For obvious legal and safety reasons its important that you know the maximum towing capacity or weight for your vehicle.

The exact towing weight or capacity for your vehicle is stamped on the Vehicle Identification Number Plate, VIN Plate.

The VIN plate is usually found under the bonnet or on a door pillar, if you struggle to find refer to the vehicle owners hardback as that should reference where it is located for your vehicle.

The VIN plate will be either an alloy plate which is riveted to the cars body or will be a sticker.

The VIN plate will display either 3 or 4 sets of weight, it is these weights that is the guide that will show if your vehicle is over-laden.

Towing weight information for a vehicle will be mentioned in the vehicle owners handbook also but always check the VIN plate for confirmation.

Is your vehicle approved for towing?

You can find out if your vehicle is approved for towing and its maximum weight on the VIN plate.

As said previously the VIN plate will display either 3 or 4 sets of weight, it is these weights that the authorities use to determine whether your vehicle is over-laden.

If you look at the VIN plate it has 3 or 4 rows of numbers.

The first row is for the Gross Vehicle Weight, the Maximum Allowable Mass (MAM) of the vehicle including occupants, fuel and payload.

The second row is for the Gross Train Weight, the combined maximum allowable mass of the vehicle and trailer.

The third and fourth row is Maximum Axle Loads front and rear respectively.

The manufacturer’s recommended maximum towing capacity for Gross Train Weight (second row) minus Gross Vehicle Weight (first row).

If your vehicle is not approved for towing

If your vehicle is not approved for towing the second row of numbers showing the Gross Train weight will be zero.

Some performance, older cars and hybrid cars are classed as unsuitable for towing so you will need to check this.