Motor insurance · Caravans and trailers
Towing a caravan or trailer this December: the insurance and licence checks
Before the December holiday, caravan insurance in South Africa comes down to two sets of checks: the legal ones (your licence code, your masses and your trailer’s brakes) and the policy ones (whether the caravan, its contents and the towing combination are all on cover). Here’s how to run both before you hitch up.
Caravan insurance in South Africa starts with the legal checks
The legal checks for towing come first, because they decide whether you can lawfully drive the combination at all. If the driver doesn’t hold the right licence code, or the combination is overloaded, the claim conversation starts on the back foot. Many policies also set conditions about licensed drivers and roadworthy vehicles, so check yours. Our guide to how car insurance is priced and underwritten explains why insurers ask about drivers and use in the first place.
The first legal check is the one most often overlooked: the code on your driving licence.
Check your licence code: B or EB
A code B licence covers a light vehicle towing a trailer with a GVM of up to 750 kg; anything heavier needs code EB. Regulation 99 of the National Road Traffic Regulations defines code B as a vehicle with a tare of up to 3,500 kg (or a goods vehicle with a GVM of up to 3,500 kg) “with or without a trailer, the gross vehicle mass of which does not exceed 750 kilograms.” Code EB covers the same vehicles “with a trailer the gross vehicle mass of which exceeds 750 kilograms” (Government Gazette 38142 (2014)).
The figure that counts is the trailer’s GVM, its maximum permitted loaded mass, not what it weighs empty on the day. Check it on the trailer’s registration papers rather than guessing. Codes EC1 and EC include EB authority; codes C1 and C don’t. If someone else will drive part of the way, check their licence too: our guide to bakkie use and vehicle insurance covers why insurers care about who is driving and for what.
The right licence is only half of it. The combination also has to be within its masses.
Know your masses: GVM, tare, GCM and trailer brakes
Your towing vehicle has a gross combination mass (GCM), the most the vehicle, trailer and load may weigh together, and regulation 239 makes it an offence to draw another vehicle if the GCM is exceeded (Arrive Alive (2026)). The National Road Traffic Act defines GCM as the maximum mass of the combination “as specified by the manufacturer thereof or, in the absence of such specification, as determined by the registering authority” (National Road Traffic Act, s1 (1996)). You’ll find it in the owner’s manual or on the vehicle’s licensing documents.
Regulation 151 then sets the brakes the trailer needs, based on its GVM compared with the tare (empty mass) of the vehicle towing it (National Road Traffic Regulations, reg 151):
| Trailer GVM | Compared with the towing vehicle’s tare | Brakes the trailer needs |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 750 kg | Up to half the tare | A parking brake or other device to keep it stationary |
| More than half, up to the full tare | A parking brake plus a service brake or an overrun brake | |
| More than the tare | A parking brake and a service brake | |
| 750 kg to 3,500 kg | Up to the tare | A parking brake plus an overrun brake or a service brake |
| More than the tare | A parking brake and a service brake | |
| Over 3,500 kg | Any | A parking brake and a service brake |
On speed, the class-specific 80 km/h limit in regulation 293 applies to goods vehicles and combinations over 9,000 kg, not to an ordinary car or bakkie towing a caravan, so the general limits apply. That doesn’t make towing at the limit wise, as the safety section below explains. To run your own combination through these rules, use the checker below.
Enter the figures from your registration papers. This checks the licence and brake rules only; it isn’t a roadworthiness test, and nothing you enter leaves this page.
Once the combination is legal, the next question is whether your policy follows the caravan wherever it goes.
What does caravan insurance cover?
Caravans and trailers are usually insured on your motor or personal lines policy as items in their own right, and what applies to them depends entirely on how they’re listed and worded. Don’t assume the towing vehicle’s cover extends to the caravan behind it. These are the questions to settle with your insurer or broker before you leave:
- Is the caravan or trailer listed, and at what value? Check the description, the registration number and the sum insured on your schedule. A value set years ago can leave you underinsured; our guide to retail, market and trade value explains how vehicles are valued.
- What applies while it’s being towed, parked at a campsite and kept in storage? Ask whether theft from a storage yard or campsite has conditions, such as locks, hitch locks or a secured area.
- How are the contents insured? Bedding, cooking gear, bikes and electronics inside a caravan may fall under your home contents policy, a portable possessions section or the caravan cover itself, each with its own limits. Our guide to household contents insurance and the portable possessions page explain how those sections differ.
- What about damage the trailer causes to someone else? Ask how third-party liability applies when the trailer is attached to, or detached from, the towing vehicle. Our page on personal liability insurance covers the wider liability picture.
- Are there conditions about drivers, licences or roadworthiness? Ask whether the policy requires the driver to hold the correct licence code and the trailer to have a valid licence disc.
- What excess applies, and is it separate for the caravan? Our car insurance excess guide explains how excesses are set.
- Does cover continue across the border? More on this below.
Best Care’s caravan and trailer insurance page sets out how this cover is arranged. With the paperwork settled, the rest is about the drive itself.
Towing safely on a long December trip
Most towing problems on long trips come from loading and stopping distances, not from the hitch. Arrive Alive’s towing guidance says “it is best to distribute 60 per cent of the load over the front half of the trailer (nearest to the towing vehicle)”, with contents spread evenly on both sides (Arrive Alive (2026)). It also covers:
- Following distance. “Allow a four-second gap between you and the vehicle ahead”, and more in wet or windy weather. A heavier combination takes longer to stop, and braking hard can make a trailer slide or jackknife.
- Tongue weight. Too little weight on the hitch can make the trailer sway.
- Tyres. Inflate the trailer’s tyres, and the vehicle’s, to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure.
- Mirrors. If the caravan is wider than your vehicle, you may need extension mirrors.
If something does go wrong on the road, our step-by-step car insurance claim guide covers what to do at the scene and how to report it. Many December trips also end at a border post, which adds a final set of checks.
Crossing a border with a caravan or trailer
Neighbouring countries can treat a towed trailer as a separate vehicle for paperwork and compulsory insurance. At Ressano Garcia, the Mozambican side of Lebombo, the UN World Food Programme’s logistics assessment lists a compulsory third-party certificate, valid for 30 days and obtainable at the border, needed per vehicle and per towed trailer or boat (Logistics Cluster (accessed 2026)). Lebombo is also one of the busiest land ports in December: it processed 755 529 travellers over the 2025/26 festive season (SAnews (2026)). On the South African side, since 1 July 2026 travellers entering or leaving the country must submit an online traveller declaration with SARS before they travel (SARS (2026)). Our guide to driving to Mozambique sets out the documents. For Botswana, Namibia and other neighbours, confirm the trailer rules with that country’s revenue or roads authority before you travel. Separately, ask your insurer whether your own policy extends across the border for both the vehicle and the caravan.
Caravan and trailer insurance FAQs
General answers about towing and insuring caravans and trailers in South Africa. Your policy wording sets the specific terms of your cover.
What licence do I need to tow a caravan in South Africa?
A code B licence covers a light vehicle towing a trailer with a gross vehicle mass of up to 750 kg. For a trailer or caravan with a GVM above 750 kg you need code EB, or a higher code that includes EB authority, such as EC1 or EC, under regulation 99 of the National Road Traffic Regulations.
What does caravan insurance cover?
It depends on how the caravan is listed on your policy and on the wording. Ask your insurer or broker how it applies while the caravan is towed, parked and in storage, how its contents are insured, how liability for damage it causes is dealt with, and whether cover continues across the border.
Does my car insurance cover my trailer?
Don’t assume it does. Check whether the trailer is listed on your policy as an item in its own right, at what value, and how damage to the trailer and damage it causes to others are dealt with.
How do I know my trailer’s GVM?
The gross vehicle mass is shown on the trailer’s registration documents. It’s the maximum permitted loaded mass, not what the trailer weighs empty.
What brakes does a caravan need?
Regulation 151 sets the requirement by comparing the trailer’s GVM with the towing vehicle’s tare. For a trailer with a GVM between 750 kg and 3,500 kg that doesn’t exceed the tare, a parking brake plus an overrun or service brake is required; above the tare, a parking brake and a service brake.
Is there a lower speed limit when towing a caravan?
The class-specific 80 km/h limit in regulation 293 applies to goods vehicles and combinations over 9,000 kg, not to an ordinary car or bakkie towing a caravan, so general speed limits apply. Arrive Alive advises leaving at least a four-second following gap when towing.
Do I need separate insurance for a trailer in Mozambique?
At the Ressano Garcia border, Mozambique’s compulsory third-party certificate is needed per vehicle and per towed trailer or boat, and can be bought at the border. Separately, ask your insurer whether your own policy extends across the border.
How should I load a caravan or trailer?
Arrive Alive advises putting 60% of the load over the front half of the trailer, nearest the towing vehicle, and spreading it evenly on both sides, with enough weight on the hitch to prevent sway.
Check your caravan cover before December
Best Care can check how your caravan or trailer is listed, how its contents are insured and what applies on the road and across the border. Cover remains subject to the insurer’s underwriting and the final policy documents.
This article is general education, not personal financial or legal advice. Legal requirements are summarised from the National Road Traffic Act and the National Road Traffic Regulations (regulations 99, 151, 239 and 293), with towing guidance from Arrive Alive, as checked in October 2026. Cover, conditions, excesses and exclusions differ between policies and are governed by the policy schedule and wording. Best Care Insurance Brokers CC, registration 1992/100995/23, Authorised FSP 8754. See the FAIS disclosure.