What sort of trouble would you be in if.........

brighteyes

brighteyes

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You turned over your trailer whilst towing with an unsuitable vehicle?

I didn't, but I saw a Freelander and Ifor Williams (Black, Special Edition?) turned over on the M6 and wondered a) about the poor creature inside and b) what the boys in blue would have to say about it?
 
I wouldn't imagine you would be in trouble...at least I don't think so, Freelanders (although I've heard they are naff to tow) are supposed to be 4x4's, surely they wouldn't expect someone to buy a 4x4 and not tow with it??
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And even so, I don't think it's entirely unsuiatble if you just had the one horse in. I tow with a BMW 1 Series (3.0 Litre BTW) and get on just fine...
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Passed many a policeman in my area and never been pulled over.
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omg thats awfull! i tow with a freelander but only one horse and its within the saftey weight limit - i wish i hadnt read that as ive lost my confidence towing and sent the trailer off to have anew floor put in even though it doesnt really need one!
 
If there was no horse inside they may be ok. Depends on the weight of the trailer and horse combined. If over the max weight they could be in trouble, certainly with insurance.
 
Obviously going far too fast and the trailer started snaking!

I have a trailer (but hope to get a lorry again in the future) and never really go above 50mph and try to avoid motorways (as I tend to stay within about 30 miles of home if possible).
 
The two offences that initially come to mind are Driving without due care & attention & Driving with an insecure load. Both are endorsable.
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[ QUOTE ]
The two offences that initially come to mind are Driving without due care & attention & Driving with an insecure load. Both are endorsable.
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[/ QUOTE ]

Or Dangerous driving by virtue of exceeding the train weight ( not sure what the total capacity of a Freelander would be) you can be sure the officer attending would have paid close attention to any weights on the vehicle plate..the only obstacle to a prosecution is that although they would subsequently be able to weigh the towing vehicle and trailer, they would have to take a guess at the weight of any horses carried, and therefore would struggle to prove an offence (although if really determined they would be entitled to weigh the horse too)
 
If you were overweight and had an accident then you wouldn't be insured, and that is an offence. People DO tow with unsuitable vehicles and generally get away with it as they aren't involved in an accident, after all with a horse inside you shouldn't be driving quickly anyway.

If the trailer was empty then it might have been withing the weight limit.

"Never do more than 50mph" - towing with a car? Cripes. I seldom go over 35 maybe 40 on a good road and I have a Shogun. And 30 on a B road. Sorry to everyone behind me!

The surface of the road governs how fast I go.
 
Well, my brother was on traffic with the London Met for years and scared me to death with the upshots of 'tail-wagging-the dog' scenarios.

Earlier posts on here have gone on about the merits (or otherwise) of Freelanders as tow vehicles and the kerbweight, according to the vehicle spec, is around 2000kgs. With passengers, a pony and fuel, I think you'd be borderline and from what my bro said, they read the max gross laden weight from the trailer's chassis plate and go off that!
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So, even if you have a bale of hay in it (as opposed to a Shire) you are theoretically stuffed. He went on and on about my axles and the gross train weight, too. So I bought a Daihatsu Fourtrak
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Anyway, there you have it. Perhaps don't tow with a Freelander...................
 
Its interesting you say the surface of the road governs your speed. A few years ago I travelled in the back of our trailer (I know I shouldn't have done!) whilst moving our pony who had a star fracture of her leg (So hope you understand why I was in there). We travelled a route we often use and I couldn't believe how much the trailer vibrated on what I had always perceived was smooth road. I was in mobile phone contact with driver and when I said slow down, was told he was only doing 20 mph! Although this is quite a long, straight piece of road I now keep my speed down to about 35mph when towing on it, but do pull over as soon as the road widens to let any following cars past.
 
The Freelander has a towing capacity of 2000kgs, so with the special edition trailer (which is a tarted up HB505) loaded with two average size horses wouldnt be overweight, my 2 are big horses ( I have a 510& Disco) and I have towed them with a Freelander ( but we did have to get out and push up the hills)!!
From a legal point of view, I guess they COULD be charged with careless driving or driving with out due care.
I hope everyone is ok, BTW it is surprisingly easy to do according to my mum who did it when she was a hunting groom, ( and she is the safest driver in the world and has HGV). Hopefully the ponies wont be to shaken up.
 
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