Before purchasing a caravan, I was worried about the weight. I didn’t have much experience towing and had a relatively small family car. That’s when I realised how difficult it is to find the average weight of caravans online! To make your life easier than mine was, I decided to look at hundreds of caravans to try and determine the average 6 berth caravan weight.
What’s the average weight of a 6 berth caravan? The average weight of a six berth caravan is 1711kg. The majority of 6 berth caravans fall between 1500kg and 1800kg.
I worked out the average weight of a 6 berth caravan using the weights of 100 popular caravans. These caravans were all manufactured in the last 15 years but were created by a wide range of manufacturers.
Do you know why it’s important to know the weight of your caravan or the maximum weight caravan you can tow? I’ll explain all you need to know in this blog post, so by the end you will. And I’m going to give you some examples of the best caravans that fall into the weight range given above.
Why It’s Important To Know The Weight Of Your Caravan
Unfortunately, you can’t just purchase any caravan; life would be so much easier if you could. Instead, it’s important to know the weight of the caravan for several reasons.
First and foremost, depending on when you passed your test, you might be unable to tow some caravans without passing an additional test. Here’s what the Gov.UK website says about drivers who were issued their licence on or after 1 January 1997:
If you passed your car driving test on or after 1 January 1997 you can:
- drive a car or van up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass (MAM) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM
- tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg
So if you passed your test on or after 1 January 1997, there are restrictions on the maximum weight you can tow. This might mean you’re unable to tow some heavier caravans without taking an additional test.
If you passed your test before 1 January 1997, you’re usually allowed tow drive a vehicle and trailer combination of up to 8,250kg MAM.
Passed in or after 1997? You can take the B+E test to tow heavier caravans. After passing the B+E test, you can drive a tow vehicle weighing no more than 3,500kg MAM towing any trailer that falls into the towing capacity of your vehicle. This offers you much greater flexibility to tow the caravan that you want to tow, rather than compromising and choosing a caravan that you don’t want as much.
Secondly, you may be restricted by the towing capacity of your car. When looking for my first caravan, I had a relatively small family car. This meant the towing capacity was rather restrictive, stopping me from purchasing the caravan I really wanted.
All cars have a towing capacity. The towing capacity of your vehicle is the maximum weight that your car is capable of towing. You must know the maximum weight that your vehicle can tow. Exceeding the towing limit is inadvisable, as it’s both illegal and extremely dangerous.
You can encounter several problems by exceeding the towing capacity of your vehicle, besides breaking the law:
- Brake ineffectiveness
- Tyre failure
- Engine overheating
- Instability
As you can imagine, you don’t want to risk any of the above. So you must find out the towing capacity of your vehicle and choose a suitable caravan.
There are multiple places that you can find the towing capacity of your car.
- The vehicle’s handbook
- Calculated from the vehicle’s VIN plate
The first place to look for the towing capacity of your vehicle is the vehicle’s handbook. The vast majority of car manufacturers will publish the information that you need to know in there. If you don’t have your vehicle’s handbook in your possession, the car’s manufacturer is likely to have it on their website.
If you cannot find the information in the handbook, you can work it out using the numbers on the vehicle’s VIN plate. On a VIN plate, there are two pieces of information that you need:
- Line One: Maximum Allowable Mass
- Line Two: Maximum Train Mass
To work out the towing capacity of your vehicle, subtract line one from line two. The number that you have is the towing capacity of your car.
Now we’ve covered that, let’s take a look at some of the best 6 caravans weighing between 1,500 – 1,800kg.
The Best 6 Berth Caravans Weighing Under 1,800kg
After looking at why caravan weights are so important, I decided to look into caravans weighing under 1,800kg. After looking at hundreds of caravans, I’ve picked two caravans weighing under 1,800kg that are relatively inexpensive, have gorgeous interiors, and have great layouts:
- Elddis Avante 866
- Compass Casita 868
Let’s take a closer look at these two and see why they’re good options.
Elddis Avante 866
The Elddis Avante is a family-friendly 6-berth caravan with a stylish modern interior and a fantastic layout. The Elddis Avante 866 has a MiRO of 1559kg, making it one of the lighter 6 berth caravans out there.
The one key thing that makes the Avante 866 caravan one of the best 6 berths is space. This luxurious caravan is spacious and flexible, making it the perfect caravan for families of all sizes with kids of all ages.
At the front of the caravan, you will find a large seating area that comfortably seats 6 at least. Thanks to all the windows at the front of the caravan, the Avante 866 feels incredibly spacious as soon as you walk in. Moving further down the caravan, there is a large dinette suitable for 5 or 6 opposite the kitchen. This dinette converts into a large double bed, and offers you the flexibility of leaving one double bed made up depending on the number of people staying in the caravan.
At the rear of the Avante 866 is the children’s area. This capacious area contains two fixed bunks as well as an additional dinette, which converts into a further single bed. This is certainly one of the best caravans with fixed bunks, as the bed pods feel remarkably large. These fixed bunks will still be suitable as your children grow up, as they’re both over 6 foot in length. Each pod has a window, reading light, and a privacy curtain. The dinette opposite is the ideal play area for children and gives the adults their own space at the front of the caravan.
In addition to the favourable layout, there is a large, modern bathroom and an excellent kitchen. The bathroom feels particularly modern thanks to features like the mirror and the sink, both of which have a contemporary appearance. The shower is in a separate cubicle, also a big advantage when compared with some other 6 berths.
All in all, this caravan has it all: a gorgeous interior, all the features and facilities you can ask for, and a fantastic layout offering the space and flexibility that most families desire.
Compass Casita 868
The Compass Casita 868 is a rather unique 6 berth caravan with a MiRO of 1532kg. This twin-axle caravan really stands apart from the competition thanks for the fantastic bedroom area at the rear, which features a fixed double as well as two fixed pods. You don’t see this layout very often in British-made caravans, but that is what sets the Casita 868 apart.
The rear of this caravan feels like being at home. In some caravans, the sleeping arrangements are less than ideal and you end up craving your bed at home. You really don’t get that feeling in the Casita 868. This unique layout is perfect for a couple with one or two young children. And there’s a large double at the front of the caravan if required. This layout is versatile, adapting to the requirements of your family.
At the front of the caravan, you will find a large seating area that will comfortably seat all occupants of the caravan. Moving further down the caravan, there’s a relatively small kitchen that benefits from plenty of storage. As well as four overhead lockers, there’s several drawers and a cupboard under the sink. Opposite the oven there is a microwave and large fridge, as well as even more storage.
The bathroom arrangement is rather unique in this caravan too. The shower is almost a separate room, with the toilet compartment situated opposite. The toilet compartment is capacious and has plenty of cupboard space and the shower is a good size too.
This caravan is one of the best 6 berths weighing less than 1800kg primarily thanks to its unique and versatile layout. This is one of my favourite layouts; I think the Casita 868 is the perfect caravan for a couple with young children.
