The only reason that trailer towing tests are being stopped is purely to release more testing staff to address HGV driver testing. There’s no saying that they might not be reintroduced in the future. Putting tests to the private sector risks undermining the integrity of the system which even for car tests is challenged by fraudsters.
The bike test is not" farmed out" to other organisations though the training is. The main difference between bikes and passenger cars is of course you cannot take an instructor with you on a bike where as in cars the instructor can sit beside and in some case can take control to avert an incident.
It certainly possible that HMG might seek to reintroduce the trailer test at a later date, but I suspect they will wait to see if there is an increase in towing incidents over the next few years.
However the nose weight issue seems to be specific to caravans or trailers where the axle is more or less central. In the US the axle of the trailer is generally located towards the rear so nose weight must be tremendous, but they get it around it somehow.
In the US, however, trailers are towed almost exclusively by beefy pickup trucks. On our side of the Atlantic we expect 2000kg caravans to be towable by relatively mundane cars which, let’s face it, were never really designed to pull such loads.
Nose load, nose weight and tongue weight has its issues and limits wherever trailers are concerned. The biggest difference is how it is understood. In the UK caravanning fraternity a culture grew up where it was rarely enforced and whilst most caravanners know it is necessary, few fully understand the mechanics behind the way it works. Consequently the tradition that has grown around the subject is often flawed in pure technical terms.
It's not a case of "getting round it" - in Australia and North America, nose-weights (tongue-weights as they call them) are typically over 10% of the gross trailer weight, indeed they regard vehicles with a nose-weight limit less than 10% of towing limit as unsuitable for towing! So their trailers are designed with the axle(s) further back in order to increase the nose-weight, needed for stability at the higher towing speeds which are normal in the US.
I( agree with that but do not see the towing test makes any difference as most of the problems with loading and matching are not covered. Just to make it more ridiculous you need a commercial trailer for the test so it is not even suitable for caravanners.
Oh I have to disagree, the tow vehicle does not know what its towing, so provided the trailer has the size the principles of towing are the same. Don't forget the test was not a "caravan" towing test its just a trailer towing test.
A towing competency is great, but a reversing test with a trailer on is different, a short trailer or a long one is totally different.
The DVSA towing test did include reversing the trailer. From what I understand the test trailers were relatively short, which are noted as being more difficult to reverse compared to a longer one. So having achieved competence with a short trailer, a longer one should be easier.
I agree, if I had a pound for everyone who had made a basic error and thought because they drove that route everyday they knew it all I would be far better off if not rich. Complacency is a factor in many accidents.
But why should it be? As far as the road law is concerned a caravan s just a trailer, the test is a trailer test, not a caravan test.
Looks greatThis one, still got and still use.
View attachment 2476
Dusty, the original idea was from our Sprocket back in the day.
Didnt have the heart to nick and patent his idea
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