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Hi there, I've been looking at caravans and just trying to work out what I can tow safely and legally (and I know there are few variables). My question is this - I have car rated to tow 1600kgs (manufacturers specification) and the towbar says this as well but the maximum weight on the towbar says 75kgs. I understand when towing, ideally you'd be looking at 10% of the towed weight as weight on the towball (i.e. up to 160kgs in this case). Is this a hard and fast rule (legal requirement) meaning I could only tow 75kgs with this towbar? Or is it bigger than this (i.e. the weight of the van and load v the weight of the tow vehicle and it's ability to stop/control the tow weight?)

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Hi The 75KG is the maximum down force on the ball, however you are able to pull a load of 1600kg maximum. If you exceed the 75KG amount of down force it may alter the characteristics of the vehicle and cause it to become unsafe to drive.

Thanks Ian. I realised I made a typo in my original post - I realise the 75kg is the amount of down force on the tow ball but was wondering about the 10% loading on the tow ball or does that not apply in this case as this (75kgs and 1600kgs) meet the manufacturers recommendations for towing?

The car is a Mazda 6, auto, 2018. Is there anything else that AA is aware of that I should take into consideration when towing with this vehicle? Transmission cooling, anti-sway kits etc?

I will obviously look to balance the load correctly and not overload the car and van (aiming for no more than 1200-1300kgs total)

Thank you very much.