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towing on B licence - problem solved
bi22le - 16/6/13 at 08:56 PM

I have put this in a new topic as a lot of people stated they had the same problem and may not bother reading my original post. Also this helps with searches.

I purchased a trailer off of ebay on a 3 min till end whim and stumbled on a gem. It only cost 50 quid and only needs basic work!

Its an Alko caravan chassis that has been striped down. It came with some bracing which I need to make better. The now plain trailer has an axle plate that states 850kg max which is perfect. The trailer probably weighs less than 200kg leaving 650+kg for car and spares. My car is 550kg. Its nice and alim and my car just fits.

Its single axle and braked. It is less than my max tow on my tow car, less than the kerb weight, and combined in less than 3500kg.

It also has bolts holding the front A frame on so can be shrunk down in size. Im storing it in my brothers garage on its side against the wall. Two people would be able to slide the individual parts down a side access or just lean it against a wall.

Mega happy!!

And I will stick to my word and offer this out once finished to anyone from LCB for half or less of the normal mainstream rate.

sdh2903 - 16/6/13 at 09:04 PM

I did exactly the same, my trailer can be seen here:

locost trailer build

I ended up about £500 all in as I had everything re galved and custom steel runners, new tyres etc, but its perfect for a kit, only weighs 220kgs ish, tows brilliantly. Just the other week I towed it from Glasgow to procomp in birmingham and back in the day.

mookaloid - 16/6/13 at 09:16 PM

quote:
Originally posted by bi22le

And I will stick to my word and offer this out once finished to anyone from LCB for half or less of the normal mainstream rate.



I assume that the half price rental arrangement money will go towards your liability insurance to cover renting out a caravan chassis with added bits masquerading as a properly designed and plated professional car hire trailer?

Sorry if that seems a bit harsh but are you sure you want to put yourself in a potentially risky liability position for the sake of a few quid? If it was mine I'd be happy to lend it out but once money changes hands responsibilities start to mount up.

Cheers

M

bi22le - 16/6/13 at 09:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mookaloid
quote:
Originally posted by bi22le

And I will stick to my word and offer this out once finished to anyone from LCB for half or less of the normal mainstream rate.



I assume that the half price rental arrangement money will go towards your liability insurance to cover renting out a caravan chassis with added bits masquerading as a properly designed and plated professional car hire trailer?

Sorry if that seems a bit harsh but are you sure you want to put yourself in a potentially risky liability position for the sake of a few quid? If it was mine I'd be happy to lend it out but once money changes hands responsibilities start to mount up.

Cheers

M


Word retracted, party pissed on.

mookaloid - 16/6/13 at 09:40 PM

Sorry - but you know it makes sense Rodney

sdh2903 - 16/6/13 at 10:00 PM

Just ask for beer instead, no money changing hands that way

v8kid - 16/6/13 at 10:07 PM

You know I'm not sure it does!

This is not a professional hire and professional obligations would not be expected.

Sorry to attack mooky personally but a killjoy attitude like that is why this country is going to the dogs. There is always some harbinger of doom ready to belittle and bring down anyone who shows the slightest spark of originality.

What it it with this condition? Is it to bring everyone else down to the same level of mediocrity hence providing a hiding place by safety in numbers?

You know I really don't want to be associated with a forum that espouses these negative values - I'm off

Cheers!

cliftyhanger - 16/6/13 at 10:16 PM

It is a fair point. If you lend something for no charge, it is fine (probably!)
But once money changes hands it is a whole different ballgame.
the last thing anybody would want is the trailer owner getting sued for thousands of pounds (or more)

Sad fact of life. Best think about it all first.
I lend my trailer out. a bit of cash (tenner) is usually donated towards upkeep when it is returned. keeps it simple.

mookaloid - 16/6/13 at 10:34 PM

quote:
Originally posted by v8kid
You know I'm not sure it does!

This is not a professional hire and professional obligations would not be expected.

Sorry to attack mooky personally but a killjoy attitude like that is why this country is going to the dogs. There is always some harbinger of doom ready to belittle and bring down anyone who shows the slightest spark of originality.

What it it with this condition? Is it to bring everyone else down to the same level of mediocrity hence providing a hiding place by safety in numbers?

You know I really don't want to be associated with a forum that espouses these negative values - I'm off

Cheers!


Everyone can take their own view on this. I have no axe to grind and I have no objection to the op doing this if he wants to.

I just think it is sensible to at least do some research in to the liability situation. I mean if the wheel falls off and the trailer rolls over and kills a kid on a bicycle and you have hired out the trailer for money then the hirer could reasonably expect the trailer to have been checked for safety. Even if the person who hires the trailer doesn't have such expectations, if something does go wrong the Law might well see it differently.

I question whether it is possible to be confident enough in a caravan chassis conversion to hire it out on that basis vs a professionally designed, built and plated one.

So maybe I'm guilty of advising someone to be cautious - does that make me a killjoy?

It seems a bit of an extreme reaction to leave a forum because of this but hey, it's a free Country.

owelly - 16/6/13 at 10:55 PM

I few years ago, I hired a towing A-frame from HSS Hire. I asked them about the legalities of using such a thing and the bloke just turned-over the paperwork I'd just signed and pointed to the terms and conditions. It said something along the lines of: HSS accept no responsibility for the use of the equipment and that the user was taking full liability for the use of the equipment.
I often lend my trailers to folks and the understanding is always the same: You bend it, you mend it. You lose it, you replace it. If it falls to pieces, you should have checked before you loaded it!!

dhutch - 17/6/13 at 05:16 AM

quote:
Originally posted by owellyI often lend my trailers to folks and the understanding is always the same: You bend it, you mend it. You lose it, you replace it. If it falls to pieces, you should have checked before you loaded it!!

Yep, which is the same myself.

Generally this is also on the basis that if I am prepared to lend it I am worse case prepared to loose it, on a bit of a sliding scale depending on how well I know them and the chance of it being damaged. Ie, I will lend any randomer the slightly crap screw driver/pliers I keep in the car, any one I know my axlestands, a mate an angle grinder, but basically dont lend out things like my trailer or posh inverter mig welder unless im there myself to oversee it, or they are a very close friend who I know wouldn't rip me off it it went wrong, and or would reimburse me for my loss.

I'm a pretty open/trusting sort, like top help where I can, and happy to take calculated risks but sadly while 98% of people are sound folks I don't have time/money to buy and sort out a new trailer if mine as lost, and certainly don't have the time go to court because someone who's borrowed my trailer has causes a road traffic and decided to blame it on me.


We're getting slightly off topic, but there we are. But yes, as you have found, its not beyond the wit of man to tow a seven type behind an average car, without a B+E ticket. I do all the time, with a DIY built covered box trailer weighing 550kg with a car weighing about the same, plated to 1200kg.

Modern cars have increasingly less generous towing figures, but it still should be more than possible.



Daniel