Towing laws - totally confused

Stinkbomb

Stinkbomb

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Im looking at towing laws/weight etc and totally confusing myself.

Right if the car has a kerb weight of 2059kg, towing capacity of 2800kg. Its my understanding you shouldnt tow more than 85% of the cars kerb weight which would make it that the trailer plus ponios shouldnt weight more than 1750kg?? Right?? So where does the 2800kg come into it? Am totally confused how to work out what weight of trailer and horses i could legally tow??

Anyone help with my confusion or am i just thick??
 
Stinkbomb said:
Im looking at towing laws/weight etc and totally confusing myself.

Right if the car has a kerb weight of 2059kg, towing capacity of 2800kg. Its my understanding you shouldnt tow more than 85% of the cars kerb weight which would make it that the trailer plus ponios shouldnt weight more than 1750kg?? Right?? So where does the 2800kg come into it? Am totally confused how to work out what weight of trailer and horses i could legally tow??

Anyone help with my confusion or am i just thick??
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no your not thick, the caravan club where this idea was hached is!!! it was what they came out with as an idea , what you need to do is comply with the car manufactures maximum towing weight and not exceed it, not exceed the trailers max loaded weight and not exceed the gross train weight( thats everything combined car and its load inside and the trailer) this may happen if there was a lot of stuff in say a work van that you were towing with... simple EH
 
You got me thinking now lol
I thought the 85% came into it something to do with unbraked trailers but as most modern horse trailers are braked then I thought you went off the max towing wieght as in 2800kg take off the trailer weight which leaves amount left to legally carry????
 
Right, so on a new license you can tow a trailer of up to 750kg OR if you want to tow a heavier trailer you can as long as the whole thing (car and trailer) doesn't exceed 3500kg? It's all greek to me.... I use a chauffeur! ;)
 
All I know is, if you took your driving test after a certain year, you have to take a trailer test. I took my test 10 years ago and would have to take the test if I wanted to tow. I think the cut off date was the year before I took mine if thats any help. However I am allowed to drive 3.5tonne horsebox.
 
cider loving mare said:
All I know is, if you took your driving test after a certain year, you have to take a trailer test. I took my test 10 years ago and would have to take the test if I wanted to tow. I think the cut off date was the year before I took mine if thats any help. However I am allowed to drive 3.5tonne horsebox.
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nope read the link i posted

its possible to tow a single horse on a new licence
 
Farrierlover said:
Right, so on a new license you can tow a trailer of up to 750kg OR if you want to tow a heavier trailer you can as long as the whole thing (car and trailer) doesn't exceed 3500kg? It's all greek to me.... I use a chauffeur! ;)
Click to expand...

My sister looked into this for hours as needed to see if we need to sit trailer test now parents are moving abroad. Your right a car can tow a trailer upto 750kg or the whole thing if it doesn't exceed 3500kg as long as the weight trailer doesn't exceed the maximum authorised mass of the car. You can do this from 17 on a new license.

On the new license if you want to tow a trailer above 750kg or the whole thing exceeds 3500kg you need to sit a trailer test.

Stinkbomb, we've got a kia sorento and it tows an ifor 505 and two 450kg ponies fine and i'm told by dad it can tow more, the exact amount i'm not sure though.

Hope this helps
 
Farrierlover said:
What? :confused:
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sorry should be as long as the weight OF THE trailer doesn't exceed the maximum authorised mass of the car. missed out words.

as to what the maximum authorised mass of the car is I'm not sure, thats just what the goverment website says. you'll need to work it out for yourself. sorry
 
Quote "Its my understanding you shouldnt tow more than 85% of the cars kerb weight which would make it that the trailer plus ponios shouldnt weight more than 1750kg?? Right??"

Wrong, you'll find nothing in law relating to 85% of the weight. This figure was something recommended by the caravan club many years ago to their members when towing caravans. Some how people seem to think this is law....it is not.
 
AFAIA, a 17yo driver can only tow a trailer that weighs no more than 750kg, fully laden. It is highly unlikely that you will find a horse trailer that weighs less than 750kg empty, and even if you did, a 17yo is still not qualified to tow it, even when empty, because it's the maximum weight that he trailer can take plus the weight of the trailer itself that counts, not the trailer plus the weight of whatever you happen to have in it on the day. Most horse trailers have a plate somewhere on the drawbar telling you it's weight, it's max payload and it's max total weight (first two combinded), the latter being the one that counts in towing law.

A 17yo driver can tow a horse trailer with L plates and a qualified driver sitting with them, the law has not changed for this, only for lorries.
 
From direct gov: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm

Cars or light vans, with or without trailers
The term maximum authorised mass (MAM) means the total weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load it can carry safely.
Category
Description
Minimum age

B
Motor vehicles with a MAM of up to 3,500 kg, no more than eight passenger seats, with or without a trailer - weighing no more than 750 kg
17*

B
As category B but with a trailer weighing more than 750 kg. The total weight of the vehicle and the trailer together can’t weigh more than 3,500 kg. The weight of the trailer, when fully loaded, can’t weigh more than the unladen weight of the vehicle
17*

B+E
As category B but with a heavier trailer that isn't covered in the descriptions for category B
17


*Age 16 if you are currently getting Disability Living Allowance at the higher rate (mobility component).

Example of category B with a trailer weighing over 750 kg: Motor vehicle with an unladen weight of 1,500 kg and a maximum weight of 2,000 kg towing a fully loaded trailer with a weight of 1,500 kg – total weight 3500.

Example of category B+E: Motor vehicle with a MAM up to 3,500 kg towing a trailer of any weight over 750 kg.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
Quote "Its my understanding you shouldnt tow more than 85% of the cars kerb weight which would make it that the trailer plus ponios shouldnt weight more than 1750kg?? Right??"

Wrong, you'll find nothing in law relating to 85% of the weight. This figure was something recommended by the caravan club many years ago to their members when towing caravans. Some how people seem to think this is law....it is not.
Click to expand...

I have heard this a couple of times too, I think when it was first advised not many manufacturers stated their max towing weight. I was advised to follow the vehicle manufacturers stated towing weights.

I have a Kia Sorento and love it! It's a 2003, 2.5l manual and can tow up to 3ton. Mine tows like a dream. I know they have changed to a unibody (?) chassis with the 2010 brand new models which mean they can tow less. Pre 2010 they were proper ladder chassis so could tow more.
 
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