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Towing legality.......
maskell01 - 12/8/12 at 07:52 PM

Hi All,
Not quite on topic but does anyone know where i stand with towing???
i passed my test in 2000 so dont have a "grandad" license, so caan bearly drive my car without doing an extra test!

someone passingly mentioned that i may be able to tow upto 750kg unbreaked!

does anyone know if this case?


Cheers

Aaron

locogeoff - 12/8/12 at 08:02 PM

If you have a photo license then there are small pictures on the back which will say what classes of vehicles you are allowed to drive.

gunman - 12/8/12 at 08:02 PM

As far as I am aware (from the last time I read up on towing laws), you can tow a trailer up to 750kg, whether it is braked or unbraked has no bearing, it is simply a weight restriction.

Basically this allows anyone to tow a small trailer to the local dump etc but stop you towing a car transportercaravan or a builders trailer with a ton of sand on it.

twybrow - 12/8/12 at 08:04 PM

You can tow up to 3500kg - but that is a combined maximum allowable mass. Ie, if your trailer has a gross weight capacity of 2500kg, that would only leave 1000kg for the tow car! It is not down to how much you are actually towing - whatever your trailer is rated to carry, it is assumed (by law), that it is that which you will be towing (ie if your trailer is rated to 2500kg, then the police assume you will be towing 2500kg). So you need to make sure your combined vehicle gross weight, and trailer gross weight does not exceed the magic 3500kg.

To make it more confusing, you also need to abide by the towing rules for your tow car - ie the maximum braked and unbraked gross weight the car is rated for. Simples right?!

gunman - 12/8/12 at 08:05 PM

Here you go:

http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/law/driving_licences.aspx

maskell01 - 12/8/12 at 08:15 PM

Cheers all
kind of settles it down to 750kg

there is no photo on the back but seems to be the way im reading it!



Cheers again!

austin man - 12/8/12 at 08:35 PM

Its not a photo on the back, on the rear of your photo licence its shows pictograms of what classes of vehicle you can legally drive pull etc

Doctor Derek Doctors - 12/8/12 at 09:13 PM

Its not 750Kg, you can tow much more than that. I looked into it (I passed in 2002) and although its really badly worded:

"Category B vehicles with larger trailers i.e. > 750kg, provided that the combined MAM does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and the gross MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle"

It can be simplified down to:

The maximum admissable mass (MAM) of the whole train (car and trailer) must not exceed 3500Kg

And

The maximum admissble mass of the trailer must not be more than the weight of the car.

For instance:

If you have a car of 2000Kg you can tow a trailer with a MAM of 1500Kg

If you have a car of 2500Kg you can tow a trailer with a MAM of 1000Kg

If you have a car of 1500Kg you can tow a trailer with a MAM of 1500Kg

Remember maximum admissable mass is not the actually weight, its the maximum mass when fully loaded thus if you have a trailer with a 1200kg MAM then even if it is empty its always counted as 1200Kg

As an example my A6 is ~1900Kg and I have a trailer with a MAM of 1200Kg so I am fine to tow that and so would you be.

matt_gsxr - 12/8/12 at 10:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Doctor Derek Doctors

As an example my A6 is ~1900Kg and I have a trailer with a MAM of 1200Kg so I am fine to tow that and so would you be.


generous offer

Peteff - 12/8/12 at 10:46 PM

quote:
Originally posted by maskell01
Cheers all
kind of settles it down to 750kg


Not always 750kg, it can also depend on the weight of the towing vehicle if the trailer is unbraked something like half the towing vehicle kerbside weight but you should research it.

daviep - 12/8/12 at 11:09 PM

This is copied from the .gov website and I feel explains quite clearly what can be towed witha a cat B license:

Category B: Vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes MAM and with up to eight passenger seats

Category B vehicles may be coupled with a trailer up to 750kgs MAM (allowing a combined weight up to 4.25 tonnes MAM) or a trailer over 750kgs MAM provided the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM.

For example:

•a vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a MAM of 2 tonnes coupled with a trailer with a MAM of 1.25 tonnes could be driven by the holder of a category B entitlement. This is because the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and also the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle

Whereas

•the same vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a MAM of 2 tonnes when coupled with a trailer with a MAM of 1.5 tonnes would fall within category B+E. This is because although the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer is within the 3.5 tonnes MAM limit, the MAM of the trailer is more than the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle
•Vehicle manufacturers normally recommend a maximum weight of trailer appropriate to their vehicle. Details can usually be found in the vehicle's handbook or obtained from car dealerships. The size of the trailer recommended for an average family car with an unladen weight of around 1 tonne would be well within the new category B threshold

Cheers
Davie

Fatgadget - 12/8/12 at 11:30 PM

Years ago I broke down out in the sticks Birmingham think it was.diff or gearbox or clutch-something terminal on my C0rtina.

Anyway, called me mate in Norf London and he came and towed me all the way along the M6 and M1 and he wasn't hanging about!Tow rope got shorter and shorter snapping after he forgot he was towing me! Time we got to Staples corner I was a nervous wreck!

Are you allowed that kinda $hit -flat towing - nawadays?

[Edited on 12/8/12 by Fatgadget]

Slimy38 - 13/8/12 at 07:15 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Fatgadget
Years ago I broke down out in the sticks Birmingham think it was.diff or gearbox or clutch-something terminal on my C0rtina.

Anyway, called me mate in Norf London and he came and towed me all the way along the M6 and M1 and he wasn't hanging about!Tow rope got shorter and shorter snapping after he forgot he was towing me! Time we got to Staples corner I was a nervous wreck!

Are you allowed that kinda $hit -flat towing - nawadays?

[Edited on 12/8/12 by Fatgadget]


From memory, you're not allowed to use the motorway if you're towing with all wheels on the ground, you are only permitted to drive to the next junction if you were on the motorway at the time of breakdown. Even an AA van with a rigid tow bar can't do it, they have to at least lift two wheels off the ground.

Outside of the motorways you can go as far as you want, and as far as I know there are no licence restrictions to rope towing.

mcerd1 - 13/8/12 at 07:31 AM

[edit - too slow ]

yes we can tow up to 750kg gross weight (i.e. the trailer + the max load its plated to carry)

for your licence it doesn't matter if the trailer is braked or not as long as the car it rated to tow it (i.e. if your car's only rated to 400kg unbraked then you need a braked 750kg trailer)


there is another useful rule too - you can tow a bigger trailer as long as it ticks all of these boxes:

1 - trailer gross weight (trailer + max load) is less than the vehicles empty/unladen weight
2 - the gross weight of the vehicle + gross weight of the trailer is less than 3500kg
3 - the trailer must be within the towing limits for the vehicle

so if you had a 1200kg rated trailer you could tow that with a vehicle that weights just over 1200kg empty, so long as the fully laden vehicle is just under 2300kg or lessand the vehicle is allowed to tow that size of trailer.......


see here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/DG_4022547
"category B - Motor vehicles with a MAM of up to 3,500 kg, no more than eight passenger seats, with or without a trailer - weighing no more than 750 kg"

"As category B but with a trailer weighing more than 750 kg. The total weight of the vehicle and the trailer together can’t weigh more than 3,500 kg. The weight of the trailer, when fully loaded, can’t weigh more than the unladen weight of the vehicle"


[Edited on 13/8/2012 by mcerd1]