Discussion
QBee said:
Do you have a suitable towing vehicle,
and a pre-97 licence?
Well asked. Us old folks can drive and pull heavier loads on their car licence and many people don't realise it. and a pre-97 licence?
It's now 17 yrs since the licensing changed and I bet there's lots of under 35s towing heavy trailers or caravans around illegally without even realising it.
All categories here:
http://ukdrivers.com/Driver_licence_categories.asp
To quote:
"..Holders of full licence before 1/1/97 retain entitlement to B+E, C1, C1+E (8.25 tonnes), D1 (not for hire or reward), and D1+E (not for hire or reward)..."
The OP may well be as old a fart as me, in which case no problem, but if under 35 he could have a problem on the way back with the engine back in the car, as the post-1/1/97 licence rules (thanks for the link) say total weight of car and loaded trailer cannot exceed 3500 kg:
Car with engine in 1100 kg. Phazed's car trailer ? 600 kg? Any hired double axle car trailer with hand winch would typically be about 600 kg. (Smaller single axle trailers tend to be max gross weight 1300kg, so only suitable for Caterhams etc. Info source Brian james Catalogue) Total say 1700 kg.
Rules say towing car must exceed loaded weight of trailer. So car a minimum of 1700 kg, more likely to be 1900 to 2000 for a car, 2200kg for a 4x4. Plus the weight of the occupants
So squeezing under 3500 kg will be tricky on the way back. VOSA do random roadside checks, will weigh it and will impound the lot if you are overweight. Or if you do have an accident, you will effectively be uninsured.
My son-in-law (32) struggles to get an 800 kg caravan, Volvo XC90, their stuff and four of them under 3500 kg - his bloody fault for wanting to tow a caravan, i say.
Car with engine in 1100 kg. Phazed's car trailer ? 600 kg? Any hired double axle car trailer with hand winch would typically be about 600 kg. (Smaller single axle trailers tend to be max gross weight 1300kg, so only suitable for Caterhams etc. Info source Brian james Catalogue) Total say 1700 kg.
Rules say towing car must exceed loaded weight of trailer. So car a minimum of 1700 kg, more likely to be 1900 to 2000 for a car, 2200kg for a 4x4. Plus the weight of the occupants
So squeezing under 3500 kg will be tricky on the way back. VOSA do random roadside checks, will weigh it and will impound the lot if you are overweight. Or if you do have an accident, you will effectively be uninsured.
My son-in-law (32) struggles to get an 800 kg caravan, Volvo XC90, their stuff and four of them under 3500 kg - his bloody fault for wanting to tow a caravan, i say.
Remember also that its the plated weight of the trailer that is used, irrispective of whether actual weight is less on the trailer! So ig the trailer loaded according to plate is 2000kg, thats the weight used even if it only weighs in at 1500kg at the time. Same goes for tow vehicle, hence why people cant drive twin wheel vans (as they can often go to 4t loaded).
Trailer test iant hard though, and far easier to not have the worry!
Trailer test iant hard though, and far easier to not have the worry!
phazed said:
Got a small trailer thats suitable for a chim in the Dorking area.
Thats very kind, The car's in Lincolnshire, the engine's now in Crawley and I'm just north of watford.. If they were the other way round It'd be perfect. I'll have to try and hire one locally. Thank you any way. Oh and I'm a pre 97 old codger so no worries there. QBee said:
The OP may well be as old a fart as me, in which case no problem, but if under 35 he could have a problem on the way back with the engine back in the car, as the post-1/1/97 licence rules (thanks for the link) say total weight of car and loaded trailer cannot exceed 3500 kg:
Car with engine in 1100 kg. Phazed's car trailer ? 600 kg? Any hired double axle car trailer with hand winch would typically be about 600 kg. (Smaller single axle trailers tend to be max gross weight 1300kg, so only suitable for Caterhams etc. Info source Brian james Catalogue) Total say 1700 kg.
Rules say towing car must exceed loaded weight of trailer. So car a minimum of 1700 kg, more likely to be 1900 to 2000 for a car, 2200kg for a 4x4. Plus the weight of the occupants
So squeezing under 3500 kg will be tricky on the way back. VOSA do random roadside checks, will weigh it and will impound the lot if you are overweight. Or if you do have an accident, you will effectively be uninsured.
My son-in-law (32) struggles to get an 800 kg caravan, Volvo XC90, their stuff and four of them under 3500 kg - his bloody fault for wanting to tow a caravan, i say.
I never knew that. I passed my test in 1993 and have driven 7.5t trucks etc but we use our 4x4 to two ponies. Does that mean that the combined weight of the trailer and two ponies must not exceed the weight of the car (or it's max towing weight)?Car with engine in 1100 kg. Phazed's car trailer ? 600 kg? Any hired double axle car trailer with hand winch would typically be about 600 kg. (Smaller single axle trailers tend to be max gross weight 1300kg, so only suitable for Caterhams etc. Info source Brian james Catalogue) Total say 1700 kg.
Rules say towing car must exceed loaded weight of trailer. So car a minimum of 1700 kg, more likely to be 1900 to 2000 for a car, 2200kg for a 4x4. Plus the weight of the occupants
So squeezing under 3500 kg will be tricky on the way back. VOSA do random roadside checks, will weigh it and will impound the lot if you are overweight. Or if you do have an accident, you will effectively be uninsured.
My son-in-law (32) struggles to get an 800 kg caravan, Volvo XC90, their stuff and four of them under 3500 kg - his bloody fault for wanting to tow a caravan, i say.
That is an odd way around. I had mentally decided that the engine was with Rob near Beyond, a small Lincolnshirs village a few miles off the A17. Rob's workshop is at the back of Beyond..... 
I'd love to offer to help - I live 30 miles from Rob and have a 4x4 rated at 3.5 tonnes - but cannot see how it would save anything as I would have to hire a trailer from my local place as it is the car that needs transporting. If it had been the engine it would have gone in the tailgate area.
A decent double axle Brian James or Ifor Biggun trailer shoud cost about £60 to hire for the day or weekend.
I'd love to offer to help - I live 30 miles from Rob and have a 4x4 rated at 3.5 tonnes - but cannot see how it would save anything as I would have to hire a trailer from my local place as it is the car that needs transporting. If it had been the engine it would have gone in the tailgate area.
A decent double axle Brian James or Ifor Biggun trailer shoud cost about £60 to hire for the day or weekend.
TVR450s said:
Thats very kind, The car's in Lincolnshire, the engine's now in Crawley and I'm just north of watford.. If they were the other way round It'd be perfect. I'll have to try and hire one locally. Thank you any way. Oh and I'm a pre 97 old codger so no worries there.
I take it the engine is at Austecs?phazed said:
TVR450s said:
Thats very kind, The car's in Lincolnshire, the engine's now in Crawley and I'm just north of watford.. If they were the other way round It'd be perfect. I'll have to try and hire one locally. Thank you any way. Oh and I'm a pre 97 old codger so no worries there.
I take it the engine is at Austecs?StarmistBlue400 said:
I never knew that. I passed my test in 1993 and have driven 7.5t trucks etc but we use our 4x4 to two ponies. Does that mean that the combined weight of the trailer and two ponies must not exceed the weight of the car (or it's max towing weight)?
No, you are ok. The "car must weigh more than the trailer" rule only applies to 1997 onwards licences where the licence holder has not taken the additional trailer test.All you need to watch is that your vehicle is rated for sufficient towing weight. So know the weight of your ponies, and the weight of your trailer. A fat 14.2 would weigh close to 500 kg, a little 12.2 about 300 kg.
The thing that surprised me about the 1998-2004 4x4s and big estate cars was how many were rated at 2.1 - 2.3 tonnes, insufficient for my needs. XC90, X5 were two i can think of that were no use to me at the time. I think they have been uprated since.
The Landrover/Range Rover/Discovery are all 3.5 tonnes except for the small ones, as are the Jeep Cherokee and Mercedes ML. I don't know the Touareg etc....and won't guess.
I tow an Equitrek Spacetrekker L (circa 1200 kg), with a 700kg horse and a 500 kg horse, with a Mercedes ML 270 CDI diesel (rated for 3.5 tonnes). You are aware the trailer is there, but once up to speed it tows and stops fine. I previously towed the same 2.4 tonne load with a Ford Explorer 4.0 petrol/LPG (rated for 2.5 tonnes), and you were very aware that it was near its limit. Both vehicles weigh about 2 tonnes I believe.
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