Towing

Bit confused here, got all sorts of people telling me all sorts of things......

Passed my test after 1997 so not got the relevant towing additions on my licence.

Am i right in thinking i can tow a trailer upto 750kg and thats basically it?? or is it a gross weight thing? braked/unbreaked??

Any size restrictions?

From what i can gather i can tow a very big box trailer upto 750kg as long as nothings in it?? but cant tow a smaller trailer with 1ton of sand in it??

Have a look at : Car and trailer practical driving test : Directgov - Motoring

Yes - it all comes down to weight, not size.

where yer towing town or country ?

to can tow a trailer that has a max capacity of 750kg

evening trucky, ta for piccys

So any monkey can hook up their 30 year old "tip run" over-sized dangerous caravan chassis trailer and load it up with Grass and conifers as long as its not overweight, do the tip run, mount the kerb with it and put a big hole in their Saab bumper when they jacknife it trying to reverse it up to the tip bins which has taken 35mins to do......

..... but i need to pay £115 and do a test to tow a small ifor with 1ton of sand in it

Was gonna buy a boat for a summer project, but if i've gotta go take some BS test just to tow it around, dont think i'll bother.

Im guessing towing a trailer which my licence doesnt allow is endorsable and not just a fine??

Pulled this off the website....

The car and trailer practical driving test
The car and trailer test (B+E) is based on the lorry driving test and lasts for approximately one hour. Please note that B+E tests are conducted at vocational (bus and lorry) driving test centres.

The towing test (B+E) includes vehicle safety questions, an off-road reverse manoeuvre, a controlled stop, uncoupling and coupling of the trailer and driving on the road.

You won't be expected to carry out the following exercises:

•emergency stop on the public road
•reversing round a corner
•reverse parking
•turning in the road

JOKE....... and £115 to take the test!!!!!

snigger

..... might get my 80 year old Grandmother to come out of driving retirement to tow it for me, as her licence will let her.............

If you're out in the sticks and you're planning on towing an ifor, I wouldn't even expect a correct reg plate to be fitted to the trailer... The fact that you even have more than a tractor licence is a major improvement on most farmers round here! lol

Taxed said:

So any monkey can hook up their 30 year old "tip run" over-sized dangerous caravan chassis trailer and load it up with Grass and conifers as long as its not overweight, do the tip run, mount the kerb with it and put a big hole in their Saab bumper when they jacknife it trying to reverse it up to the tip bins which has taken 35mins to do......

..... but i need to pay £115 and do a test to tow a small ifor with 1ton of sand in it

Was gonna buy a boat for a summer project, but if i've gotta go take some BS test just to tow it around, dont think i'll bother.

Im guessing towing a trailer which my licence doesnt allow is endorsable and not just a fine??

Pulled this off the website....

The car and trailer practical driving test
The car and trailer test (B+E) is based on the lorry driving test and lasts for approximately one hour. Please note that B+E tests are conducted at vocational (bus and lorry) driving test centres.

The towing test (B+E) includes vehicle safety questions, an off-road reverse manoeuvre, a controlled stop, uncoupling and coupling of the trailer and driving on the road.

You won't be expected to carry out the following exercises:

•emergency stop on the public road
•reversing round a corner
•reverse parking
•turning in the road

JOKE....... and £115 to take the test!!!!!

Click to expand...

does have its advantages being a bit older

lerk said:

If you're out in the sticks and you're planning on towing an ifor, I wouldn't even expect a correct reg plate to be fitted to the trailer... The fact that you even have more than a tractor licence is a major improvement on most farmers round here! lol

Click to expand...

just tow the ****er , ]


evening mr ian notts , no prob , if yer need awt else gis a nod

Also being a youngun means you cannot tow anything that has the capacity of towing anything more that will make the MAM more than 750Kg inc the trailer weight. That said I always tow the widetrack sankey and last week I towed an Arrows Trailer back from Cambridge to Luton, My old man followed behind in his disco. The arrows trailer is over the max width allowed to tow with a vehicle under 7.5t I think its 8.6 feet wide. The brake mastercyl;inder was on my boot floor and it was a tad wide! It weighs a tonne on its own and can carry 750 kilos. I must do my license soon but aslong as you look legal and not being a stupid driver then you are normally ok BUT you takes ya chance. My old man could have towed the trailer back for me but if he would have been stopped his license would have been marked because its too wide. So I towed it and risked no license, too wide no brakes the list was endless etc you takes your chance. Plus it looks more right behind a 90 than a discovery IMO. Plus I wasn't hooning around nice and steady to get it home.

Anyone want any Arrows trailer spares?? going cheap! Lol

When you see the state of some of the idiots towing boats, caravans etc without a flaming clue what they're doing it becomes obvious why the licence was changed. Trouble is the test is so easy there'll still be plenty of idiots without a clue.

hughesy said:

When you see the state of some of the idiots towing boats, caravans etc without a flaming clue what they're doing it becomes obvious why the licence was changed. Trouble is the test is so easy there'll still be plenty of idiots without a clue.

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unless using a lightweight, single-axle trailer - they can make a right fool of you on the reversing manoeuvre!!!!

lol mate of mine got pulled for towing a trailer with his tranny, he's too young to have it on his licence too stupidly tho the copper told him that if he'd have been towing a caravan he wouldn't have pulled him because he'd have assumed he was legal to tow half the coppers don't seem to know the law either as he was stopped before and told he could tow a caravan but not a trailer:doh:

The 750Kg limit applies to everybody because it specifically applies to an unbraked trailer.

The issue over the age of the licence applies to braked trailer limits and even on a new licence is much higher. It seems a bit convoluted but from what I can work out the cat C allows you to tow a braked trailer up to the unladen weight of the towing vehicle providing the total train weight does not exceed 3.5 tonne

Missing Link said:

The 750Kg limit applies to everybody because it specifically applies to an unbraked trailer.

The issue over the age of the licence applies to braked trailer limits and even on a new licence is much higher. It seems a bit convoluted but from what I can work out the cat C allows you to tow a braked trailer up to the unladen weight of the towing vehicle providing the total train weight does not exceed 3.5 tonne

Click to expand...

No...Cat C still restricts you to trailers of 750kg and under. Anything over 750kg must have the "E" category : B+E, C1+E, C+E, D1+E, D+E

1. The requirement for taking the test does not apply if the Maximum Authorised Mass (or MAM) of the trailer is under 750Kgs. The MAM is the maximum potential weight of the trailer and its contents as shown on the weight plate or manufacturer’s handbook and not the actual weight. Similarly, if you passed your car test prior to 1st January 1997, you do not need to take the additional test. [FONT=Georgia,Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]For example, most horse trailers have a MAM of between 2 tonne and 2.5 tonne; most caravans are between 1.2 and 1.5 tonne.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1][SIZE=+1]2.[/SIZE] If the MAM of the trailer is over 750Kgs you need to take the test if the following weight combinations apply:

Either The combined MAM of the car and trailer exceeds 3500kgs (3.5 tonnes)
or The MAM of the trailer is greater than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1][SIZE=+1]3.[/SIZE] If you passed your car test on or after 1 January 1997 and either of the above weight combinations applies, you will need to take the test. This will give you B+E entitlement (see our license definitions table further down.)[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1][SIZE=+1]4.[/SIZE] If the combined MAM is less than 3500Kgs, and the MAM of the trailer is less than the unladen weight of the vehicle, you will not need to take the test.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1][SIZE=+1]5.[/SIZE] If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997 you will have category B+E entitlement on your license already and will not need to take the test.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Beneagles said:

No...Cat C still restricts you to trailers of 750kg and under. Anything over 750kg must have the "E" category : B+E, C1+E, C+E, D1+E, D+E

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Stands corrected, for Class B - there is the combined aspect as per stonster's post, but curiously, the 750Kg limit does apply to all other classes

Beneagles said:

Stands corrected, for Class B - there is the combined aspect as per stonster's post, but curiously, the 750Kg limit does apply to all other classes

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750kg is the max weight of an unbraked trailer