Understanding the towing capacity of your car and the weight of the tear drop camper you are looking to tow (or whatever you are looking to tow) is incredibly important to ensure you arrive at your destination safely.
As a child of the 1960s and having grown up around a world of caravan travel, the cars that people used to tow caravans, were just the standard family car. My parents were members of the RACV Caravan Club and as a family we explored most of Victoria on our monthly caravan rallies. Some 50 or so families would meet up each month with their caravans and enjoy a weekend of cups of tea, film nights and day trips exploring the immediate surrounds of our great country.
In those days, the cars used to tow caravans were sedans…nothing special or purposeful with the exception of the occasional anti sway bars attachments or on some really fancy rigs, the installation of the latest electric brakes. Over the years, we have seen a dramatic change with legislation guiding capacity for vehicles to tow for both braked and unbraked campers and caravans. This has favoured the large car market as most caravans and campers now require significant tow vehicles consuming large volumes of fuel as they travel the roads to their intended destination.
Jag Camper was designed to be light weight so almost any car can tow it. With a TARE weight (that means an unloaded weight) of 880 Kg and ATM (that means total loaded weight including clothes, food, camping gear, etc) of 1200kg, the Jag Camper can be towed behind most cars. The heaviest component of the Jag Camper is the chassis, which has been engineered for the toughest conditions and longevity. The exterior walls are made from a high tech composite sandwich panel of FRP (Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic) and XPS (Extruded Polystyrene), the same material used in refrigeration trucks. The composite sandwich panel is not only super strong, it is light weight, insulated and requires no maintenance as it doesn’t rot, rust or require painting.
The Jag Camper comes with 10inch electric drum brakes, controlled by the Elecbrake system. No need for expensive additional wiring in your car to control the braking, simply plug in your normal 7 pin trailer plug into your car, switch on your parking lights and you have full control of your camper brakes via your mobile phone…..it’s that simple.
What does this all mean.
The Jag Camper is light, weighing just 880kg unloaded with a total capacity of 1200kg full loaded. It is braked with electric brakes so the capacity your car is capable of towing is significantly enhanced. To explain that, your car’s towing capacity for unbraked may be 900kg however braked can be as high as 1600kg. You can find out the towing capacity of your car by going to one of many motor vehicle websites. We use Carsguide.com.au as our reference as it is easy to use and discover your cars towing capacity.
An important note when checking the towing capacity of your car is to first find out the ATM weight of your camper/caravan as that is the weight you potentially will be towing. The TARE should not be used when reviewing towing capacities as it is the empty weight of the camper, not the weight you are likely to be towing. You can find this information about your car and a further explanation of towing capacity here.
I hope the above has helped you in understanding towing capacities and the difference between ATM, TARE, Braked and Unbraked. If you have any questions regarding the towability of the Jag Camper behind your car, please send us an email or call us as we are only too happy to assist.
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog.
