Safe weight ratios
For stable and safe towing we would always recommend that you choose the smallest and lightest possible caravan suitable for your intended use. The less the laden weight of the caravan is in relation to the weight of the towing vehicle, the safer and more stable the outfit will be. The Caravan Club, for example, advises that you should aim for a towed load that is no more than 85% of the car's kerb weight for stability and safety. The CC advice is NEVER to tow above 100% of the car's kerbside weight.
N.B. The car manufacturer's specified maximum permissible towload is always the absolute towing limit regardless of any 85% or 100% weight ratio guideline. This is especially important in those cases where the manufacturer's figure is particularly low - in a few cases even below 85%.

See Video

 

 

 

 

 

 A 20 foot rule between units applies at ALL RALLIES. 20 foot means canvas to canvas, and, in the interest of fire hazard, no concessions will be allowed to this rule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOUR TYRES
8 April 2008

Last year, around two million people took to the road with a caravan in tow, accounting for nearly 20% of holidays taken in the UK. With the arrival of greater daylight hours and with temperatures set to increase, thousands of motorists will hit the country’s roads once again towing a caravan or trailer. In conjunction with this traditional migration of holidaymakers, the Highways Agency has recently released a DVD entitled “Fit to Tow,” with TV presenter Carol Smillie providing crucial advice to those motorists who use a caravan or trailer for their vacation.

TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation, says it extends its full support to the latest Highways Agency initiative, as many drivers are not aware of the dangers related to the inadequate maintenance and preparation of their vehicles, with incorrect or damaged tyres in particular, presenting a major risk to their safety.

To emphasise the importance of ensuring that all tyres are fit for purpose when towing a caravan or trailer, TyreSafe has the following tips for motorists:

¤ Check the manufacturing dates of your caravan tyres. The Leisure Vehicle Organisation recommends that if they are over five years old, you should consider replacing them. Tyres more than seven years old should not be used;

¤ Inspect your caravan tyres for cuts, sidewall cracking or imbedded objects. This includes the inner sidewalls;

¤ Check the pressures of all your caravan tyres from cold, including the spare. Inflation should be in proportion to the load;

¤ Check the pressure of the tyres of the towing vehicle. Some vehicle manufacturers specify slightly high rear tyre pressures when towing;

¤ Check that the tyre construction on all wheels is the same;

¤ Check the tread depths. UK law requires a minimum of 1.6mm throughout the central 75% of the tread width, and around the tyre’s circumference. A minimum tread depth of 1.6mm across the full tread width is strongly recommended to ensure compliance with regulations throughout Europe; and

¤ Check that the jack is in working order. Most jacks benefit from a drop of oil on the screw mechanism, as caravans are frequently parked off road, have a suitable piece of board available to prevent the jack from sinking into soft ground.

For further information on looking after caravan tyres, visitors may download the latest version of “Caravan Tyres and Your Safety” leaflet for free at http://www.tyresafe.org/tyre-safety/.

To request a copy of the Highways Agency “Fit to Tow” DVD or a hard copy of the accompanying leaflet, call the Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30.

For press information, please contact Chris Wakley or Simon Wittenberg at Automotive PR on 020 7494 8050 or mobile 07970 674612.

 

 

 

 

 

 

VEHICLE EXCISE DUTY EXPLAINED
 

 

 

If you're a fan of fast cars then you'll probably have listened with a mixture of horror and confusion as the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, announced a shakeup of the current Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) tax bands. For 2008-09 the structure of the VED bands remains the same, but with increased prices (they were hardly going to go down) while from 2009 onwards there is a much more significant change.

So, for cars registered on or after 1st March 2001 ('Y' plate onwards) the road tax looks like the following:
Band CO2 (g/km) VED Rate 2008-09
A Up to 100 £0
B 101-120 £35
C 121-150 £120
D 151-165 £145
E 166-185 £170
F Over 186 £210
G* Over 225 £400

Band CO2 (g/km) VED Rate 2009-10 2010-11 Standard Rate 2010-11 New Cars
A Up to 100 £0 £0 £0
B 101-110 £20 £20 £0
C 111-120 £30 £35 £0
D 121-130 £90 £95 £0
E 131-140 £110 £115 £115
F 141-150 £120 £125 £125
G 151-160 £150 £155 £155
H 161-170 £175 £180 £250
I 171-180 £205 £210 £300
J 181-200 £260 £270 £425
K 201-225 £300 £310 £550
L 226-255 £415 £430 £750
M Over 255 £440 £455 £950




Where there were seven bands based on the C02 output of your car there are now thirteen, each with a narrower range of CO2 values. The lowest polluters in new bands A-C now pay no or very little road tax. From there the cost of the road tax takes a jump into band D, growing steadily to band I. Then you get the big polluters from band J onwards, and that's where your wallet really starts to get punished.

There's both a carrot and a stick for buyers of new cars from 2010. Cars that fall into band D or less pay nothing for their first year's road tax, after which it reverts to the standard rate. New cars in bands E to G are charged the equivalent of the standard rate in year one, but cars in bands H and above have to pay an extra 'environmental' charge on top of the standard rate (but only for the first year). Fortunately this only applies to new cars, so second-hand buyers don't need to worry.

This change has led to a great deal of misinformation and confusion, as various media headlines were announcing how modest family cars would suddenly be paying over double in road tax. Consider the Honda CR-V 2.0-litre, a popular family car, which if you believed the headlines would be going up from £210 per year now to £425 per year in 2010. What the headlines weren't doing was explaining the full story.

Looking carefully at the figures for the CR-V, the 2.0-litre engine kicks out 197g/km placing it in band I. So, the current rate for a vehicle registered in 2008 would be £210, rising to £260 in 2009 and £270 in 2010. Now, if you were to buy that car new in 2010 you would be hit by the first year penalty and would pay £425 for the first year. This is where the headlines were misleading, as what they didn't shout so loudly about is that the rate drops the next year to £270. It's still a lot more money, but not quite the end of the world for families as portrayed in the media.

Example 2, an Audi TT V6 rated at 247g/km bought new in 2008 would pay £400 for road tax in it's first year, £415 in 2009 and then £430 in 2010. However, if that same car was bought new in 2010 the first year of road tax would cost £750, dropping to £430 in the following year.

Finally, take an example from the other end of the spectrum. The Toyota Yaris 1.0 is rated at 127g/km and bought new in 2008 would cost £120 in year one, dropping to £90 in 2009 and then £95 in 2010. Bought new in 2010, the same car would cost nothing to tax in it's first year and then £95 the year after.

* For 2008-09 band G only applies to cars registered on or after March 23rd 2006. If a car is over 225 g/km but was registered between 1st March 2001 and March 22nd 2006 it falls into band F, saving the lucky owner £190.

For cars registered before 1st March 2001, the banding is much simpler, but not much cheaper for most cars:
Engine CC VED Tax Rate 2008-09 2009-10
Up to 1549 £120 £120
Over 1549 £185 £200



So, a humble Ford Focus 1.6 on an X-plate will cost exactly the same to tax as a Lamborghini Diablo of the same age. Fair? Probably not, but good news for owners of older high-performance cars.

If you want to know where your car fits into the C02 bands or you're trying to identify alternative cars in a lower band you should check out Carpages , who have a very useful list of cars broken down by C02 emissions and vehicle size.

What's obvious is that there are winners and losers. The winners are those people with small cars, particulalrly small diesels, while the losers are basically anyone with large family cars or anything you might describe as fast and entertaining. But there are always methods of reducing the blow to your finances - so let's stick it to the Taxman!
Posted on Friday, April 4, 2008 at 10:34AM by Chris in General | Post a Comment