Jayco Dove help

The ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) is shown to be 1223kg. This is legally the maximum weight that the fully loaded caravan can be.
This is below the weight you say that your car can tow, so you should be fine, if you are correct.

HOWEVER, you do not know what it actually weighs or if it can legally carry what you need to carry on the road. The "Tare mass 923kg" would suggest it will be OK, but in 18 years it may have had many modifications since it was built.
PLEASE have the van weighed on a licensed weigh bridge BEFORE you hand over any money.
This advice applies to ALL RV purchases, including new ones.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Thanks.. that's great help! Appreciate it.

Familiarise yourself with this stuff here.https://rvsafe.com.au/category/vehicle-weight-and-distribution/

Hi Dean K7,

There are a number of different weights that come into play. Acronyms are used to differentiate them, and it is a good idea to become familiar with them if you are unsure. One weight limit that does tend to catch people out is the Rear Axle Load on the towing vehicle once the caravan is connected to the towball. All weights must be under the maximum “plated” weight for both Towing vehicle and towed vehicle.

Your vehicle owners manual with have the rated maximum weights for your vehicle, so this is the first place to look. If you do not have an owners manual, you can go online and look up the specs for your particular vehicle. You just need to compare these weights with the caravan you intend to tow.

The photo below has these acronyms and their meanings.



Macca.

"I have a Honda CRV 2019 (2wd) 1.5l turbo. Towing capacity is 1500kg."

Dean, you neglected to tell us what the ball loading of your tow bar is. You will have to check that limit out. A lot of smaller vehicles do not have a ball load of 10% of the towing capacity. That figure should be on a compliance plate somewhere on the bar, or you should also be able to find it in the towing specifications in the vehicle handbook.

I note the unloaded ball weight of the Dove is 136 kg. The ball weight tends to get heavier when you load the camper. As well as the all up weight of your camper being less than 1500 kg, the ball weight will also have to be lower than the specified figure on the tow bar.

Irrespective of ball weights and towing limits and GVM etc, I would be more concerned about two things.

1. The vehicle isn't made to tow much at all, even if it will move it along the ground, expect the fuel usage to soar as it is a small engine with turbo to get the power and with a CONSTANT load behind it, the ECU will have to change into power mode in the ECU fuel mapping to make the additional power to meet demand. It just won't be in cruise mode.
2. It is an auto and therefore additional heat will be delivered to the radiator to cool the NOW unlocked torque converter as it absorbs engine heat while making the required torque. it might run hotter than normal if pushed much in hot weather. Also, inside most, if not all transaxles/Front wheel drive, the gearbox drives the final shafts to the wheels with a small gear and that constant load on the output shaft stresses that shaft if highly loaded. On some Camry vehicles, similar design, the shaft breaks off if towing heavy loads which are outside it's design parameters. Drive gently! Hondas are pretty good but don't push it!