What can a mid-size SUV tow?
Caravans at the light end of the market.
Your variant's tow rating, towball limit and GCM decide it, and the loaded car must stay under its GVM.
Makers publish each one per variant, so a two-wheel-drive can sit well below the headline figure for the same badge.
Updated - specs from the manufacturer's own pages. 8 min read • Technical Guide
Caravans at the light end of the market. The lowest of the tow rating, the towbar rating and GCM (Gross Combination Mass) caps the van.
Those compare the van at its ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass). The van's loaded ball weight must fit the towball limit. The car, with people, gear and ball weight, must stay under its GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass).
- Braked rating - varies across variants (across the variants of one model)
- Towball limit - a separate ceiling (measured against the van's ball weight)
- GCM - car and van together (so what you load into the car comes off what the van may weigh)
Your car's limits, and the lowest one wins
The lowest of the tow rating, the towbar rating and GCM caps what your car may pull. The braked tow rating is not always the lowest.
- Braked towing capacity. The car maker's rating for your variant, compared against the van's ATM.
- The towball download limit. What the car, the towbar and the towball can carry, compared against the van's ball weight.
- GCM minus your loaded car. The combined ceiling for car and van, less what the car weighs on the day with people and gear aboard.
The tow rating and GCM compare the van at its ATM, the most it may weigh with water in the tanks and the boot packed. The towball limit compares the van's loaded ball weight. A brochure often leads with tare, the empty weight as the van left the factory. The gap between those two figures is your whole payload allowance.
So work from ATM every time. A van whose tare sits well under your rating can still reach its ATM once the water and gear are aboard. ATM is the figure that counts against your car.
Caravan weights explained sets out each limit in full. Which weight a tow rating measures covers the ATM comparison on its own.
Ratings are published per variant
Braked towing capacity is published per variant. Drivetrain, engine, body and model year all feed into it, so one nameplate can span a wide spread across its versions.
The spread for each model is below. Pick your car to see the caravans it matches, graded against published ATM and ball weight figures.
Where your own figure comes from
The spreads above describe a model. Your car carries its own braked rating, towball limit and GCM, printed in the owner's manual. The towbar and towball carry their own ratings. Use those figures in any sum you do. A two-wheel-drive or a smaller engine can sit well below the headline for the same badge.
What the light end of the market holds
Under about 1,800kg you are looking at single axles, lower rooflines and short bodies.
A pop-top drops its roof for travel, so you are towing something lower, and the lower roof saves weight in the build. A camper trailer or teardrop goes lighter again by putting the sleeping space under canvas or into a single moulded shell. A compact hard-top tourer keeps fixed walls all round, and those walls cost kilograms.
Typical payload across these vans is about 410kg. That is your whole allowance for water, gas, food and gear once the van leaves the factory. Water spends it fastest, at a kilogram a litre.
Figures come from each manufacturer's own published material for the base build. Options and dealer-fitted extras raise what the van weighs empty, so go by the plate on the van you take home.
Check the towball limit first
Ball weight is the download the van's coupling puts onto the towbar. The car maker publishes its own ceiling for it.
Where the table shows a ball weight, it is at or under 11% of the van's ATM. Check that against your car's own download limit before you check anything against its tow rating. Those are mostly empty-van figures. Loaded, the ball weight is usually higher.
That download counts twice. It has to fit under the car's towball limit, the towbar's label and the towball's stamp. It also counts against the car's GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass), along with luggage in the boot and four people aboard.
On a mid-size SUV, check ball weight first, GCM second and the tow rating third. The towball limit is often the first to bind. Then check GVM. Ball weight, four people and a loaded boot can put a mid-size SUV over its GVM while every towing limit passes. Our car pages do not check GVM.
Run the sums
Pick your car on the car pages and we compare every checked range against its tow rating, towball limit and GCM at once. Or run one van at a time through the tow calculator with figures from your owner's manual.
Mid-size SUV towing questions, answered
Can a mid-size SUV tow a caravan?
Yes, within your exact variant's braked tow rating, towball limit and GCM. The vans that fit are the light end of the market: pop-tops, compact single-axle tourers, teardrops and camper trailers.
Why does the same model have different towing capacities?
Because manufacturers set the rating per variant, by drivetrain, engine, body and model year. Your car's figure is in your owner's manual. The towbar label shows the towbar's own rating, and the lower applies.
Does a 2,000kg tow rating mean I can buy a 2,000kg caravan?
Only if the other limits allow it. GCM minus your loaded car can leave less than 2,000kg, the towbar may be rated lower, and the loaded ball weight must fit the towball limit.
What size caravan suits a mid-size SUV?
Work backwards from your car's limits. Length follows. The vans that suit this class are usually single-axle and in the light half of the catalogue, often a pop-top or a compact tourer.
Do I need a bigger car, or a lighter van?
Either can resolve a tight sum. Run both options through the tow calculator with your own variant's figures before you decide.
Start from the car in your driveway
Pick your make and model and we compare every checked range against its braked rating, towball limit and GCM. You can see which one decides your answer.