Unable to stop car when towing

The two ball on our Land Rover station wagon is set high so I know what you mean.

Our car is set really nicely. Trailer sits level with the tow horses in the back.
 
I'm not sure about the wisdom of assuming the manufacturers are a definitive guide to what is a "good idea" so much as they will simply tell you what's legal. Coming from Canada I find the towing laws very interesting in the UK because there are lots of set ups here that simply would not be legal in N. America. So what's the difference? Why is a particular set up "safe" here and not there?

There is also the issue of "towing" vs. "stopping". Lots of vehicles have the brute power to pull a particular weight but not the solidity and braking power to stop/control the weight, particularly if it's "live". (I know in Canada the recommended tow ratings are different for "unstable/live" loads but many sales outfits don't know that.) In any discussion I've had about this topic the people really in the know often recommend much more cautious towing set ups than manufacturers do. After all the people who sell you trucks and trailers are trying to sell you trucks and trailers! I think there is often some disrepancy between what a vehicle "can" do and what it "should" do.

Anyway, as said, it seems in this case that the trailer brakes are not up to snuff and you're on it so hopefully that's the end of it. Maybe it's just an electrical glitch.

They instituted mandatory brake and safety inspections for trailers in Ontario a few years ago - I'm sure you could hear the screaming over here.;) But SO many rigs failed . . . it makes one wonder what might have been.
 
I have thought of one other difference though between a lorry and horse trailer.

Most lorries will have part of their body under the front of the trailer I am not sure if this adds more stability or is just a safer hieght hitch point. Also please remwmber that lorry trailers have height adjustable axles and more hitch combinations.
 
Yeah, I did say in my post about the lorries having their trailers hitched between the axles which means they are more stable and can pull larger weights.

Over in America and Canada I think alot of their trailers are a similar set up too. Pulled by a pick up and hitched on the flat bed of pick up between the axles somehow.
 
Lots of trailers in N. America are either "fifth wheel" or "gooseneck" - in both cases the hitch is in the truck bed rather than on the back, which we call a "tag a long" or a "bumper pull" even though the weld is actually on the frame. The former is a MUCH more stable set up with better control and pretty much the only type of rig you see over a two horse.

I moved up at one point to a HUGE truck (3/4 ton, 4x4, 5.9 Cummins Dodge diesel pick up) and was surprised at how much better it pulled even my two horse tag a long. Not that that's a particularly reasonable set up over here but I have to say it scared me a bit when I thought back over all my years of pulling with something much smaller and how I didn't know what I was missing.
 
5.9 litre engine! Heck over here we'd need a Texaco tanker to drive around with us and fill up every few miles!
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What a set up. You'd never see anything like that over here. Your trailers are huge. Then again, I don't know if you experience some of the narrow lanes over in Canada like you do here in the UK.

Are roads straight in Canada, much as they are in America with no round-a-bouts etc?
 
I know. It was a kick to drive, though! Mine even had off road suspension and 18" tires - the local farmers were VERY jealous.
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The roads are quite different - much wider, straighter and no round abouts at all. Also a great deal more necessary highway driving and longer distances on the whole. Out in BC some of the hills (otherwise called mountains) make that sort of power essential.

Lorries are few and far between though as most people like to have a vehicle they can 'detach" to use at the show, especially for multi-day affairs.
 
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