could some 1 pls tell me the laws of towing my mate passed his test 2 years ago and is thinking of buying a caravan but as been told he wont be able 2 tow it. we,v looked at the goverment site but dont realy understand it so can any 1 tell me wot he needs 2 do ,,,thanks jimmy,,,,,
laws of towing
- Thread starter jimi_374553583
- Start date
Parksy
Moderator
Hi Jimi
Your mate would be allowed to tow a caravan but the combined weight of the towing vehicle and caravan (maximum authorised mass) could not exceed 3.5 tonnes.
Have a look at Towing Law from the Practical Caravan Home Page and pay particular attention to the section which covers driving licences.
Your mate would need to find out the kerbweight of his car and what the manufacturers towing limit for that vehicle is. He would then be able to choose a caravan that weighed (fully loaded) the difference between his cars kerbweight and 3.5 tonnes if if I understand it correctly.
There is more good information available from the Home Page (click the text at the top left) including a section for Beginners
Your mate would be allowed to tow a caravan but the combined weight of the towing vehicle and caravan (maximum authorised mass) could not exceed 3.5 tonnes.
Have a look at Towing Law from the Practical Caravan Home Page and pay particular attention to the section which covers driving licences.
Your mate would need to find out the kerbweight of his car and what the manufacturers towing limit for that vehicle is. He would then be able to choose a caravan that weighed (fully loaded) the difference between his cars kerbweight and 3.5 tonnes if if I understand it correctly.
There is more good information available from the Home Page (click the text at the top left) including a section for Beginners
Hi,
DVLA have no interest in KERBWEIGHT, they refer to UNLADEN WEIGHT, which is not the same thing. Its the Clubs who refer to kerbweight, and only in relation to caravans .... doesn't apply to other trailers, and its advice not law.
The trailer's MGW must not exceed the car manufacturer's stated safe towing limit. Both vehicles should have a little plate showing these figures. It matters not that the trailer is empty,
its what is stamped on the plate that matters.
The trailer's MGW must not exceed the towcar's UNLADEN weight.
MGW is stamped on the trailer, so thats easy. The car's unlasen weight MAY be shown on the V5, if its a fairly new car, but will be called something else. Possibly MIRO .... Mass in Running Order.
The MGW of the car, plus the MGW of the trailer, must not exceed 3500kgs.
602
DVLA have no interest in KERBWEIGHT, they refer to UNLADEN WEIGHT, which is not the same thing. Its the Clubs who refer to kerbweight, and only in relation to caravans .... doesn't apply to other trailers, and its advice not law.
The trailer's MGW must not exceed the car manufacturer's stated safe towing limit. Both vehicles should have a little plate showing these figures. It matters not that the trailer is empty,
its what is stamped on the plate that matters.
The trailer's MGW must not exceed the towcar's UNLADEN weight.
MGW is stamped on the trailer, so thats easy. The car's unlasen weight MAY be shown on the V5, if its a fairly new car, but will be called something else. Possibly MIRO .... Mass in Running Order.
The MGW of the car, plus the MGW of the trailer, must not exceed 3500kgs.
602
Hi Jimi
Licence category regulations can on the face of it be quite complex, and it can be easy to miss an important bit.
With full acknowledgment to Ifor Williams Trailers
(http://www.iwt.co.uk/customer-care/downloads )
Look at "Licensed to Tow"
Check their very straight forward flow chart to establish you post January 1997 Licence towing credentials.
I hope this helps
Licence category regulations can on the face of it be quite complex, and it can be easy to miss an important bit.
With full acknowledgment to Ifor Williams Trailers
(http://www.iwt.co.uk/customer-care/downloads )
Look at "Licensed to Tow"
Check their very straight forward flow chart to establish you post January 1997 Licence towing credentials.
I hope this helps
Hi JimmyI think simply put is this. You can tow anything you like as long as the authorised MGW of vehicle and the MGW of trailer doesn't not exceed 3.5t when together. I believe you can tow above this but only if you have an experienced driver of more that 3 years and with the proper full endorsed driving license for towing above 3.5t...
Hello Smiley,
It is rather more complex than that. What you say is only partly true.
Using your calculation, you could have a car and a caravan both of which have MAM's of 1750Kg, combined that would be 3500, But the bit you missed out is that the caravans MAM must no exceed the Cars ULW. This changes the picture quite considerably, as a cars ULW is always going to be smaller than its MAM.
There is no simple predictive method to say what you need to look for in a car or a caravan, until you know either the car or the caravan!
This part of the regulation can make what might seem to be a good match illegal for drivers without the BE or B+E category.
It is rather more complex than that. What you say is only partly true.
Using your calculation, you could have a car and a caravan both of which have MAM's of 1750Kg, combined that would be 3500, But the bit you missed out is that the caravans MAM must no exceed the Cars ULW. This changes the picture quite considerably, as a cars ULW is always going to be smaller than its MAM.
There is no simple predictive method to say what you need to look for in a car or a caravan, until you know either the car or the caravan!
This part of the regulation can make what might seem to be a good match illegal for drivers without the BE or B+E category.
Unfortunately the reg.s are full of them, and they have quite specific and important differences.
I only used two in my last post MAM and ULW both of which are in common use.
MAM - Maximum authorised Mass
ULW - Unladen weight
I only used two in my last post MAM and ULW both of which are in common use.
MAM - Maximum authorised Mass
ULW - Unladen weight
Once you have sorted your legal position out,, bear in mind that most important thing ,Ability and stability..get that right then you have cracked it
Hello Brian,
If you follow the link i gave to the Ifor williams site, you will see that all the points you raise were already answered.
Simply looking at as you put it "Ability and stability" is insufficient. You must also consider the legal position.
If I have misunderstood your posting then please tell us what you meant.
If you follow the link i gave to the Ifor williams site, you will see that all the points you raise were already answered.
Simply looking at as you put it "Ability and stability" is insufficient. You must also consider the legal position.
If I have misunderstood your posting then please tell us what you meant.
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