Could anyone tell me the legalities of towing a hobby on uk roads I have looked at the national trailer association website and they seem to be too wide as there over 7'6" but obviously they are for sale in the uk so wondered how owners manage to move them. I have a 4.0 V8 Land Rover to tow with.Thanks
Hobby Caravan
- Thread starter ian_374353190
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Damian
Moderator
an, very simply put, any caravan over 2.3 mtrs wide must be towed by a vehicle with a GVW of 3501kg or more.
This equates to something like a Sprinter van or similar.
NO current large car or 4x4 meets these requirements.
A Hobby up to the 540 range in most guises (ie 540UL, 540UK), is 2.3 mtrs wide and CAN be towed ok
This equates to something like a Sprinter van or similar.
NO current large car or 4x4 meets these requirements.
A Hobby up to the 540 range in most guises (ie 540UL, 540UK), is 2.3 mtrs wide and CAN be towed ok
Not all Hobby caravans are over 2.3m (7'6") wide. Up to and including the 540 series models are under that magical limit where you need a vehicle with a GVW of over 3.5 tonnes to be able to tow legally in the UK.
Damian is right in what he says apart from his recomendation of a sprinter van or similar !. No sprinter, transit van or any other make of van in this class is available with a weight exceeding the limit of 3500 kgs in the uk.
To tow any caravan or trailer over 2.3 meters wide you will need a small lorry ie 7.5 ton which is plated by the ministry as having a gvw of 3501 kgs or more, all the transit, sprinter class vehicles are rated at a max of 3500 kgs which is 1 kg too light and therefore illegal.
To tow any caravan or trailer over 2.3 meters wide you will need a small lorry ie 7.5 ton which is plated by the ministry as having a gvw of 3501 kgs or more, all the transit, sprinter class vehicles are rated at a max of 3500 kgs which is 1 kg too light and therefore illegal.
Virtually all Sprinter, Transit, Ducato etc vans have GVWs of 3500kg or less and can't tow a trailer wider than 2.3m
BUT
most panel van ranges have a Maxi-model available to special order - these have GVWs of 4000+kg so could tow a 2.5m wide trailer.
Best source of 3501+kg GVW vehicles are US pick-ups.
BUT
most panel van ranges have a Maxi-model available to special order - these have GVWs of 4000+kg so could tow a 2.5m wide trailer.
Best source of 3501+kg GVW vehicles are US pick-ups.
Not true. The Sprinter is available in the UK also as a 3.5 tonner, the Transit with a GVW of between 2.6 and 4.6 tonnes, and all but the smallest Ducato with 3.3, 3.5 or 4.0 tonne GVW.
Whoops, sorry, I was a bit too quick with the above reply, but at least I was right with the odd Transit or Ducato. Apologies.
lutz, there is no (normal) transit van available in the uk with a weight greater than 3.5 ton 3500 kgs !. you may be getting confused with the larger panel van that ford sell based on the fiat ducato which as i stated has to be plated within the uk and as such the owner would need an operaters licence to use even domestically.
reading the ford website it would appear that there is one transit that would just fit the bill, unfortunately its a special order 17 seat mini bus that the owner would need a psv licence for to drive legally unless he removed all the seats but then the bus would be too light to tow the caravan so it defeats the object.
i am not too sure how it works but a good friend of mine has a number of transits, one of which is called the high cube ! its the largest panel van transit that can be purchased in this country and is just under the goods vehicle plating limit of 3501 kgs, however when he had a tow bar fitted to tow his mini digger he had to have a tachograph fitted which he has to use whenever towing but it is not required to be used when the van is solo, he was told that the van when towing exceeds the limits of private and light goods use but it is apparently still excempt from the plating rules ? we have some strange laws in this country. It appears to me that the van is deliberately kept below 3500 kgs to keep it excempt by ford but by attaching a tow ball youve turned it in to some special case, ive looked at all the other main stream dealers and no panel van that is available for plg taxation is available above 3500 kgs.
reading the ford website it would appear that there is one transit that would just fit the bill, unfortunately its a special order 17 seat mini bus that the owner would need a psv licence for to drive legally unless he removed all the seats but then the bus would be too light to tow the caravan so it defeats the object.
i am not too sure how it works but a good friend of mine has a number of transits, one of which is called the high cube ! its the largest panel van transit that can be purchased in this country and is just under the goods vehicle plating limit of 3501 kgs, however when he had a tow bar fitted to tow his mini digger he had to have a tachograph fitted which he has to use whenever towing but it is not required to be used when the van is solo, he was told that the van when towing exceeds the limits of private and light goods use but it is apparently still excempt from the plating rules ? we have some strange laws in this country. It appears to me that the van is deliberately kept below 3500 kgs to keep it excempt by ford but by attaching a tow ball youve turned it in to some special case, ive looked at all the other main stream dealers and no panel van that is available for plg taxation is available above 3500 kgs.
Since 2007, goods vehicles 3501kg or over GVW must be fitted with 56mph limiters and are banned from outside lane of motorways with 3 or more lanes.
Operators generally want/buy vans up to 3500kg to avoid such restrictions.
Special order vehicles are available with GVW well in excess of 3501kg.
Operators generally want/buy vans up to 3500kg to avoid such restrictions.
Special order vehicles are available with GVW well in excess of 3501kg.
Unless the van has a GVW of over 3.5 tonnes when it is used for towing (it is possible that different GVW's apply with and without a trailer) and so long as the trailer does not weigh more than 3.5 tonnes, I cannot find any reference anywhere to the need for a tachograph. The only information I could find was on the following DfT site:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/requirementsfortrailers
Perhaps you can enlighten me.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/requirementsfortrailers
Perhaps you can enlighten me.
Any outfit with train weight (not sure if that's actual or max) exceeding 3500kg AND used for commercial purposes needs a tacho.
A service engineer friend of mine got caught - he didn't need a tacho for his 3500kg Transit but whenever he attached a goods trailer he did.
A service engineer friend of mine got caught - he didn't need a tacho for his 3500kg Transit but whenever he attached a goods trailer he did.
Hi thanks for replies looks like i will be paying a firm to move it for me, it will be sited for 12 months so will only have to move it once a year to a different site.
Yes, it is illegal but it must also be one of the most absurd laws in existence. It makes absolutely no sense to link the width of a trailer with the weight of the towcar. I wonder who dreamt it up and what was the reasoning behind the law. If they had at least linked the width of car with that of the trailer there would have been some logic in their madness, but as it stands it just shows that laws are sometimes put together by people who don't know what they are talking about and nobody questions the result.
I agree with Lutz, that it is absurd to be unable to tow such a caravan (widthwise) in the UK but I can understand the reasoning behind it. It is even more annoying to find visitors from abroad can legally tow virtaully anything around this country without the 3.5 tonne attachment!!!
However, there are firms out there who make a living relocating these vans. We employed a very able person, along with his 3.5 tonne truck, to take our Hobby from the dealership (in Nottingham) to the site of our choice. It cost
However, there are firms out there who make a living relocating these vans. We employed a very able person, along with his 3.5 tonne truck, to take our Hobby from the dealership (in Nottingham) to the site of our choice. It cost
Referring to Ann's statement, quote: "It is even more annoying to find visitors from abroad can legally tow virtaully anything around this country without the 3.5 tonne attachment!!!"
Not quite true. Visitors cannot legally tow 2.5m wide caravans in the UK either, although infringements are not normally enforced. Probably for this very reason, Continental websites do not point out this particular requirement in their motoring information on specific UK driving regulations.
At least on paper, UK law does not make an exception for foreign visitors in this particular case. However, if it were enforced, it would exclude about 50% of all Continental caravans.
Not quite true. Visitors cannot legally tow 2.5m wide caravans in the UK either, although infringements are not normally enforced. Probably for this very reason, Continental websites do not point out this particular requirement in their motoring information on specific UK driving regulations.
At least on paper, UK law does not make an exception for foreign visitors in this particular case. However, if it were enforced, it would exclude about 50% of all Continental caravans.
What is the point in having a law which is not, for whatever reason, enforced.
If this law was enforced regularly,fairly and thoroughly it would make staying in this country just a little less comfortable for 'those who travel'.
Dave
If this law was enforced regularly,fairly and thoroughly it would make staying in this country just a little less comfortable for 'those who travel'.
Dave
I was referring to enforcement in the case of foreign visitors. I can't comment on 'other users'.
Yes Lutz, I do understand. But a decent proportion of the 'travelling community' can reasonably be classed as foreign visitors as is evident from their emerald green accent.
The difference between my foreign visitors and your foreign visitors is that mine don't know when to go home.
Dave
The difference between my foreign visitors and your foreign visitors is that mine don't know when to go home.
Dave
Unfortunately it's not the nationality of the visitors that counts, even less their accent, but the country where the vehicles are registered 
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