this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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A someone who has been trying to figure out what vehicle to buy to tow my boat, I wonder how much of this is caused by weird tow ratings in North America. Towing anything with a car or small/mid sized SUV, and actually obeying the tow rating is a complete crapshoot. My current SUV is rated 1500lbs here and 3500lbs in the UK.
Pickup trucks are easy though. They come with massive tow ratings, even the small ones that my SUV outweighs and outpowers.
A while ago I found this blog post about why there are different tow ratings in the US vs. Europe.
It basically boils down to American tow ratings being designed to allow for higher speeds (beyond 60 mph) than European ratings. And it's more of a question of vehicle stability than power.
Exactly.
Having towed at max, there's a vast difference between 45mph and 65mph.
Theres also the length (and height) of trailers, especially campers, in the US.
The higher the speed, the longer/taller the trailer, the greater the weight, the more challenging it is to balance the setup, and keep things under control when something happens (crosswinds, passing semis, swerving, etc).
EU mandates lower speeds, and campers are smaller and built lighter, which makes things a lot easier to control.
I've towed a 3k box trailer and a 3k popup camper with the same vehicle (rated for 5k). Towing the popup you hardly noticed it was there - that's the vast difference sidewall makes.