The Triumph Toledo’s Towing Capacity & Limitations!?!
Although my
BLMC Triumph Toledo 1300 Handbook [Publication Part No. 545116, 4th Edition | i.e. the owners’ vehicle operating handbook that typically accompanied the car when new] includes vehicle weights for the 2-door & 4-door saloons, in the Weights (approximate) sub-section, on Page 61 of the General Specification section, there is no trailer-towing information in this section or on any other page of this publication.
According to the Towing Information sub-section on Page 04-3, of Section 04 – General Specification Data, of the official loose-leaf BLMC Triumph Toledo 1300 & 1500 Repair Operation Manual [Part No. 545168, Issue 3], the towing limits for the Triumph Toledo 1300, 1500 & 1500TC saloons are as follows:
Maximum
braked-trailer weight: 15 cwt (i.e. 762¼ kg by calculation)
Maximum
un-braked-trailer weight: 3•94 cwt (i.e. 200 kg), provided the total weight of the car and trailer (i.e. combined weight of the car, car’s payload, trailer & trailer’s payload), does not exceed the car’s maximum gross-vehicle weight for cars with1300 & 1500 single carburettor engines, or 28•8 cwt (i.e. 1465 kg) for cars with 1500 twin-carburettor engines.
According to the Weights sub-section on Page 04-3, of Section 04 – General Specification Data, of the official loose-leaf
BLMC Triumph Toledo 1300 & 1500 Repair Operation Manual [Part No. 545168, Issue 3], the basic kerb-weights and maximum gross-vehicle weights for the Triumph Toledo 1300, 1500 & 1500TC saloons, with two or four doors, are as follows:
1300 & 1500 (2-door saloon) basic kerb-weight: 17 cwt (i.e. circa 865 kg | 863•9 kg by calculation)
1300 (4-door saloon) basic kerb-weight: 17¼ cwt (i.e. 875 kg | 876•6 kg by calculation) – as for Nigel Skeet’s vehicle
1500TC (4-door saloon) basic kerb-weight: 17¾ cwt (i.e. circa 900 kg | 902•0 kg by calculation)
1300 & 1500 (2-door saloon) maximum gross-vehicle weight: 24 cwt (i.e. circa 1230 kg | 1219•6 kg by calculation)
1300 (4-door saloon) maximum gross-vehicle weight: 24¼ cwt (i.e. circa 1240 kg | 1232•3 kg by calculation) – as for Nigel Skeet’s vehicle
1500TC (4-door saloon) maximum gross-vehicle weight: 24¾ cwt (i.e. circa 1265 kg | 1255•7 kg by calculation)
This implies that all Triumph Toledo models have the same maximum payload of 7 cwt (i.e. 355•7 kg | calculated using 1 kg = 2•204 lbs & 1 cwt = 8 st = 112 lbs).
Hence, even if the Triumph Toledo 1500TC (4-door saloon) is at its maximum gross-vehicle weight of circa 1265 kg (i.e. carrying its maximum payload of circa 355•7 kg), it still retains a maximum towing limit of 200 kg (implied by 1465 kg – 1265 kg = 200 kg) for an un-braked trailer.
This also implies that a Triumph Toledo 1500TC with twin carburettors has a much greater maximum
un-braked trailer towing weight than a Triumph Toledo 1300 or 1500 with single carburettor when the car is carrying a payload of more than 155•7 kg (i.e. 355•7 kg – 200+ kg). It seems strange that the mere fact of having twin carburettors confers this additional payload allowance!?! There is also the inference that a Triumph Toledo 1300 or 1500 with single carburettor, carrying the maximum payload of circa 355•7 kg, would be restricted from towing an
un-braked trailer of any kind.
Hence, if the cars were carrying no luggage and only two people having an average weight of more than 77•85 kg = 12 st 3½ lbs (not untypical for British adult males in the 1970s), the cars with only a single carburettor, have a maximum
un-braked trailer towing weight limit of less than 200 kg.
Similarly, if the cars were carrying no luggage and only four people having an average weight of 88•9 kg = 14 st 0 lbs (
VERY MUCH heavier than I would wish to be, but many British adult males and some adult females are now much heavier than this!), they would be carrying their maximum payload of circa 355•7 kg; implying that the cars with only a single carburettor would have a maximum towing limit of
ZERO kg for an un-braked trailer and all the cars would have no reserve payload for luggage in the boot!
I wonder whether similar towing-weight restrictions also apply to the Triumph 1300 & 1300TC, Triumph 1500 & 1500TC and the Triumph Dolomite 1300, 1500, 1500HL, 1850, 1850HL & Sprint!?! Given that the Triumph Toledo towing-weight restrictions might have originally been defined for early model-years with front drum brakes, it would be of interest to learn, whether the same restrictions also apply to the Triumph Dolomite 1300 & 1500, which were only available with front disc brakes!?!
The preceding analysis suggests that the Triumph Toledo 1300 has a minimal towing capacity, even under ideal circumstances, so I was interested to discover what limitations British motoring law might impose. Amongst other things, the following website link states that from a legal standpoint, the maximum gross trailer weight (i.e. maximum combined weight of the unladen trailer and its payload) of an un-braked trailer, must not exceed 750 kg, or half the towing vehicle's kerb-weight, whichever is the lesser of the two.
Parkers, “Towing - the laws you need to know”, 22nd February 2018
https://www.parkers.co.uk/company-cars/2013/towing/
In the case of my four-door Triumph Toledo 1300 with single carburettor, the kerb-weight is 17¼ cwt (i.e. 875 kg | 876•6 kg by calculation), so legally my car is said to be limited to towing an
un-braked trailer, with a maximum gross trailer weight of 438•3 kg (i.e. 876•6 kg ÷ 2), which seems much more useful than the 0~200 kg figure (dependent upon the towing-vehicle’s payload) defined in the official BLMC triumph Toledo publications.
However, information presented in the UK Government website implies that the 0~200 kg figure might be the legal limit for the Triumph Toledo, given that the vehicle manufacturer had specified in the official workshop manual (a publication that was not commonly available to car owners), but not the “owners’ handbook” or “chassis plate”, what is now described as the
GCW - Gross Combination Weight or
GTW – Gross Train Weight.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... the-basics
« The weight and size of trailer that you can tow depends on at least 7 key factors. Any maximum weight specified under any of these cannot be exceeded - even if other criteria seem to permit a higher weight. »
« 1. The capability of the towing vehicle »
« The chassis plate on the vehicle (see table in Section 7) states the maximum weights allowed - the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and the Gross Combination Weight (GCW). »
« The vehicle handbook will either repeat what is on the chassis plate, or for convenience, might directly specify the maximum weight of trailer (eg 750kg) which is allowed to be towed. The V5C registration certificate often shows this too, under sections O1 and O2 (depending on whether trailer has brakes or not). Exceeding any of the above weights is likely to be construed as using a vehicle in a dangerous condition. »
« Where the sum of the maximum plated weights of the towing vehicle and of the trailer added together exceed the plated GCW of the towing vehicle, this is not a problem as long as the ‘actual’ weights of the vehicle and trailer (which may not be fully laden at the time) do not exceed the plated GCW. »
I wonder how many braked, light-weight, general-purpose & camping trailers with over-run brakes are available, given that the towing weight limit specified by BLMC for the Triumph Toledo is 15 cwt (i.e. 762¼ kg by calculation), which is very much more than 0~200 kg or even 438•3 kg for an un-braked trailer!?!
Also in the Towing Information sub-section on Page 04-3, of Section 04 – General Specification Data, of the official loose-leaf BLMC Triumph Toledo 1300 & 1500 Repair Operation Manual [Part No. 545168, Issue 3], are the maximum starting gradients and maximum climbable gradients for a fully-laden car & trailer, for the Triumph Toledo 1300, 1500 & 1500TC.
Engine | 1300 single-carb | 1500 single-carb | 1500 twin-carb
Maximum starting gradient | 1 in 6•5 | 1 in 5•8 | 1 in 5•7
Maximum climbable gradient | 1 in 5•0 | 1 in 4•5 | 1 in 4•4
In stating maximum gradients, the workshop manual does not specify whether the trailer is of the
un-braked or
braked type, whose specified maximum weights are 3•94 cwt (i.e. 200 kg) and 15 cwt (i.e. 762¼ kg by calculation) respectively. However, until I find more precise information, I would probably be wise to avoid any hill steeper than 1 in 6•5, when the car is close to being fully laden; especially as my effective final-drive ratio will be lower than the factory-standard 4•11:1 with 155 SR13 tyres (e.g. 3•89:1 with either 185/65 R15, 185/60 R15 or 185/55 R15 tyres)!