That would be 100-200kgs worth. I propose you aren't loading your caravan as well as you could. I urge you to try adding a bit more weight to the front of the van it WILL travel better despite how well you believe it travels now
My caravan weighs around 2000-2200kg loaded and I have a towball weight gauge so I know I have around 165kg on the ball. My towbar(and vehicle) is rated to 2700kg and a max of 270kg towball loading.
purplegoat,
Sep 6, 3:40pm
Intrade you are talking absolute garbage as usual The certification plate attached to the towbar is 100% applicable in NZ ( assuming it's a NZ bar with NZ cert ) Try claiming on your insurance when you have exceeded what's on the cert plate and see how you get on
purplegoat,
Sep 6, 3:43pm
You're on the money Monaro , The dilemma I have is our CX5 is rated to 2 tonne towing capacity but has a maximum ball weight of 85kg . That means our caravan which has a ATM of 1540 and a ball weight of 125 can't be legally towed by it I could fit a Tow pack but so far haven't had a response from Mazda if that would void our warranty
mojo49,
Sep 6, 4:22pm
monaro. The caravan is a UK 8 m (overall) dual axle/ 4 wheel braked unit and yes I can just lift the drawbar but cannot hold it for long. It must be getting up around 70kgs ball weight. Van tracks beautifully, but I agree a reasonable ball weight adds to trailer stability. Single axle caravans of similar weight have quite a bit more ball weight. Towed an ordinary trailer with 1 tonne of chemical the other day. It has a jockey wheel and there is no way I would have got it off the ball without the wheel. It sat the back of the Disco down about 40mm.
mojo49,
Sep 6, 4:35pm
Checked out my Pajero rating. "The Pajero has a maximum towing capacity of three-tonnes and a maximum tow ball download of 180kg; however, when towing at 2500kg or less the maximum tow ball download increases to 250kg, Mitsubishi says"
electromic,
Sep 6, 4:54pm
Our old nz made caravan was 25' long, weighed 1680kg unloaded and sat nearly level with no jockey wheel in the front. I could lift it off the towball. I had two full gasbottles on the drawbar and that was enought weight for it to tow well on our ute with a high towball. I would love to know how a CX 5 tows. When I test drove one the dealer wasn't keen on me putting a caravan on the back for a test tow. As I explained to him, I would never buy a vehicle to tow with without testing it with my trailer/boat/caravan.
Just add some ballast to the rear of the caravan to reduce the tow-ball vertical load.
mrcat1,
Sep 6, 6:18pm
I try and limit the towball weight on my trailers so that basically they can be lifted of by hand, the reason for the heavy ball weights in some countries is because of loosing the rear end on the tow vehicle under heavy braking, wet roads etc but I always have a bit of weight in the tow vehicle anyway so no point in making it drag its arse more.
mrcat1,
Sep 6, 6:20pm
Exactly, will help the tow vehicle and also stop the headlights from looking for planes.
bigfatmat1,
Sep 7, 2:33am
actually intrade is correct. Cars with wof do not need a certified to towbar. Any body can make a towbar for a car no welding certificate required. That sticker is nothing but a guideline. Our law is must be able to stop. At 30kmh in 7 metres so if I want to tow 3t behind my car that says 1500kg I can and there is absolutely nothing saying I cannot providing I can stop from 30kmh in 7m I am within the legislation. if a car has a cof like s rental car the rules change. Bar must be welded by a certified welder bar must be certified by a certifier. Who will check bar on vehicle and supply a plate.
mrcat1,
Sep 7, 2:39am
Same as you can make your own trailer in your shed at home, as long as the welds look ok you can get a warrant.
bigfatmat1,
Sep 7, 2:42am
isn't our legislation scary. Towbar that couldn't support 100kg legal providing bolts are tight. If you welds are shit just grind em to look nice and slap some paint on them. All.will be fine
bill-robinson,
Sep 7, 3:41am
you can tow 2000kg on a rope but a trailer can only have 85kg on the tow ball and the rest of it should be on the trailer wheels
purplegoat,
Sep 7, 7:03am
You are confusing two totally different scenarios If you have a manufacturer installed towbar that has been certified by the installer you CANNOT legally exceed those capacitys However as you say if you have a home built trailer then yeap it's the Wild West in regards to towing capacitys
purplegoat,
Sep 7, 7:07am
Yeap may have a maximum tow capacity of 3 tonnes but what's it GVM Many of the modern Utes in the pissing contest to have the highest tow capacity haven't increased the vehicle GVM so if you tow the maximum load you can't fully load the vehicle as it will exceed the GVM
The attached link is interesting and explains it further
No, there is GVM (Gross Vehicle mass, maximum weight of tow vehicle and load/ passengers), MTM (Max Towed Mass, Maximum weight of trailer AND load) and GCM( Gross combined mass Maximum Combined weight of tow vehicle and Trailer/ load) ! You are confusing GVM with GCM.
And your example is Australian and they have totally different rules than us.
bigfatmat1,
Sep 7, 7:56am
yes you can the weights are guidlines and manufactures specs. until you exceed the light vehicle max towable weight or you exceed the weight where brakes must be fitted and do not have brakes.
mrcat1,
Sep 7, 8:06am
I believe that is what happened up at Te Kouma years ago when the cops started telling people with big boats to unhitch claiming they couldn't tow their boats, in the end it all got thrown out off court as it was unenforceable I believe.
bigfatmat1,
Sep 7, 8:08am
the legislation is crap I agree we should not be able to exceed the weights but legally we can. Providing we can stop in 7m at 30kmh
martin11,
Sep 7, 9:13am
You can exceed the weights but if the maker of your car states that it is xxxkg unbraked and xxxkg with braked and you have an accident possibly caused by overloading ,this is where your insurance claim can be declined . Already happened in quite a few incidents that I know off and the insurance claims were declined .
gsimpson,
Sep 7, 9:19am
I suspect the statistics show that few incidents are caused by poor workmanship slipping by the WOF inspection.
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