Towing calulations right? Also single or double trailer?

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clairencappelli

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Ok my sick lorry has been off the road since last summer booooo.... but YAY my partner has just bought a 2007 Transit 280 2.2 swb van so i can scrap/sell lorry and get a trailer at last ( i have an old licence so can tow and drive upto 7.5 tons )

I have begged and pleaded to let me use it and he has not put me on his insurance!

Im new to all the confusing weight but do i have this right? It can only tow one horse i work out.

His Transit is a 280 model 2.2

Kerb weight is 1700 and gross max weight is 2800 tons making van payload 1100
Gross train mass is 3500 on his model (this is the max weight of the van AND trailer comb)
So gross train mass 3500 minus kerb weight 1700 gives me a max weight of 1800

1800 is for the weight of the trailer, horse, driver, tack, water etc etc ( anything oather than the van itself basically ).

As a 505 weighs 905 this gives me 895 for horse, me, tack, small water canister etc

NEXT QUESTION...

Do i buy a 505 and use that? I could take the partion out like i did in my lorry as my horse traveled cross tied anyway with full length breast bars this will enable me to tack up on the box etc and give me room to move - my only concern is will the extra room if she moves cause the trailer to wag? Im hoping it wont behind a van so much?

Or do i splash out on a new ifor williams 403 single trailer? They are 1.30 meters wide so i could easily tack up on this and as its unladen weight is only 767 so it give me a bit less weight behind?

Have a i got my sums right before he books it in for a tow bar tomorrow morning?

Its all so hard to work out, my brain truly hurts and i have been on this for hours today!
 
The Cheval Liberte i dont like. Its lighweight yes but looks very flimsy and i dont like the soft top and the back, if it so much as flapped my horse would freak out. I still couldnt tow two even if i had a really light trailer and this is going on my credit card so not keen to spend more than needed for the moment.

The only bateson i can find thats lighter is the derby but thats rear unload and looks quite low ( my horse is a 16.1 wb ).
 
In that case I would go for the single Ifor as otherwise you are cutting it very fine weightwise.
Another thought is that you will need to keep the Transit pretty much empty, and as they are designed for carrying stuff around, they aren't handling best with empty back and a trailer in tow.
But hey, give it a go.
 
I would go for a double - we towed with a VW transit type van for years when I was growing up. They are a tricky handle though.
 
The only thing that will go in the trailer will be the horse and haynet, all the tack and equipment will go in the van so that it weights more than the trailer and horse. I like the fact its all out of sight and i can sit in there on wet pants days on a camping chair with a cup of tea while horse stands on the box lol.

I have spoken to two trailer people today about 2 used IW 505's and they each said if i take out the partition ill be making it about 50 kg ligther too so that will help.

It seems i have worked out my weights correctly which is good to know.

Towing is such a minefield and i can see why so many people go around overweight.
 
I have a 2 litre Subaru Forester and tow a single Ifor. I have towed (with no problems at all) up to a 15.2 T/B (60 miles). They all load into it and travel well.

I think I am just about at the weight limit but had to stop quickly once when coming down a hill as a (male!!!) driver insisted on overtaking in the opposite direction, so a quickish stop was necessary. It coped with that well.

As long as you just have the one to travel at any particular time, I cannot see a problem with the Ifor single. I got mine second hand for £1600 about 4 years ago and am very happy with it.
 
You should be ok with a 505 ...just ...... however if the van has anything in it tools, ply lining, etc you need to subtract this from the train weight the light FWD 260/280 transits ar'nt realy suitable for towing or heavy work, you realy need to go for the 350 rwd for towing which are only slightly heavier but have a train weight of 6000KG
 
Changing the transit isnt not an option as my partner has just bought it, i have just begged to be able to use it. I cant afford a towing car as it would be cheaper to put my lorry back on the road but this seems unpractical with a van cappable of towing.

I know i will have to watch my weight but this has the same sort of payload as my lorry.

Im going to view a few used 505's next week and think the boyfriend is coming along so we can just buy a trailer and take it there and then as both the trailer dealers are a fair drive away so seems silly to make 2 trips.

My car insurance is going to go through the roof this year so my lorry insurance i dread to think how much that will be.
 
clairencappelli said:
Changing the transit isnt not an option as my partner has just bought it, i have just begged to be able to use it. I cant afford a towing car as it would be cheaper to put my lorry back on the road but this seems unpractical with a van cappable of towing.

I know i will have to watch my weight but this has the same sort of payload as my lorry.

Im going to view a few used 505's next week and think the boyfriend is coming along so we can just buy a trailer and take it there and then as both the trailer dealers are a fair drive away so seems silly to make 2 trips.

My car insurance is going to go through the roof this year so my lorry insurance i dread to think how much that will be.
Click to expand...
maybe just be carefull for now then when OH changes the van make sure he gets something more suitable for the most important job:D
 
Ok im not sure on my calculations now! I do hope im wrong but it has come to light there could be a glith in them?????

Even tho im only going to tow one horse on it because the trailers maximum weight it can carry is more than the kerb weight of the van this makes it illegal and id have to have the trailer down plated????

Oh god i dont know whats whats now :-(
 
clairencappelli said:
Ok im not sure on my calculations now! I do hope im wrong but it has come to light there could be a glith in them?????

Even tho im only going to tow one horse on it because the trailers maximum weight it can carry is more than the kerb weight of the van this makes it illegal and id have to have the trailer down plated????

Oh god i dont know whats whats now :-(
Click to expand...
you will be fine if your licence is pre 97 or you took a towing test, you have to be carefull about weights if you have only a later licence then 3.5 is the max weight and the tow car has to be more than the trailer... otherwise your good to go ....
 
Yes im old and pre 1997 so im def def ok then?

Ooo im so excited. I was a little worried then id have to buy a brand new 403 single one that had a max laden weight of 1500 so the max laden weight didnt exceed the kerb weight of the van.

I have to say i really fancy a new one but id have to wait to save more for than.

Do you think the dealers are correct and that the partition will weight about 50kg? that will make it a little lighter.

Any ideas where i can buy full lenght 505 breat and breach bars from as the dealers say the new ones dont fit the 505's as they are too long.
 
Hi Claire

We have a 313 CDI Sprinter and I've towed loads with it. We have the van for the dogs but it doubles nicely as a towing vehicle. I pull a 510 with mine and the van is bigger than the trailer. It's great for towing unless on wet grass! This winter I have given up and got a 4X4 (a defender so clearly no towing weight issues with that!) as I'm sick of using snow chains four times a day on a car. That said, I will most likely still use the van to tow in summer unless I am likely to be parking on wet grass!! Mainly as it doesn't get much use in Summer (too warm for running huskies a lot of the time!). Van's are great for towing.

I have to say I thought under the VOSA rules your max tow weight had to be the same or more than the max gross trailer weight. However, I may well be wrong. I'm same as you in the fact I have an 'old' licence. My Sprinter is fine for this (a 510 is 2700 KG Gross). It's a very grey area and one I veer very much on the side of caution with.

Anyway, if you need private van insurance (actually not many people do it) try co-op. I found them half the price of anyone and better cover as well.
 
Oh, and the full length bars. I got my local agricultural store to order them in for me and they fitted fine. I think they were about £50 each. On Ifor's website they have catalogue's you can download and they tell you the part number by the year the trailer was built. You can order from Ifor direct I'm sure. My brakes were just overhauled - trailer is about 20 years old - but with an aluminium floor and new braking system, is like new!
 
That was why i was worried i had got it wrong as i read the same thing about the max gross weight of the trialer needs to be lighter than the car but the other replies say this is only post 1997 licence?

As long as i watch my weight and dont go over the maxiumum gross train mass?

I can see now why many people go around with the wrong towing vehicles now.
 
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