Which small car will suit my trailer?

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Sun 10 Feb 2008 12:53
Which small car will suit my trailer? - Wills
I need a small car that has enough oomph to tow my trailer but I am unsure how to work this out.

The trailer is a Brenderup 1205 S.

Total weight 750 kg
Working load 610kg

I was looking at a Clio 1.2 (weight 1080) but it has an unbraked towing weight of 535 kg. Am I understanding this correctly, this car is not suitable?

Do I need to find a car with an unbraked towing weight of 750+ or should I be looking at the weight of the car.

My current car (Audi A4) weighs 1405 kg, has unbraked 740kg and braked 1600kg and pulls the trailer easily but I am selling it and need the smallest capable car.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks
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Sun 10 Feb 2008 13:17
Which small car will suit my trailer? - oldnotbold
The trailer you mention weighs 140 kg, by the sound of things. What do you plan to put in the trailer? If all you are doing is taking rubbish to the tip, then just load it less. If you need to collect sand/gravel/ballast 600kg at a time, then get a bigger car.

500kg is quite a lot - it's 20 x 25 kg bags. The trailer is only 6ft by 4ft, after all.
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Sun 10 Feb 2008 13:49
Which small car will suit my trailer? - Wills
Ahh I see, so the trailer only weighs 140kg. I thought the trailer weighed 750 and could take a further 610 adding up to 1360 total weight. I'm not the brightest when it comes to weights!

So is the Clio 1.2 with 535 towing weight sufficient if I am never going to move anything particularly heavy like beds, mattresses, wardrobes or should I go for something bigger/more powerful?
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Sun 10 Feb 2008 14:07
Which small car will suit my trailer? - oldnotbold
With the weight of the traler at 140kg, then the Clio could tow the trailer plus 400 kg.

Furniture etc. will be fine. If you can lift it with two people then (unless they are both Geoff Capes) there's no way any one item will weigh more than 100 kg....
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Sun 10 Feb 2008 14:43
Which small car will suit my trailer? - NARU
I believe that the legal position is that, in general, you can tow a maximum of 750 Kg with an unbraked trailer but you cannot exceed half the kerb weight of the towing vehicle. You can tow a trailer with a Gross Weight higher than your car?s towing limit as long as you only load it up to that limit. It is illegal to exceed the car?s towing limit.

Source: www.ntta.co.uk/faq/default.htm

Edited by Marlot on 10/02/2008 at 14:45

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Sun 10 Feb 2008 16:11
Which small car will suit my trailer? - Wills
Thanks for your comments, I understand now.
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