Towing law

[tim61uk]

Right im wanting advise on towing laws.
I passed my driving test in 2001 what can i legally tow reason i ask is thinking about getting a trailer tent or ideally a caravan.

My towing vehicle of choice would be my musso 4x4 which weighs nearly two tons. Am i right in think i am ok to tow a caravan aslong as combined weight of caravan and car does not exceed 3.5 tons.

Dont really want to pay aload of money to do a lgv test.

Someone else told me you can full something aslong as it is no more than 80% of towing vehicle weight

Any advice appreciated

[ptomo]

If combined weight is 3.5 tonne then legally you should fit a tachometer to the vehicle but this never happens an if was me I'd drive as it is as there's many on the road an I bet 99% don't have one fitted!

As for a trailer over 750kg you have to have a test of sort but again how many people who tow cars on trailers have done it?? Prob not a lot

Even if you did Hgv class 2 your still only allowed to tow a certain weight trailer before a class 1 license is needed

My opinion get caravan an tow it feck em

[Din]

No... The 3.5 tonne bit is based on the max laden weight of both the car and caravan/or trailer.

So your musso may well be 2 tonnes, but max laden Wight may be 2.5 for example, you won't find a caravan that has a max laden weight of under a tonne, so you would need a towing licence.

That said, I tow on a standard licence and I'm well in as the tow car is lighter (was a ti, now zafira) and the max laden weight of the caravan is 1100kg.

Also, the fully laden weight of the caravan must be less than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle...

On top of that, some cars have a gross train weight... Like the ti, it's 1200kg, so go above that and you break the law.
One of the best and clearest description of the rules can be found from the caravan club.

[tim61uk]

So if i tow with a smaller or lighter car should be ok like the missus focus.

Have been pointed towards this website

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/driv ... ou-can-tow

[ptomo]

Long as your not towing same weight as weight of the car example 1.2 ton car towing 1.1 caravan will get you into trouble.

Your 4x4 be fine to tow a caravan

[Din]

It's simply a case of weighing it up lol. Most average sized family cars should be able to tow a light caravan and stay on the legal side of things, on a standard licence.


And yeah, the .gov site is the one to look at, I find you just have to read it carefully.

[Din]

Long as your not towing same weight as weight of the car example 1.2 ton car towing 1.1 caravan will get you into trouble.

Your 4x4 be fine to tow a caravan

Aye it will be fine... But most likley not legal on a standard post 97 licence.

[tim61uk]

Either that or fit a tow bar on evo that shouldnt struggle towing it

[joshreynolds]

Either that or fit a tow bar on evo that shouldnt struggle towing it

probably eat your wallet though

[2.2-600-VTEC]

i checked this for my wife and she can only tow up to half a ton without needing a test, so i have to do all towing even though our trailer tent is 495kg ,

[Din]

i checked this for my wife and she can only tow up to half a ton without needing a test, so i have to do all towing even though our trailer tent is 495kg ,

That's nonsense, assuming your tow car is average she would be fine.

Edit.

Licences held from 1 January 1997

If you passed your driving test after 1 January 1997 and have an ordinary category B (car) licence, you can drive either:

a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes or 3,500 kilograms (kg) Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (with a combined weight of up to 4,250kg in total)
a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as it is no more than the unladen or ‘kerb’ weight of the towing vehicle (with a combined weight of up to 3,500kg in total)

This link gives you some examples.

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co ... eyoulegal/

[Rizzy]

I recently looked into the laws into this as din said as out weight that doesn't apple to my licence I passed in 1997 and only allowed to tow a max of 750kg which isn't alot. Any more after that I have to a test.

[Din]

I passed in 1997 and only allowed to tow a max of 750kg which isn't alot. Any more after that I have to a test.

I never said that

You can tow over 750kg as long as the mam on the trailer is less than the kerb weight of the towing vehicle and combined weight is less than 3.5 tonnes.

Hence I tow a 1.1 tonne caravan legaly on my post 1997 licence.

[Rizzy]

Sorry Din my mess up. I was supposed to say what din said I thought applied to me only to find that .....

Should do 2 things in one go!

I just read that post it makes no sense at all! What am I doing.

[Plezier]

Look in the vehicles hand book and it will tell you the MAXIMUM towing capacity of it. For example my car has a max towing weight of 1200kg with max tow ball downward loading of 70kg. Rear axle load must not exceed 950kg. The car itself weighs 1800kg. The weights listed are for driver only and extra passengers must be subtracted from the maximum towing weight.

Now the Frontera we had before had a maximum towing weight of 2800kg if I recall correctly yet the car we have now is not only more powerful but has far superior brakes.

Being old the stupid towing licence does not apply. As i see it it's just another way of lightening the peoples pockets and filling the governments coffers with more money for them to waste or give away to undeserving 3rd world countries.

[Ross9]

just sit all yiur tests.

wheels, check. Steering wheel, check, engine, check, done, where we going?

[Ross9]

My more serious respobse is to go ask the people who decidem seriously, dont have loads of different internet opinions, go to DVLA, explain your use and ask what you need to do, its not rocket science.

[Din]

My more serious respobse is to go ask the people who decidem seriously, dont have loads of different internet opinions, go to DVLA, explain your use and ask what you need to do, its not rocket science.

The dvla are usless, I called them when I was trying to find out and they gave the the wrong info entirely !

The opinions I have put here are fact, direct from a .gov website, the dvlas site says the same, and all the caravan websites.

You simply have to read and understand what's there, then be careful with your weights.