Trailer towing:- B and B+E licence rules explained
Discussion
Skylinecrazy said:
Can you explain that in laymans terms without acronyms etc? No idea what 'plated' weight means. I'll sound stupid here but I'd rather know.
Super Slo Mo said:
Maximum gross weights as per the 'plate' on your car. Hence the term. Every vehicle has a plate on it somewhere with the weights detailed on it.
Probably not much interest here but If you drive a goods vehicle over 3.5 tons you also have a VOSA plate which gives the maximum permissible weights for the UK, these are often different to the manufacturers plate. My truck has a manufacturers max weight of 34 tons but uk max of 32 tons.Super Slo Mo said:
True, but taking a broader view, and not just relating it to cars, there are plenty of things that are legal but not safe, some bordering on downright dangerous that we choose to do. Or at least, some of us do. It can be quite exciting to pursue dangerous activities, hence why people do daft things like sky diving, free climbing, base jumping etc.
There are degrees of safety based on your own perception of risk too, for some, motorcycling is not safe enough, for others it's perfectly fine.
However, going back to the topic at hand, towing a trailer that's legal but that's trying it's best to dominate the car is not a particularly fun experience, although that said, getting through it unscathed is a little exhilarating
.
Well saidThere are degrees of safety based on your own perception of risk too, for some, motorcycling is not safe enough, for others it's perfectly fine.
However, going back to the topic at hand, towing a trailer that's legal but that's trying it's best to dominate the car is not a particularly fun experience, although that said, getting through it unscathed is a little exhilarating
.
Skylinecrazy said:
Can you explain that in laymans terms without acronyms etc? No idea what 'plated' weight means. I'll sound stupid here but I'd rather know.
GVW = Permissable Gross Vehicle Weight or in laymans terms - the legal maximum weight it can be when fully loadedMAM = Permissable Maximum authorised Mass or in laymans terms - the legal maximum weight it can be when fully loaded
R0G said:
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 itI 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 can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) and up to 8 passenger seats, and a driver, with trailer up to 750kg; trailers over 750kg if combined weight of vehicle and trailer isn't over 3,500kg and the fully-loaded trailer doesn't weigh more than the unladen vehicle.
So essentially does this mean I could potentially pull an empty car transporter for instance ?
Supernova190188 said:
I've just viewed my driving record on the DVLA website , and it states the following with regards to towing:
You can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) and up to 8 passenger seats, and a driver, with trailer up to 750kg; trailers over 750kg if combined weight of vehicle and trailer isn't over 3,500kg and the fully-loaded trailer doesn't weigh more than the unladen vehicle.
So essentially does this mean I could potentially pull an empty car transporter for instance ?
Not on a B only licence if the vehicle GVW added to the trailer plated MAM totals more than 3500 kgYou can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) and up to 8 passenger seats, and a driver, with trailer up to 750kg; trailers over 750kg if combined weight of vehicle and trailer isn't over 3,500kg and the fully-loaded trailer doesn't weigh more than the unladen vehicle.
So essentially does this mean I could potentially pull an empty car transporter for instance ?
That Gov quote misses out one very important word = MAM
Its not 3500 max actual weight but 3500 max plated weight
R0G said:
Not on a B only licence if the vehicle GVW added to the trailer plated MAM totals more than 3500 kg
That Gov quote misses out one very important word = MAM
Its not 3500 max actual weight but 3500 max plated weight
Let's be honest the .gov website is pretty woeful compared with its predecessor site. It's full of misinformation and inaccuracies. That Gov quote misses out one very important word = MAM
Its not 3500 max actual weight but 3500 max plated weight
jagracer said:
Let's be honest the .gov website is pretty woeful compared with its predecessor site. It's full of misinformation and inaccuracies.
You are not kidding ..... this bit was revoked on 19/01/2013 ...."and the fully-loaded trailer doesn't weigh more than the unladen vehicle."
R0G said:
Supernova190188 said:
I've just viewed my driving record on the DVLA website , and it states the following with regards to towing:
You can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) and up to 8 passenger seats, and a driver, with trailer up to 750kg; trailers over 750kg if combined weight of vehicle and trailer isn't over 3,500kg and the fully-loaded trailer doesn't weigh more than the unladen vehicle.
So essentially does this mean I could potentially pull an empty car transporter for instance ?
Not on a B only licence if the vehicle GVW added to the trailer plated MAM totals more than 3500 kgYou can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) and up to 8 passenger seats, and a driver, with trailer up to 750kg; trailers over 750kg if combined weight of vehicle and trailer isn't over 3,500kg and the fully-loaded trailer doesn't weigh more than the unladen vehicle.
So essentially does this mean I could potentially pull an empty car transporter for instance ?
That Gov quote misses out one very important word = MAM
Its not 3500 max actual weight but 3500 max plated weight
Supernova190188 said:
Yeah , which is confusing as far as I was concerned from my example above I technically couldn't pull an empty trailer behind a large 4x4 as MAM plated would be over 3500kg, however from the DVLA website it seems to say you can as long as trailer isn't heavier than tow car and it's all under 3500kg - which seems to actually be the rules if you passed after Jan 2013 , so if you got pulled over then where exactly would you stand? Which set of rules do the police go by ?
Police go by the LAW as written in the statute which is as I stated and not as some badly written piece on a website albeit by a Gov deptThe date of passing B make no difference to the current law on B towing which is the same for all
If you doubt me then feel free to consult a lawyer well versed in traffic law
R0G said:
Supernova190188 said:
Yeah , which is confusing as far as I was concerned from my example above I technically couldn't pull an empty trailer behind a large 4x4 as MAM plated would be over 3500kg, however from the DVLA website it seems to say you can as long as trailer isn't heavier than tow car and it's all under 3500kg - which seems to actually be the rules if you passed after Jan 2013 , so if you got pulled over then where exactly would you stand? Which set of rules do the police go by ?
Police go by the LAW as written in the statute which is as I stated and not as some badly written piece on a website albeit by a Gov deptThe date of passing B make no difference to the current law on B towing which is the same for all
If you doubt me then feel free to consult a lawyer well versed in traffic law
Supernova190188 said:
I don't doubt you whatsoever , you're very helpful on this subject! So essentially it would be illegal for me to tow an empty trailer with a large 4x4 , but legal for someone who passed this year to do it?
NO - the towing laws are the same/identical/no difference for all B licence driversThis is the weight plate from a Brian James Clubman car transporter trailer
It shows:
500kg unladen weight (this is the weight of the trailer in its normal running state with no load)
1840kg max gross weight (this is the absolute most the trailer and its load can weigh combined, and the important number you need to know if you don't have B+E)
920kg maximum load per axle (two axles)
1340kg payload (the maximum weight of the load. notice that payload + unladen weight = maximum gross weight)
So if you don't have B+E then you need to take note that the MGW is 1840kg. This number, added to the maximum gross weight of your towing vehicle can not exceed 3500kg. My car has a MGW of 2195kg so without B+E I could not tow this trailer, regardless of whether it is loaded or not.
It shows:
500kg unladen weight (this is the weight of the trailer in its normal running state with no load)
1840kg max gross weight (this is the absolute most the trailer and its load can weigh combined, and the important number you need to know if you don't have B+E)
920kg maximum load per axle (two axles)
1340kg payload (the maximum weight of the load. notice that payload + unladen weight = maximum gross weight)
So if you don't have B+E then you need to take note that the MGW is 1840kg. This number, added to the maximum gross weight of your towing vehicle can not exceed 3500kg. My car has a MGW of 2195kg so without B+E I could not tow this trailer, regardless of whether it is loaded or not.
tehguy said:
So if you don't have B+E then you need to take note that the MGW is 1840kg. This number, added to the maximum gross weight of your towing vehicle can not exceed 3500kg. My car has a MGW of 2195kg so without B+E I could not tow this trailer, regardless of whether it is loaded or not.
If The law should stick to the actual weights being towed, rather than weights that you could hypothetically tow whilst remaining within the trailer MGW. It's a bit of an arsewipe at the moment.
onomatopoeia said:
If youthe manufacturer made a new plate for the trailer that said the maximum gross weight of the trailer was 1300kg and the maximum load was 800kg, you could, as vehicle MGW + trailer MGW = 3495kg.
The law should stick to the actual weights being towed, rather than weights that you could hypothetically tow whilst remaining within the trailer MGW. It's a bit of an arsewipe at the moment.
If a new plate was made at 1300 then minus the 920 empty weight it would only leave 380 kg for the load not 800The law should stick to the actual weights being towed, rather than weights that you could hypothetically tow whilst remaining within the trailer MGW. It's a bit of an arsewipe at the moment.
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