Boring Subject of Towing - I'm Confuzzled!

chickeninabun

chickeninabun

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I know I know, boring towing but it's sooooo confusing!
I past my test after 1997 (fecking 1998 in fact
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!!).
My car weighs 1635kg unladened (2265 Gross weight).
Mr Horse weighs 560kg and an Ifor HB506 weighs 920kg Unladen (so the website says). So horse & trailer is 1480kg, car is 1635kg so total is 3115kg. I.e. Under 3500kg.
So if I alone am in car, with 50 miles of diesel in the tank, a saddle and a bridle, surely I am legal?????
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You will prob need to do your trailer test, It is all work out on MAM ( Max Authorised mass ) ??

What Car is it... I thought most vehicles that could legaly tow a horse & trailer are more likley to be heavier, ( not sure as i tow with a 3.5ton transit. )

Edited to add,

If you don't have cat b+e on your licence you are only allowed to drive up to a 3.5 ton vehicle but can tow a trailer on a smaller vehicle up to 750kgs which is not any use at all...

Not sure what trouble you would get into but, insurance would be invalid for a start.
 
That's pants!
I don't have spare couple of hundred quid lying around to do a test with. It's rubbish. I'm not over 3.5t so should be allowed.
What do they do if they catch me?? Fine/points/smacked wrist??
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I would imagine there would be a very big fine plus loss of points. There is a grey area in the law because very lightweight single trailers such as the Cheval Liberte come weigh under the weights even laden!
 
search old posts on here, it can be done with single trailer or having a trailer downgraded just. and towing with a car. I think figjam does it.

but tbh easier in long run to take your test. my examiner said are you going away this year, I got to say no I am paying to do this instead.
 
If you tow illegaly you will be voiding your insurance - penalty for driving uninsured is 6 points, a hefty fine & vehicle confiscation.
 
and I also would imagine if you had an accident and your horse was injured, if insured they wouldnt be paying up either.

I actually thiink having to take the test is a very good idea. I certainly do a much better job of towing than I would have done.
 
[ QUOTE ]
search old posts on here, it can be done with single trailer or having a trailer downgraded just. and towing with a car. I think figjam does it.

but tbh easier in long run to take your test. my examiner said are you going away this year, I got to say no I am paying to do this instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

I do indeed. Sadly, your set up in the OP would not meet the requirements as your trailer's MAM + the car's gross weight must be less than 3.5t, no matter how little weight you're actually loading into the trailer. I think HB506 must be somewhere around 2100kg MAM? Certainly added to your car's gross weight it would be over 3.5t, sorry.
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a couple of hundred quid woulnt do it either - the test alone is £250 ish. I passed 2nd time and it cost me around £1000 in lessons and tests (approx 14 hours of lessons). The test is tough as hell and very easy to fail - the driving part is an hour long and you are expected to drive to a very high standard (I failed first test because I turned right off a one way street in the left lane and because I didn't follow through a pedestrian in my mirror)
 
I tow a single Cheval Liberte which has been downrated to 1200kg within the 3500kg limits as Figjam does her IW

I also took my towing test on Tues as I want to get a double trailer - I bought a 2nd horse last year. Unfortunately I let the trailer wheels lock and skid on the controlled stop so automatically failed (only gained 2 other minors) but will be resitting in 3 weeks time.

However I have not had any towing lessons! I have been towing my little CL set-up for 3 years now so have gained experience towing and am obviously comfortable with my tow vehicle / trailer combination. I bought the manual "How to pass the towing test" from Amazon and practised hard and taught myself.

I failed because nerves got the better of me for that single section of the test. The test cost me £115 and the book was under £10! Fingers crossed I can hold it together next time.
 
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