need a jeep to tow 2x700kg 16hhs horses love toyota rav, but heard no goo for towing

so i only need to do that test if i carry more than 3.5 tonnes. so i am ok i dont need it then. thats what i read on the link. i'm i right?
 
No! that means the vehicle limit and a small trailer not exceeding 750 kg.....OR in total, so take a look below...

Our Discovery weighs 2185 = so just over 2 ton.

Our trailer weighs 1200 = A little over a ton.

With our two horses weigh 1200 in total.

So in all = 4585 = 4 and a half tonnes!

So you can drive a vehicle at 3.5 ton BUT the trailer cannot exceed 750kg!! Thats what one of my horses weighs alone!

I'm all confused now!!
 
rite got ya, i'l have to do my test. good job i asked this question, have learned soooooooo much. all answers have been great and feel free to keep answering. thanks again
 
I have just read the towing regulations link, and it states the same as it did when I questioned the wording to my bosses at work (I work in criminal solicitors). As it reads (the part I refer to I have high lighted in red, the 'or' part should be noted), I am lead to believe that as long as your vehicle weighs more then your trailer, and the combination of the two is under 3.5 tonnes, you are legal to tow if you passed your test after January 1997. Two senior criminal solicitors agreed with what I understood from the wording of the law. I studied this wording long and hard, and double checked!

Car licences obtained on or after 1 January 1997
If you passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 you're limited to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass towing a trailer up to 750kgs, or a vehicle and trailer combination up to 3.5 tonnes MAM providing the MAM of the trailer doesn't exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle. You will need to pass an additional driving test in B+E if you wish to tow a caravan or trailer combination which exceeds these weight limits.
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Therefore, I bought a shogun pinnin which weighs 1,700 kg. A bateson trailer that weighs 925 kg, and my heaviest horse weighs approximately 500 kg, which would make the trailer weight 1,425 kg, which is lighter then the trucks weight. The truck, trailer and horse as a combined total would be 3,125 kg, thus leaving me with 375 kg to play with for my own weight, tack, etc...

I rang DVLA and spoke to three people, and none of them said the same thing to me - they are confused by it themselves lol! As it happens, I have decided to pursue my trailer test, as I want to buy a bigger truck so that I can tow two horses at once, but as it stands, I believe I am legal to tow, as is proven in the wording in the law! xx :)
 
me and my bf were having this discussion the other day also about that link you posted rudley. we took the same meaning as wat you have stated. i also heard someone say once that you can tow proviosionally a heavier weight than this if you display your L plates and have an experienced driver (ie someone who have held thier license prior to 97~) in fact it was a livery yard owner who drives a horselorry and uses this method! its just come to me now lol
 
there are some perks in being older! never had to worry about the trailer test.

Mine is a shortwheel base jeep 3.7L and has a towing capacity of 3.3 tonnes. It can tow the same weight as a grand as it has the larger engine. I have put nearly 80,000 miles on mine and (touch wood) it has been a grand car and very reliable. Do find a good garage though as Jeep garages are horribly expensive - and if you needed a tow bar buy it off a tow bar specialist - cheaper! If you are looking at different models/diesel then do check the towing limits though, i.e a 2.8 diesel (jeep) doesn't have the same capacity as the petrol 3.7l.

BTW, I really like the Rav... friend has one that just keeps going, and my brother has a very elderly one out in Spain. He is in a very hilly area and can properly off road with this car! Its been so good that other people in the area have started buying them - shame they aren't big enough to tow.
 
laurenn1010 said:
me and my bf were having this discussion the other day also about that link you posted rudley. we took the same meaning as wat you have stated. i also heard someone say once that you can tow proviosionally a heavier weight than this if you display your L plates and have an experienced driver (ie someone who have held thier license prior to 97~) in fact it was a livery yard owner who drives a horselorry and uses this method! its just come to me now lol
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I read that too somewhere Lauren, about the L plates thing. It's so ruddy confusing, it isn't entirely clear, hence why I asked my Solicitors to check it in case I was being thick! :o xx :)
 
I have heard no that the experienced driving sitting in with you when towi has had to pass their trailer test, not just be pre 1997, which is so stupid! My friend passed her trailer test months ago can sit in with me, my mum who passed her test in 1972 can't. Eh???
 
dominobrown said:
I have heard no that the experienced driving sitting in with you when towi has had to pass their trailer test, not just be pre 1997, which is so stupid! My friend passed her trailer test months ago can sit in with me, my mum who passed her test in 1972 can't. Eh???
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Really? :confused: This is just what I meant, it is so confusing it is beyond belief lol! Hmmm I will have to look into that, as I was sure your mum would be able to do this with you. xx :rolleyes:
 
Wrong Wrong Wrong!
If you are an L driver you must have someone that passed their trailer towing test. Therefore people who passed their test before 1997 but have not passed a towing test are no longer compliant to sitting next to a learner trailer driver.
 
dominobrown said:
I have heard no that the experienced driving sitting in with you when towi has had to pass their trailer test, not just be pre 1997, which is so stupid! My friend passed her trailer test months ago can sit in with me, my mum who passed her test in 1972 can't. Eh???
Click to expand...

Struggling to understand you fully, but someone who took their licence before jan 97 can be a passenger with you driving on L plates (known as grandfather rights) AND someone who has done their B+E test and held it for 3 years can also sit with you under provisional entitlement.
 
Toyota Landcruiser every time for me.... Will easily tow two large horses in a tralier.

Like the advert says, they go on and on and on....! Mine has done nearly 100,000 miles now. As long as you look after them and service them regularly they will last for ever...

Did you see the top gear programme a few years ago where they tried their best to crash one, drop from a crane, drop into water etc a Toyota Landcruiser pick up and whatever they did to it, it still started and drove off....

I had a Landrover Discovery before my Landcruiser. It was only 18 months old and was constantly breaking down...

No 4 x 4 is cheap to run btw. They cost loads in fule (although disel is slightly better), tyres are expensive and newer ones (over 2006) are £400 road tax...
 
quoted from the BHS website:

'From 6 April 2010 drivers who passed their car driving test before January 1997 will no longer be able to act as ‘supervising’ drivers to those learning to drive small lorries, buses and vehicle plus trailer combinations (but not car/horse trailer combinations i.e. Category B+E). Crucially for the equestrian industry this will include 7.5 tonne horse boxes.'
 
I took my trailer test a couple of weeks ago. It's not that difficult really, although just as nerve racking as doing your driving test! You have to do a reversing manouvre, an emergency stop, hitch and unhitch, answer some questions about loading and car/trailer checks and then drive around for a while to show that you are a safe driver :D It's just a case of remembering all those mirror checks to make sure you are safe. The thing to remember is that they cant take your driving licence away from you :D I'm now starting the hunt for a 4x4 so am very interested in the replies you have been getting ;)
 
With regard to what 4x4, I swear by Isuzu Troopers, you still see loads of old ones on the road showing the longevity of them! Even the SWB 3 door one will easily tow a double trailer loaded! I have the 4dr for the boot space! and kids access to rear seats!
 
competitiondiva said:
quoted from the BHS website:

'From 6 April 2010 drivers who passed their car driving test before January 1997 will no longer be able to act as ‘supervising’ drivers to those learning to drive small lorries, buses and vehicle plus trailer combinations (but not car/horse trailer combinations i.e. Category B+E). Crucially for the equestrian industry this will include 7.5 tonne horse boxes.'
Click to expand...

i dont know what this is getting at? from how i read it it says that u can still have car/horsetrailer combinations? am i right?

why dont they just blooming word it in a easy simple way.... like 'you can do this' list and 'you cant do this' list.... grrrrr
 
laurenn1010 said:
i dont know what this is getting at? from how i read it it says that u can still have car/horsetrailer combinations? am i right?

why dont they just blooming word it in a easy simple way.... like 'you can do this' list and 'you cant do this' list.... grrrrr
Click to expand...

It means that 'grand father rights' (i.e. someone who took their license before jan 97) can still act as the passenger under the provisional entitlement for car and trailer combinations, but nothing bigger.
 
Another one for the Isuzu Trooper. They are fab for towing and easy on the steering. I regularly tow two 16.2's with mine and you don't know you've got them on. Quite economical and nothing much goes wrong with them either. You can also pick one up quite cheaply as 4 x 4's aren't overley fashionable now
 
I seem to be in the same boat as Rudey. The car and trailer loaded would be under 3.5t and the trailer would be lighter than the car so that would be okay. However loads of people have said I'm talking rubbish! Just for the record a rav4 5 door can tow a maximum of 1.5t/1500kg
 
Another vote for Isuzu's. I have an old bighorn 3.1 diesel, it would tow the side out of your house!lol. I had a landy before but it kept over heating on long journeys. Never had a prob with the Isuzu, it pulls like train, I picked it up on ebay for just under £800 two years ago. I pull a big trailer with a big horse, it does it with ease.
 
would def avoid getting a rav also a new land rover unless a defender as have heard bad things about them
my mum has a nissan pathfinder for towing and its brill we had 2 heavy cobs on back the other day and didnt even notice they were there!
 
Rudey said:
I have just read the towing regulations link, and it states the same as it did when I questioned the wording to my bosses at work (I work in criminal solicitors). As it reads (the part I refer to I have high lighted in red, the 'or' part should be noted), I am lead to believe that as long as your vehicle weighs more then your trailer, and the combination of the two is under 3.5 tonnes, you are legal to tow if you passed your test after January 1997. Two senior criminal solicitors agreed with what I understood from the wording of the law. I studied this wording long and hard, and double checked!



Therefore, I bought a shogun pinnin which weighs 1,700 kg. A bateson trailer that weighs 925 kg, and my heaviest horse weighs approximately 500 kg, which would make the trailer weight 1,425 kg, which is lighter then the trucks weight. The truck, trailer and horse as a combined total would be 3,125 kg, thus leaving me with 375 kg to play with for my own weight, tack, etc...

I rang DVLA and spoke to three people, and none of them said the same thing to me - they are confused by it themselves lol! As it happens, I have decided to pursue my trailer test, as I want to buy a bigger truck so that I can tow two horses at once, but as it stands, I believe I am legal to tow, as is proven in the wording in the law! xx :)
Click to expand...

Just wanted to point out that I believe it is worded the MAM of the trailer, which is the maximum allowed mass of the trailer, not what you put in it, so unless you are going to be towing a single trailer with a MAM lighter than 1,700Kg then I don't think you would be covered. (a single ifor has a MAM of 1,600Kg but not a double)
 
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