Towing a trailer without weigts plate?

[NigelHutson]

"It follows therefore that it may be unclear in the eyes of the law, whether the trailer is overloaded, and or whether the trailer is a legal match to the towing vehicle."
John, then the only solution would be to physically weigh the outfit and check relevent Manufacturers' data (including axle Manufacturer if the point was being pressed). At the moment, a caravan is not required by law to display the weight plate, but I think (I will stand corrected) that the axle must be. As I have previously said, it's not uncommon to "upgrade" the Manufacturer's plate on a caravan, and the plate is the only upgrade (no changes to the caravan at all), so body construction etc doesn't normally play a part.
Lutz, please don't go there - LOL! Cameron and his Tea Boy will find an excuse for more taxes (VED and MOT's etc, etc), and a VIN plate on a car is a legal requirement.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Nigel,

Perhaps it may be being pedantic, whilst it is not uncommon for some caravan manufactures to offer a plate upgrade, it is not universal, so for some models the manufacture feels they can't increase the plated capacity.

Don't forget that these issues are not just applicable to caravans, but trailers in general. It is often forgotten that a caravan is just a trailer in the eyes of the law.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Nigel,

Perhaps it may be being pedantic, whilst it is not uncommon for some caravan manufactures to offer a plate upgrade, it is not universal, so for some models the manufacture feels they can't increase the plated capacity.

Don't forget that these issues are not just applicable to caravans, but trailers in general. It is often forgotten that a caravan is just a trailer in the eyes of the law.

 

[NigelHutson]

Hello John,
Yers, you're quite right. They probably don't offer the upgrade because it would be too near to the axle limit (perhaps only 100 kgs difference maybe) and therefore would be more than the £50 or so, as the axle would have to be changed.
Merry Christmas and happy 'vanning in 2012!

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi all.
the Prof brings up a relevent point there and that is a caravan is just a trailer, a big one, a very expensive one agreed but just a trailer,
all the relevent legistlation is not just aimed at caravans something we sometimes seem to lose sight of,
days gone by it was perfectly acceptable to home build a small trailer out of bed iron and barrow wheels and load it up with 1/2 a ton of building materials !! but not any more, conversely the legistlation that made this practice unaccepable has impacted on those of us who tow caravans as this is where most of us have to face the mirad of laws placed on trailers in general.
I for one am accutely aware how fine the line can be what was fine one year seems to be no so the year after so one has to keep abreast of everthing that goes on a lot of this is under the construction and use criteria ok so ther may still be a few grey areas, what Nigel has posted could well be true but a van manufacturer gives a particular van a MTPLM for a reason irrespective of the base chasis it is built on it is this figure that for me cannot be exeeded under any circumstances, I may be wrong of course but is the reason I paid £50 to upgrade the MTPLM to cover the weight of the mover and regain some usefull payload.
a waste of money? well that as may be but at least I won't have my holiday ruined by some road side check deeming the outfit overloaded or unroadworthy.
colin

 

[Sproket]

I can only presume that my Hymer was upgraded when new, as the plate on the side of the van states 1600kg & the one in the middle of the axle states 1600kg.

So no chance of me uping the MTPLM with out another axle being fitted...

It does say in the original leaflet, that there were three options for permitted laden mass...
1500kg.... 1600kg..... 1700kg....

Oh! & the higher weights are available against surcharge......

So did they use two axles when building this model of van ? a 1600kg & a 1700kg ?
Bog standard at 1600kg, so that you can have the MTPLM increased from 1500kg if required ?
& the 1700kg for factory ordered van's ?

 

[Lutz]

That is correct, yes, Sproket. Particularly German caravan manufacturers often offer a whole range of MTPLM's for each of their models. From the price list of optional factory-fitted extras it is easy to judge which weight upgrades only involve administrative work (a different weight plate). Such upgrades are cheap, sometimes even free. Those involving tyre equipment changes fall in the medium priced category, usually around 100 Euros. However, an axle change can be quite expensive, sometimes up to 500 Euros.
I once wanted a later upgrade to a 1300kg caravan that I had, but as the axle was already on the limit, I dropped the idea as it was not economically viable.

 

[Clive-Cardiff]

Thinking of the different weight plates on the van and the axle, if I fit a motor mover, I fit it to the chassis and not to the caravan body.
So the weight of the mover is acting on the chassis and axle, not on the caravan body. This should mean that as long as the axle weight has not been exceeded I should be OK. What do you think.

 

[RogerL]

In law the body and chassis are regarded as one (unless it's a demountable) so the weight of the mover has to come off your payload - even if you fitted "heavy" wheels whose weight isn't even born by the axle they would still be part of the MTPLM.