Caravans to face MOTs
Discussion
pingu393 said:
I would suggest that most caravans (and trailers in the future, maybe) are on private land except for the 8 hours that they take to get from the Midlands to Cornwall. This means that the only chance to police the "MOT" is on the journey. Or are all caravans going to need a test, even the ones in back gardens that are used as hen-houses?
I declare a personal interest as I have a trailer that is used for storage only and I can't get it to the test station unless I knock down the neighbour's garden wall.
Yes but if your old trailer was a car that never went on the road it wouldn't have to have an MOT either. I really don't understand what point you are trying to make. I declare a personal interest as I have a trailer that is used for storage only and I can't get it to the test station unless I knock down the neighbour's garden wall.
If a vehicle requiring an MOT, such as a car, is driven on a road it needs to be tested. Whether it gets used every day or once a year. Ditto the only chance to police it is when on the road as if it was parked on a driveway no-one would care. Are you saying the current MOT system for cars is stupid because they can be kept off road too?
I think the caravan thing is a good idea. Why the hell anyone wants to hold up the rest of the world so they can move a shed full of chintz to a field is beyond me! Never heard of an hotel?
Futuramic said:
pingu393 said:
I would suggest that most caravans (and trailers in the future, maybe) are on private land except for the 8 hours that they take to get from the Midlands to Cornwall. This means that the only chance to police the "MOT" is on the journey. Or are all caravans going to need a test, even the ones in back gardens that are used as hen-houses?
I declare a personal interest as I have a trailer that is used for storage only and I can't get it to the test station unless I knock down the neighbour's garden wall.
Yes but if your old trailer was a car that never went on the road it wouldn't have to have an MOT either. I really don't understand what point you are trying to make. I declare a personal interest as I have a trailer that is used for storage only and I can't get it to the test station unless I knock down the neighbour's garden wall.
If a vehicle requiring an MOT, such as a car, is driven on a road it needs to be tested. Whether it gets used every day or once a year. Ditto the only chance to police it is when on the road as if it was parked on a driveway no-one would care. Are you saying the current MOT system for cars is stupid because they can be kept off road too?
I think the caravan thing is a good idea. Why the hell anyone wants to hold up the rest of the world so they can move a shed full of chintz to a field is beyond me! Never heard of an hotel?
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jagracer said:
zed4 said:
I'm getting in comply with EU regs with LED side marker lights (wonder how long they will last after being dunked in the sea?!)
As they're sealed I would think they'd last a lot longer than bulbs, that's if boat trailers need to be fitted with side markers at the moment.The lights and all the wiring P-clips all seem to be drilled and riveted to the trailer after being galvanised too. That will help with corrosion. We've also had to sort out wiring on some trailers after its chaffed on the galvanising sharp edges.
zed4 said:
Jawaman said:
zed4 said:
I'm waiting for trailers to have MOTs, as Germany do. Some of the boat trailers I see at work are laughable, or at least they would be if they weren't so dangerous!
I was following a fairly new disco about a month ago, towing a reasonable looking speedboat. I was just thinking how crap the trailer looked when the near side wheel collapsed. Thankfully only doing about 20mph at the time through road works...Why spend all that money on a boat and risk your investment by carrying it on a cack trailer?
People often bring boats in for me to sell with worn out trailers, and then complain when I give them an estimate to get it up to scratch!
On a different note, we had a boat stolen from our yard once. The boat wasn't strapped down onto the trailer and after a couple of miles, the entire boat rolled off the trailer in the middle of the road. This was in the middle of the night, the next morning there was a bit of a traffic jam when a boat was sat on the road with no sign of the trailer!
The new proposals are for all types of trailer to be subject to MOTs
I think its 4 years from first used then every two years
Due to many types of trailer not being plated such as home made ones then its likely a sticker system will be brought in like we have for the tax disc with those stickers being the destructable ones so they cannot be transferred
this is still some way off
I think its 4 years from first used then every two years
Due to many types of trailer not being plated such as home made ones then its likely a sticker system will be brought in like we have for the tax disc with those stickers being the destructable ones so they cannot be transferred
this is still some way off
I drag an old (circa 14 years old) 'van to race tracks around the country. Always check and double check tyres, pressures, hitch and lighting before setting off without fail, caravan itself looks a little scruffy on the outside but its clean and safe, which is more important! The thought of something happening after not checking makes my stomach churn. I also drive at the speed limit at all times to avoid upsetting road users wherever possible and set off at times when I will inconvenience the least number of people.
Trouble is a couple of times I have been stuck behind someone dragging one with a Golf clearly struggling as their car does not have the presense to drag something like that and they are pootling along at 30mph, its embaressing so rather than make people sit in a queue behind two slow moving vans and having people hurl abuse at me and try dangerous overtakes I pull off the road and let everyone by for 20 minutes or so then crack on again.
It's a tricky balance but by using my brain I rarely upset anyone, it's all about considering your fellow petrol heads/motorists!
I support an annual check for Carvans and trailers but I think something also needs to be done about the cars used for towing. Sure a Golf or something has the require plating for a Caravan but is it suitable? Not really!
Trouble is a couple of times I have been stuck behind someone dragging one with a Golf clearly struggling as their car does not have the presense to drag something like that and they are pootling along at 30mph, its embaressing so rather than make people sit in a queue behind two slow moving vans and having people hurl abuse at me and try dangerous overtakes I pull off the road and let everyone by for 20 minutes or so then crack on again.
It's a tricky balance but by using my brain I rarely upset anyone, it's all about considering your fellow petrol heads/motorists!
I support an annual check for Carvans and trailers but I think something also needs to be done about the cars used for towing. Sure a Golf or something has the require plating for a Caravan but is it suitable? Not really!
geeks said:
I drag an old (circa 14 years old) 'van to race tracks around the country. Always check and double check tyres, pressures, hitch and lighting before setting off without fail, caravan itself looks a little scruffy on the outside but its clean and safe, which is more important! The thought of something happening after not checking makes my stomach churn. I also drive at the speed limit at all times to avoid upsetting road users wherever possible and set off at times when I will inconvenience the least number of people.
Trouble is a couple of times I have been stuck behind someone dragging one with a Golf clearly struggling as their car does not have the presense to drag something like that and they are pootling along at 30mph, its embaressing so rather than make people sit in a queue behind two slow moving vans and having people hurl abuse at me and try dangerous overtakes I pull off the road and let everyone by for 20 minutes or so then crack on again.
It's a tricky balance but by using my brain I rarely upset anyone, it's all about considering your fellow petrol heads/motorists!
I support an annual check for Carvans and trailers but I think something also needs to be done about the cars used for towing. Sure a Golf or something has the require plating for a Caravan but is it suitable? Not really!
Good points geeks. The problem with Golfs, Civics, etc., for towing, is that in theory they have the ability, certainly some of them the power (eg some of the Golf diesels 170bhp - I would like that in my Saab!). But there it ends. I cannot see the sense in towing a large caravan with one of them with regard to the tail wagging the dog. Granted, the high-power ones can storm up a hill, no bother - but what about coming down the other side? Then there are the lower-powered ones, which as you have pointed out do struggle up some inclines. They are the ones that give us a bad name. Trouble is a couple of times I have been stuck behind someone dragging one with a Golf clearly struggling as their car does not have the presense to drag something like that and they are pootling along at 30mph, its embaressing so rather than make people sit in a queue behind two slow moving vans and having people hurl abuse at me and try dangerous overtakes I pull off the road and let everyone by for 20 minutes or so then crack on again.
It's a tricky balance but by using my brain I rarely upset anyone, it's all about considering your fellow petrol heads/motorists!
I support an annual check for Carvans and trailers but I think something also needs to be done about the cars used for towing. Sure a Golf or something has the require plating for a Caravan but is it suitable? Not really!
Power to weight ratio matters; on our last trip out we came upon a 4 X 4 towing a 'van just a bit bigger than our Sterling and I noticed that we had crept up on him gradually. At an appropriate time, ie with no queue behind, we passed him. He kept up nicely at around 60-ish for several miles, a sensible distance behind us. We came to a long incline and I had the cruise on set at 62 on the speedo. After a few hundred yards he seemed to go backwards. Over the hill, he began to catch up again. I can only assume that his outfit was loaded to the max. So it is not always the small cars that hold up the traffic. Our old Rover 45 TDi with 115bhp was pretty good pulling our 1000kg Elddis Whirlwind. 1000kg was the Rover's limit, but I think that must have been chassis limitations as it was obviously capable of pulling far more. The previous unit to the Elddis we had was a Pennine Pathfinder (also 1000kg max) which, due to the lack of drag, I found difficulty in keeping down to the towing limits. I tend to use cruise with the Saab once on open roads for that same reason; it is hard to keep the speed down.
FWIW
Pete
Out of interest are there any reliable statistics for the number of accidents/deaths/injuries caused by the trailer or caravan itself failing rather than poor driving or loading? If not, how can anyone say that a compulsory check will make much if any difference? If anything, compulsory driver training before being allowed to tow would be a better idea. But if the number of accidents involving trailers or caravans is so low as to be background noise, why bother doing anything at all? The Bill can already use existing legislation to pull over a dangerous trailer or caravan.
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