How much your van can tow depends both on its towing capacity and the power it has available. Here, we tell you what you need to know before towing with your van, and name the best towing options...
- Why does the weight of my van matter?
- What licence do I need to tow with a van?
- What are the speed limits when towing with a van?
- Do I need a tachograph to tow with my van?
- What are the best vans for towing?
- Small vans
- Medium vans
- Large vans
Vans are wonderful at carrying big loads, but sometimes what you’re carrying won’t fit inside your van – and in those situations, you’ll end up needing a van that can tow.
However, how much towing capacity you need will vary wildly. Some vans might only need to tow a small trailer, while others might be used to haul a caravan. Naturally, then, you’ll want to know which vans offer the best all-round towing capability, and any traps to avoid falling into when choosing your next van for towing.
To help you work out what’s what, here’s our handy guide.
Why does the weight of my van matter?
Both your van and whatever you’re planning on towing will have a Maximum Authorised Mass – or MAM – which will be noted on the chassis plate, or in the case of a trailer, on a sticker.
However, that’s not all you need to know. There’s also a Gross Train Weight, or GTW, which is the total legal maximum weight of the van, trailer and goods being carried by both.
If you use up the entire payload of the van taking it to its MAM, then what’s left of the GTW is the Maximum Gross Trailer Weight (or MGTW).
So let’s say you have a van with a kerb weight of 2600kg and a payload of 900kg, whose GTW is 5500kg. If you use the full payload, taking it to its MAM of 3500kg, you’ll be allowed to tow a maximum of 2000kg with it – and that figure must include the weight of the trailer itself.
However, let’s say you only need to load the van up with 400kg of stuff. Then you’ve got 2500kg worth of trailer weight to play with – as long as that figure is below the MAM of the trailer. And if you’re happy to drive the van empty, you can tow up to a 2900kg trailer – again, provided that doesn’t exceed the trailer’s MAM.
Those figures assume the trailer is braked, of course; the maximum capacity you’re allowed to tow with an unbraked trailer is limited to 750kg, or half the kerb weight of the vehicle, whichever figure is lower.
What licence do I need to tow with a van?
If your licence was issued before 1 January 1997, you don’t really need to worry too much. You’re allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination with a GTW of up to 8250kg, and that means you’re covered for pretty much any van-and-trailer combo.
If your licence was issued after 1 January 1997, you’re allowed to tow a trailer of up to 3500kg MAM. That hasn’t always been the case; until fairly recently, the rules were more complex, and basically limited you to towing a trailer weighing no more than the MAM of the towing vehicle.
What are the speed limits when towing with a van?
All speed limits remain the same when you’re towing with a van – except one. As is the case when you’re not towing anything, you’ll be limited in your van to 30mph in town, 50mph on a single carriageway and 60mph on a dual carriageway.
However, when towing with a van, the speed limit on a motorway drops from 70mph to 60mph.
Do I need a tachograph to tow with my van?
The law states that a tachograph must be fitted to any vehicle carrying out commercial activities and weighing more than 3500kg in total. That means your van on its own probably won’t – but if you hitch it to a trailer and the combined weight of both vehicles takes you over that 3500kg limit, then you will, assuming you’re driving for profit-making purposes.
What are the best vans for towing?
Small vans
Currently, the small van with the highest towing capacity is the Volkswagen Caddy Cargo. You can tow up to 1500kg with a Caddy Cargo, putting it head and shoulders above most other vans in its class.
However, there’s a catch: the Caddy Cargo’s payload isn’t the greatest, at just 687kg (or 700kg in Maxi models). By comparison, some of its rivals with lower towing capacities offer greater payloads, making them more useful if you’ve got a light trailer to haul but need to stash heavy items within the van itself.
Take a look at the Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner, for example, of which certain versions feature a 986kg payload matched to a 1200kg towing capacity, while others even offer a satisfyingly symmetrical combination of a 1000kg payload and a 1000kg MGTW.
Medium vans
One van stands head and shoulders above the rest for towing capacity in this class too, and it’s the Ford Transit Custom, whose MGTW of up to 2800kg gives it a huge edge over its rivals. However, keep in mind that only one version of the Transit Custom gets this whopping towing rating; much of the rest of the range is limited to 2500kg, while some models dip below that figure and can drop as low as 1500kg.
By comparison, every Volkswagen Transporter can tow more than 2000kg, with the strongest vans in the range rated to 2500kg.
Meanwhile, the Citroën Dispatch and Peugeot Expert can’t match those high towing capacities – although the best in the range can still match the Transporter’s 2500kg figure – but as with their smaller vans, they tend to have slightly higher payload ratings, which means if you need to carry heavy cargo in your van and a lighter trailer, they’re worth a look.
Large vans
Pretty simple, this: go for a Ford Transit, an Iveco Daily, a Mercedes Sprinter or a Volkswagen Crafter if you need to tow the absolute maximum you possibly can.
All of these vans offer versions of at least 3500kg MAM with a GTW of 7000kg, giving them a 3500kg towing capacity. And some versions of the Transit and Sprinter come with an even greater MAM, which means they give you the option to trade towing capacity for payload.
For example, choose a Transit 470, with its MAM of 4700kg, and you’ll be able to load it with up to 2169kg of cargo and still tow a trailer of up to 2300kg MAM. Or, keep its payload below 969kg and you’ll be able to tow up to 3500kg.
It’s also worth noting that two large electric vans that are recommendable for their large towing capacities are the Ford e-Transit and Maxus eDeliver 9. The e-Transit is our reigning champion in the van market and can tow up to 2000kg. The eDeliver 9 can tow up to 1500kg.
Keyword: Best vans for towing