Trailer towing:- B and B+E licence rules explained

[R0G]

gigybeast said:

I am on a B licence ...... 500kg, is it possible for me to tow that on a trailer? of some sort, it will only be a trailer that can tow that car

IFOR CT115 car transporter trailer weighs 350 empty and has a MAM of 1400 so that trailer with a towing vehicle which has a GVW of no more than 2100 (1400 + 2100 = 3500) and a towing capacity of at least 850 kgs (350 + 500 = 850) is legal on a B licence

If the towing vehicle has a GVW higher than 2100 - lets say 2300 - then the trailer can be down plated to 1200 by contacting the manufacturer - that would still work for you as you only need it to be able to take a load of 500 - 1200 minus 350 = 850 which is well above the 500 you need


Found a better one ....
http://www.prgtrailers.co.uk/cms/resources/prg-min...
Minisport trailer with a MAM of 1000 - empty 250 - payload 750
You could have a towing vehicle with a GVW of 2500 with that trailer on a B licence

Edited by R0G on Tuesday 13th May 20:12

[Rosscow]

Just this morning passed my B+E test. Phew!

15 years since I passed my driving test, that was quite stressful!

[R0G]

Rosscow said:

Just this morning passed my B+E test. Phew!

15 years since I passed my driving test, that was quite stressful!

WELL DONE

[Rosscow]

Cheers Rog

[onomatopoeia]

How does one work this out with something that is imported and (apparently) does not appear to have a GTW or other towing information shown on the plate?

The engine on my A6 having grenaded itself, I'm thinking specifically of a Bongo.

[R0G]

onomatopoeia said:

How does one work this out with something that is imported and (apparently) does not appear to have a GTW or other towing information shown on the plate?

The engine on my A6 having grenaded itself, I'm thinking specifically of a Bongo.

Not a clue - can only guess that DVLA might be able to help

[LouD86]

onomatopoeia said:

How does one work this out with something that is imported and (apparently) does not appear to have a GTW or other towing information shown on the plate?

The engine on my A6 having grenaded itself, I'm thinking specifically of a Bongo.

My Landrover Series 3 88" is the same. No Gross weight, no max laden weight on the logbook! Bit of a confusing matter really

[jagracer]

onomatopoeia said:

How does one work this out with something that is imported and (apparently) does not appear to have a GTW or other towing information shown on the plate?

The engine on my A6 having grenaded itself, I'm thinking specifically of a Bongo.

Have you thought of trying Google http://www.imperialcar.co.uk/bongo_facts

[R0G]

jagracer said:

Have you thought of trying Google http://www.imperialcar.co.uk/bongo_facts

Bongo Facts
Gross Vehicle Weight 2260 kg
Tow weight 1600 kg

If it had a plate it would be
GVW 2260
GTW 3860

Max plated MAM for a trailer (MTPLM caravan) on a B only licence would be 1240 kg
Max actual weight for the trailer including its load for a B+E is 1600 kg

[onomatopoeia]

jagracer said:

Have you thought of trying Google http://www.imperialcar.co.uk/bongo_facts

I did, I got a lot of people talking about 85% of the unladen weight. I also found the figure you mentioned although not with any evidence of where it was sourced or whether applicable to 2wd, 4wd, diesel, petrol etc.

1600kg is marginal for my needs, unfortunately.

[DaveBenyon]

All these rules are so nauseating that I know of a farmer who got rid of his HGV and all its pesky licences. The man had a powerful farm tractor so he built a trailer that was similar to the ones towed by articulated lorry tractor units. As he had numerous parcels of land in the area he was of course entitled to travel between them (probably on the cherryade!) The only drawback was that farm tractors cannot travel on motorways but this was of no consequence.

Good luck to the bloke as IMHO the UK has far too many Fat Controllers!

As to trailer towing, a Land Rover Discovery 300 TDi is very good. F'rinstance on the Severn Crossing it is classed as a car and car trailers are free!

Towing with a van can be very problematic I hear as allegedly one can be in numerous Catch 22 situations. Suppose the van is rated for a gross weight of 3500 kilos. The naive owner fits a tow-bar and tows (lets say) a 600 kilos gross trailer from Halfords. Even though the van and trailer may be empty it is possible that the police and VOSA will still assume that they have fictitious loads or will have heavy loads later in the journey. Gross Train Weight (fictitious GTW actually) now 3500 plus 600 kilos, 4100 kilos. If one only holds a 3500 kilo licence one can be in the sh!t right away even though one is not actually driving more than 3500 kilos. They may also want to see ones Tachograph!

There are many many cans of worms in this game and almost as many barrack-room-lawyers. Its gotten so bad that one really needs to have a solicitor in the passenger seat, that's actually a brilliant idea really, a drivers mate who is also a solicitor!

Take care!

[mph1977]

David benyon it seems the biggest barrack room lawyer is in facy your good self.

Fast tractors towing large trailers may be an option for certain farm uses but they do not and cannot directly replace a restricted O licence LGV in all possible scenarios.

Please kindly go and re read about unbraked trailers and vehicles with 3500 kg MAMs.

[Super Slo Mo]

DaveBenyon said:

Towing with a van can be very problematic I hear as allegedly one can be in numerous Catch 22 situations. Suppose the van is rated for a gross weight of 3500 kilos. The naive owner fits a tow-bar and tows (lets say) a 600 kilos gross trailer from Halfords. Even though the van and trailer may be empty it is possible that the police and VOSA will still assume that they have fictitious loads or will have heavy loads later in the journey. Gross Train Weight (fictitious GTW actually) now 3500 plus 600 kilos, 4100 kilos. If one only holds a 3500 kilo licence one can be in the sh!t right away even though one is not actually driving more than 3500 kilos. They may also want to see ones Tachograph!

You can't be prosecuted for something you haven't done. That's like saying you haven't got a motorbike licence so you might be prosecuted because the police think you might ride a motorbike later in the day.

If the vehicle is legal at the time of the VOSA/Police inspection, and your licence for it in its current state is valid, they can do nothing.

[R0G]

DaveBenyon said:

Towing with a van can be very problematic I hear as allegedly one can be in numerous Catch 22 situations. Suppose the van is rated for a gross weight of 3500 kilos. The naive owner fits a tow-bar and tows (lets say) a 600 kilos gross trailer from Halfords. Even though the van and trailer may be empty it is possible that the police and VOSA will still assume that they have fictitious loads or will have heavy loads later in the journey. Gross Train Weight (fictitious GTW actually) now 3500 plus 600 kilos, 4100 kilos. If one only holds a 3500 kilo licence one can be in the sh!t right away even though one is not actually driving more than 3500 kilos. They may also want to see ones Tachograph!

Dunno where you get your info but I think you need to go elsewhere to get it

The GTW refers to actual weight not plated weights - that's the law

This example is legal with a B+E licence
GVW 2800
GTW 3500
Towing capacity 1200
Trailer MAM 1500
Load vehicle to actual weight of 2300
Load trailer to actual weight of 1200
Tacho needed if for commercial use

[Supernova190188]

So as far as I can make out so far , am I right or wrong in the following scenario?
I passed my test in 2005 , say I have a big 4x4 with kerb weight of 2000kg and gvw of 2300kg then I could tow a small caravan with a MAM of 1200kg , but couldn't tow an empty car transporter with weight of 350kg and MAM of 1300kg, however if i had a smaller car with weight of 1350kg and MAM of 1600kg then I could tow the caravan and also empty or fully loaded car transporter trailer? Seems absolutely ridiculous if this is correct.

[R0G]

Supernova190188 said:

So as far as I can make out so far , am I right or wrong in the following scenario?
I passed my test in 2005 , say I have a big 4x4 with kerb weight of 2000kg and gvw of 2300kg then I could tow a small caravan with a MAM of 1200kg , but couldn't tow an empty car transporter with weight of 350kg and MAM of 1300kg, however if i had a smaller car with weight of 1350kg and MAM of 1600kg then I could tow the caravan and also empty or fully loaded car transporter trailer? Seems absolutely ridiculous if this is correct.

You just about got it

[Xpuffin]

Passed my test 1978 ( yes...I'm old) want to use a Vauxhall Vivaro plated 2970 and 4970 with a kerb weight? Of 1520
To tow a car trailer mam 2600 (1950 load 550 trailer weight)
Van will always be empty and I'd add 200kg for fuel and me (old AND fat)
Is this doable?
No vehicle towing weight plated or in handbook.

[Super Slo Mo]

Your Vivaro towing weight is, if I remember correctly, 2,000 kg's. It's rare to get vans that have towing weights that are greater than this, unless their own GVW is over 3,500 kg's.

The towing figure must be available somewhere.

[mph1977]

Super Slo Mo said:

Your Vivaro towing weight is, if I remember correctly, 2,000 kg's. It's rare to get vans that have towing weights that are greater than this, unless their own GVW is over 3,500 kg's.

The towing figure must be available somewhere.

which will be the 4970 on the vehicle ID plate

there should be 4 Masses on the vehicle plate

axle 1 , axle 2 , MAM , MTM

axle 1 +axle 2 will be slightly in excess of the MAM ( for 3500 kg vans typically the permissible axle masses add up to about 3800)

and the final figure 4970 in the case of the Vivaro is the Max Train Mass i.e. MAM of both vehicle and trailer.

[jagracer]

Super Slo Mo said:

Your Vivaro towing weight is, if I remember correctly, 2,000 kg's. It's rare to get vans that have towing weights that are greater than this, unless their own GVW is over 3,500 kg's.

The towing figure must be available somewhere.

Here http://vanleasingmadesimple.com/van-leasing/vauxha... Max towing weight is indeed 2000kg