Towing Question

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bankz5152

bankz5152

Well-Known Member
Posts
9,389
Location
South London/North Kent
Hey chaps,

Did a search but found little for what im asking.

Checking on Gov.uk without a towing licence I can tow up to 4250kg.
Including the Landy, 750kg Trailer and cargo as long as it is less than 4250kg.

I plan on trailering an SJ, is it legal for me to do so without a towing licence? Is it even legal for me to trailer another car?

I ask as took a friend of mine to a pay & play and he wanst to build an SJ but doesnt want to bother with MOT/Tax/Insurance (more to spend on the SJ I guess)

Josh.
 
if you aint got a towing license, max you can tow is 750kg unbraked.
if you use a braked trailer, your illegal, if the trailer is capable (plated weight) of more than 750 kg and you tow it empty, your illegal. (ie, 500kg trailer, 1000kg load capacity, 1500kg total capacity)
750 kg is the max weight, inc trailer and cargo.

edit. there are many intepretations of this depending on who you talk to and where you gather the info.
its a confusing area, and the above is as i understand it!
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty sure there's a rule about the capacity a trailer is capable of carrying (or something like that) so as a car trailer has the ability to carry a large vehicle then surely not? Sure I remember hearing something like that when I was asking similar questions. There's a pretty comprehensive thread on here about it.
 
Right, though from what I understood from the site* was I could tow anything as long as the trailer weighed less than 750KG and the total weight was less than 3500kg?

So if the SJ weighs less than my Landy and the combined weigth less than 3500kg I can trailer it? Without a licence.

*A trailer over 750kg MAM as long as it is no more than the unladen or ‘kerb’ weight of the towing vehicle (with a combined weight of up to 3,500kg in total)

* https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/driving-licence-rules-and-what-you-can-tow


If I cannot trailer then how does one go about getting the licence? I did google but came up with various sites offering various courses but nothing conclusive.
 
you are correct.

the whole 750kg max and no brakes on your trailer is a common misconception.

Remember its the MAM (maximum Authorised Mass) of a trailer that counts and is taken into consideration in the calculations, not the actual weight, laden or otherwise.

to clarify:

without the b+e licence (in other words on a car licence passed after jan 1st 1997) you can tow a trailer if it is either:
750kg MAM
the vehicle MAM and the MAM of the trailer do not exceed 4250kg
or
the trailer MAM is bove 750kg but less than he kerb weight of the towing vehicle, and therefore the MAM of the towing vehicle and the trailer MAM are equal to or do not exceed 3500kg.


heres a diagram you can print and put on your wall to remember me by, or work out your towing limits.

35612d1347958489-trailer-towing-licence-trailer.jpg



JKx
 
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if your landy weighs 2000kg for example you need a trailer weighted at 1500kg or less, then make sure the kerb weight of the SJ + the kerb weight of the trailer do not exceed the trailer's 1500kg MAM
 
Jay reKx said:
if your landy weighs 2000kg for example you need a trailer weighted at 1500kg or less, then make sure the kerb weight of the SJ + the kerb weight of the trailer do not exceed the trailer's 1500kg MAM
Click to expand...


Unfortuantly it doesnt work like this, despite the actual weight of a landrover you have to work on the MGW so a landrover is classed as a 3499KG vehicle wether it actually is or not...

Basically it means you can use an unbraked trailer up to 750KG as you will hit your 4250KG limit.
 
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I'm pretty certain the weights that apply for the towing vehicle is based on the kerb/unladen weight not the MGW/GLW? I could be wrong, but thats how I understood it.

this would make sense as in effect it ensures the towing vehicle is always heavier than the trailer whether the towing vehicle is laden or not.

for a hypothetical example, you're saying a car weighing in at 1500kg MGW could in theory tow a trailer with a MAM 1500kg and this would be acceptable on the limit, but if the car was unladen, say 800kg it would be towing a trailer much heavier than itself and be more dangerous/ harder to handle by someone without the practice?

It is a bit daft that I can tow a heavier trailer with a puny engined 2wd than with a land rover though!

Of course I stand to be corrected
 
If you want your towing liscence you need to do a b+e test and maybe lessons again. Time to dust off the L plates. Aint cheap. Most of the places ive seen are hgv type places rather than aa rac etc for lessons.
 
I tow my caravan with my landy. I go very careful with the weight as I can't go over 3.5ton combined due to passing my test in 2000. It the sj has no brakes on the trailer then it can't weigh more than 750kg. If its a braked trailer then the landy,trailer and sj can't go over 3.5tonnes. You should have no problems with the landy towing weights as they are rated to pull 3.5tonnes.
 
Jay reKx said:
for a hypothetical example, you're saying a car weighing in at 1500kg MGW could in theory tow a trailer with a MAM 1500kg and this would be acceptable on the limit, but if the car was unladen, say 800kg it would be towing a trailer much heavier than itself and be more dangerous/ harder to handle by someone without the practice?
Click to expand...

no because the ACTUAL weight of the trailer cannot exeed the KERB WEIGHT of the towing car.

confusing, innit :D
 
There is a lot of myth and misunderstanding about towing laws, but they are really very simple. A person without B+E on their licence can can tow a trailer with a MAM of up to 750kg behind a vehicle with a MGW of up to 3500kg, giving a max gross train weight of 4250kg. They can also tow a trailer with a MAM of over 750kg providing all of the following conditions are met;
A. The trailer is fitted with overrun brakes.
B. The MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.
C. The MGW of the towing vehicle and the MAM of the trailer when added together do not exceed 3500kg.
 
nrgserv said:
if you aint got a towing license, max you can tow is 750kg unbraked.
if you use a braked trailer, your illegal, if the trailer is capable (plated weight) of more than 750 kg and you tow it empty, your illegal. (ie, 500kg trailer, 1000kg load capacity, 1500kg total capacity)
750 kg is the max weight, inc trailer and cargo.

edit. there are many intepretations of this depending on who you talk to and where you gather the info.
its a confusing area, and the above is as i understand it!
Click to expand...



well ya understanding is so far off the scale. it just clipped Mings wing mirror as he shot around Uranus..
 
nrgserv said:
if you aint got a towing license, max you can tow is 750kg unbraked.
if you use a braked trailer, your illegal, if the trailer is capable (plated weight) of more than 750 kg and you tow it empty, your illegal. (ie, 500kg trailer, 1000kg load capacity, 1500kg total capacity)
750 kg is the max weight, inc trailer and cargo.

edit. there are many intepretations of this depending on who you talk to and where you gather the info.
its a confusing area, and the above is as i understand it!
Click to expand...
Ummm, that's not even close to being accurate ;)
 
Dr_evil said:
Just because I'm intrigued…..whats the law on a-frames ?
Click to expand...
Depends on if you are using them for breakdown recovery or transporting a vehicle. If you are recovering a broken down vehicle, then the same rules apply as if you are towing with a straight bar. If you are using them to transport a vehicle that has not broken down, then the A frame, and the vehicle it is attached to is classed as a trailer, and must comply with all regs concerning trailers, i.e lighting, brakes and weight restrictions.
 
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