What can I tow? Licence codes, weights and the numbers that matter

The short answer

Find the caravan's GVM, on the listing or from the owner. 750 kg or less, your Code B is enough. More than 750 kg, you need Code EB. That is the whole test. One number.

The 3 500 kg you have seen online is about your vehicle. Not the caravan, and not the two added together. Regulation 99 of the National Road Traffic Regulations asks one thing about the drawing vehicle: is it light? Tare of 3 500 kg or less for a car, SUV or motorhome, GVM of 3 500 kg or less for a bakkie. Just about every double cab and every SUV passes. The Code EB rule says nothing about how heavy the caravan or the combination may be.

So "combined 3 500 kg" is a myth. You will hear it from dealers and read it on forums and some big websites, and I understand why it sticks: the number is real, it is just pinned to the wrong vehicle. One footnote. A tow vehicle whose own GVM is over 3 500 kg, which some Land Cruiser 79 variants are, needs Code EC1 whatever it tows.

The four numbers, and where they are

A licence code says what you may drive. It says nothing about whether this car can pull that caravan. For that you need four numbers, and none of them is on your licence.

Tare is what the vehicle weighs ready for the road, without fuel. GVM is the most it may weigh loaded. GCM is the most the tow vehicle and trailer may weigh together, both loaded. The braked tow rating is the heaviest trailer the manufacturer allows behind that model.

Start with the two licence discs, which give you tare and GVM for both vehicles. The caravan's own plate is on the drawbar or the front left of the chassis. A bakkie must carry a data plate with tare, GVM, axle loads and GCM under Regulation 245. A car or SUV usually has one on the door pillar, and the brochure has the rest.

Then the two numbers people skip. The towbar has its own stamped maximum for towing mass and vertical load, and an aftermarket bar can be rated lower than the vehicle it is bolted to. And the nose weight, the downward push on the ball, must land between 25 kg and 100 kg on any South African caravan, because the compulsory build specification VC 8026 says so.

The rule that ties it all together is simple. Line up the braked tow rating, the towbar maximum, the caravan's plated GVM and the nose weight band. The smallest one is your limit. And it is the caravan's GVM, not its tare: every rule looks at what it may weigh, never at what it weighs empty.

Brakes, and why tare matters

Regulation 151 of the National Road Traffic Regulations does not ban a heavy caravan. It says what brakes a trailer must have, depending on how the trailer's GVM compares to the tow vehicle's tare.

• 750 kg GVM or less and not more than half the tow vehicle's tare: may be unbraked, with a parking brake or a device such as a chock to hold it.
• Up to the tow vehicle's tare: a parking brake plus an overrun brake or a service brake.
• Over the tow vehicle's tare: a parking brake and a service brake "capable of being operated by the driver of the drawing vehicle while such trailer and drawing vehicle are in motion". An overrun brake works off the trailer's own inertia and does not qualify.

Almost every caravan in South Africa has overrun brakes, so in practice the caravan's plated GVM may not exceed the tow vehicle's tare. Put the two licence discs next to each other and compare. The tow vehicle's GVM does not come into it, and neither does engine size, whatever the guy at the braai says. GCM is a legal limit too, but under Regulation 239 only for a bakkie or other goods vehicle. For a car or SUV it is a warranty and insurance matter. That is not a licence to exceed it.

What common vehicles may tow

These come off the official South African spec sheets, in kg. A range means the figure changes by derivative. "Not on the sheet" means exactly that, so do not guess.

Two things jump out. The same badge can carry very different ratings: a 1.9 D-Max is good for 2 100 kg, a 3.0 D-Max for 3 500 kg. Check the derivative you drive, not the one on the poster. And a rating is not a budget to spend to the last kilogram. Isuzu's own footnote says a D-Max 3.0 towing 3 500 kg may weigh only 2 500 kg all-up to stay inside its 6 000 kg GCM. That leaves about 425 kg for people, fuel, gear and the tow-ball load. It goes quickly.

A worked example

Say you drive a double cab with a GVM of 3 200 kg and a tare around 2 000 kg, which is where the bakkies in the table sit. You have booked a caravan with a plated GVM of 1 800 kg, a Jurgens Penta or thereabouts.

Licence first. A goods vehicle with a GVM not over 3 500 kg towing a trailer over 750 kg is Code EB. The combined 5 000 kg never comes up, because Regulation 99 never asks for it. Brakes next: 1 800 kg against about 2 000 kg tare, so overrun brakes are fine under Regulation 151. Now the ratings. The Jimny's 1 300 kg is the only rating in the table this caravan does not fit at all. The base Tiguan sits exactly at 1 800 kg, so only the higher-rated Tiguan derivatives have room to spare. Every bakkie and bigger SUV in the table clears 1 800 kg with margin, and stays inside its GCM as long as the loaded bakkie stays inside its own GVM. Nose weight: ten percent would be 180 kg, but no compliant South African caravan may declare more than 100 kg, so the cap is what applies. And speed. A bakkie is a goods vehicle, 3 200 plus 1 800 is over 3 500, so this combination runs at 100 km/h with a sign on the back.

Nose weight is not a detail

The downward load on the tow ball is what keeps the caravan following you instead of snaking. On a South African caravan the legal band is 25 kg to 100 kg, set by VC 8026 clause 3.5.2, and it is a fixed band, not a percentage. The 7 to 10 percent of loaded mass you read in the motoring press is a fair target for a small caravan. It runs into the 100 kg cap somewhere between 1 000 kg and 1 400 kg loaded, and above that a heavier caravan simply runs a lower percentage. A towbar rated for more than 100 kg vertical load tells you what the vehicle can carry, not what the caravan may load onto it.

How fast may you tow

South Africa has no general towing speed limit. A car or SUV towing is under the ordinary 60, 100 and 120 km/h limits. A bakkie is a goods vehicle, and once its GVM plus the caravan's GVM passes 3 500 kg, Regulation 293 caps the combination at 100 km/h with a 100 km/h sign on the back. A double cab with any caravan behind it does that. Kampi's advice for everyone, bakkie or SUV, is 100 km/h or less. The regulation text and the reasoning are on the towing for the first time page.

Before you book

Do this with the listing open and your licence disc in your hand, not from memory.

Numbers work? Then the next thing is the handover. Collecting your caravan covers hitching up and the first 20 km.