Weight

[newbie]

Hi there,

Possibly an old thread of conversation by now, but have recently purchased a 16ft Millard, chasis #M44204, told around 1976 model? Am wanting to get it road worthy first to get it to a weigh station, but also wondering what size car would be required to tow such a beast.... Any ideas? Can't seem to find any online figures about it's weight at all.
Would a mid size suv be enough, like the Subaru XV, 2L petrol, or no?
So... Any weight and car ideas thrown my way would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

[nickd15]

Hi,
We went through a similar thing a couple of years ago when we got out 72 Travelhome.
It is a 15 footer and when I got it to a weighbridge it weighed 900 kgs with nothing extra in it. It had a fridge, beds cushions etc but no gas bottle.

I would recommend at least a 1600kg towbar and ensure that the brakes are working on the van.

good luck, Nick

[newbie]

Thanks for that Nick. So do you think a 2L petrol suv would do the trick, or is it dependant on the type of towbar as well?

[atefooterz]

Both manual and CVT-equipped XVs have a maximum braked towing capacity of 1400kg and 140kg towball limit.
www.caravancampingsales.com.au/editorial/details/tow-test-subaru-xv-20i-37360/

[pisces51]

A 16ft Millard should have a tare weight in theory of 830kgs (16ft x 52kgs). However, if we bump that figure up to the 900kgs that Nick found his van to weigh, then you are looking at the van having a loaded weight of 1200kgs.

For safety's sake and less stress on the tow vehicle, I personally believe you shouldn't exceed 75% of the towing weight specification for the tow vehicle. If the loaded weight of the van is 1200kgs, then the vehicle should have a towing capacity of 1600kgs (1200 is 75% of 1600). The ball weight of a 1200kg van should be 15%, or 180kgs, to ensure a stable van on the road.

Therefore, for this Millard, your ideal towing vehicle is one that is specified to tow at least 1600kgs, and has a towbar that can carry a specified ball weight of at least 180kgs.

cheers,

Al.

[newbie]

Thanks so much for your help guys, really appreciate it.
Kind of sends me back to the drawing board now lol.

[snoops]

I towed my 16' Franklin with both a petrol X trail and a diesel Captiva without issue. Both were close to their max allowed towing capacity but legal. I just reset my expectations of how fast I would drive and trundled along at 90 whereas behind the Hilux, I could sit on 100 without issue. Sounds like your vehicle is getting very close to the line though.

[newbie]

Yeah thanks for that snoops. We were thinking of getting the suby xv, but after this bit of research I think not. 😉