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Preparing to Tow - Selecting A Caravan Towbar

Identify the Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) of your caravan. The ATM is the total mass of the van and whatever you add as payload e.g. water, gas, food and luggage. The ATM is specified by the manufacturer or you can use the table below as a guideline only.
Identify the towball weight of your fully loaded caravan. This is the weight on the back of your car or on the jockey wheel if the van is uncoupled. Usually you can expect the towball weight to be around 10% of the ATM. A more accurate measurement is preferred. Take the van to a weighbridge, come to Hardings and borrow our towball weight scales or use your own bathroom scales if their capacity is adequate. If not, you can extend the effective range of your own scales by following the following procedure below.
Now that you know the caravan ATM and towball weight, use the Hayman Reese Product Search Function under Towbars and Hitch Receivers to analyse the options for your vehicle. Look closely at the ratings in the right hand column.
Choose a suitable towbar or hitch receiver to accommodate your caravan. Important: Where the towball weight exceeds 125kg, it is recommended that you fit a hitch receiver to allow the use of a heavy duty weight distributing hitch.

Single Axle

Tandem Axle

Place your bathroom scales and a brick or paver(s) the same thickness 900mm apart.
Place piece of pipe on top of both the scales and the brick and rest a strong plank at least 1200mm across them. Zero the scales.
Rest the jockey wheel on the plank 300mm from the brick as shown above.
Multiply the scale reading by 3 to obtain the towball weight. NB. The caravan should be level and ideally fully loaded with water in the tank(s).