Trailer licence required or not??

[fletch_306]

Having thought about doing a trailer licence to tow my kit car to places i have been doing some research and have found this information on the gov.uk website:

Category B
You can tow trailers up to 750kg MAM (maximum authorised mass).

You can also tow larger trailers if: - the combined trailer and vehicle weight isn't more than 3,500kg - the fully-loaded trailer weight isn't more than the unladen vehicle weight

This is taking into account that i passed after Jan 1997 but before Jan 2013

Right so where in confused is this if i have a towing vehicle weighing 1565kg plus a trailer weight unlaiden at 500kg and the kit car est. weight 750kg (will obviously confirm this) the total weight is 2815kg would i be able to tow in this configuration without a +E licence?

Any help would be greatly received

Thanks

Fletch

[Iancider]

Hi Fletch

My recommendation is if you are getting to higher weights you should always pull a braked trailer otherwise under heavy braking the trailer tends to lift the rear of the car.  It is always wise to have the car significantly heavier than the trailer plus load and 3/4 seems to be about the sensible upper limit.  I checked with my insurer and they sought no premium for towing.  Bigger trailers should be four wheeled as they are more stable but they are much harder to turn in a tight space.  Finally with the heavier weight there is a heavy demand on your clutch.  I one made a mistake and went up a modest hill and forget about the change of gradient at the top.  It needed a bit of clutch smoking to pull-off.  So you always need to plan your route.

Check your car's manual - it will state the maximum towing weight within the regs and then consider the maximum gradient you could ever tackle given the car's power.  The manual will state maximum braked and unbraked trailer loads. 

Finally load the trailer so that the load is forward of centre to weight down the back of the car. 

Another option is to hire a car transporter - a drive-on truck [Like the AA car rescue vehicles].  They seem a little more expensive but you wont need a towbar and the vehicle is designed to take the load on its back.  You will have a torquey diesel engine, low gears and a clutch designed for the load.

Regards
Ian

[SPAXIMUS]

Vosa are getting wise to the problem of people not knowing what they can and cannot tow legally and earlier this year had a purge on stopping trailers on the roads (usually on the way to tracks) to check licence an loading details.
It is surprising how many get the loading wrong by axle weights even if the trailer overall is under weight. So say a trailer has 500kg axles then they could have a 1000kg load but because it is too far forward the front axle is overweight.

My advice is to do the test and then get the trailer with the biggest weight you can pull legally and you will have room to spare. Trying to work under the weight that requires a licence upgrade is a short term measure.

As an aside, Vosa is now a self funding unit and keeps all the fines they raise for load infringements on trucks and trailers, they cannot put points on your licence but can call the police if they want to, or more usually have one with them at the check place.

['The Gaffer']

Good advice there guys

[Daley Down Under]

Is this new in the UK since I left in 2011?  Never heard of a trailer licence.

Cheers Adrian

[SPAXIMUS]

If you passed your car test before 1997, you could drive a car and trailer up to 8.25 tons. This then changed to a different scheme which has changed again in 2013.

As I passed in 1976, I can drive car and trailer plus a 7.5 ton lorry. New drivers cannot unless they take the required test for each category they want to use.
There is a separate test for trailers, which is easy enough to pass, just go on Youtube which shows what is needed.

[Lucky Ed]

All this has got me to check my license

If you've passed your test before Jan 2013, most people can drive a car and trailer up to a combined weight of 3500kg as long as the trailer doesn't weigh more than the car. Being as I'm an old git, I've got a B+E & a C1+E entitlement which says I can tow trailers of any weight, within manufacturers design limits, so my truck weighs 2150 kg + 3500 kg max trailer weight = 5650 kg

...but if you have a MAM of more than 3500 kg you should have a tacho fitted   DOH

[Iancider]

So no complication there then!

[SPAXIMUS]

I think you will find that the weight at where you need a taco is only if the vehicle is being used for reward. That is why you can drive huge American motorhomes with a car on the back on older licences. You also see lots of horse boxes being driven with trailers for the carriage on the back, again not for hire or reward.

As I said Vosa know the rules are a mess and see this as easy pickings for them. It gets even worse if you have a home made trailer, the axle weights may not be accurate to say the least. However if you trailer was built before 1986 (which all of mine are) then there is no need for design plates just so long as it  fits in the description below.

Any self built after oct 2012 require the equivalent of an IVA unless it has type approval.

Construction and Use, and Lighting Regulations
All trailers used on the road must comply with various regulations about their construction and use. These are primarily The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (as amended) and The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 (as amended). For a trailer to be used on the UK highway it must be safe and well-engineered so that it is unlikely to fall apart or otherwise cause danger to other road users.
In addition, from 29 October 2012 onwards, new trailers will need to be approved. This means that a government agency will need to sanction the design of new trailers before sales can begin.

[Lucky Ed]

Thanks for that Spaximus - I'll load the beast up in that case