Towing Laws and Regulations

[b17blg]

Evening All

Happy New Year!

So, I need some clarification and as I keep going round in circles reading one thing and then another,telling myself yes that's fine, but then, no then doesn't sound right!

I plan to tow a car with another car on a trailer and i acquired my license after 1st January 1997 which is when the 3500KG limit came into action.

So here are the facts and figures:

Towing Vehicle:

VW Golf GTD 2.0TDi
kerb Weight 1377KG
Towing Capacity: 1800KG


Vehicle to be Towed
2008 Vauxhall Astra VXR
Kerb Weight 1230KG

Now it doesn't actually weigh that with all the heavy seats removed etc etc but for legalities,I want to play it on the safe side.

So this is the statement i've been reading:

"If you passed your car driving test on or after 1 January 1997 you can: drive a car or van up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass ( MAM ) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM. tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg"
https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/what-you-can-to...


So am I right in thinking that the 1377KG Golf + 1230KG Astra gives me a total weight of 2607KG. Now bearing in mind the towing capacity of the Golf (1800KG) that means i could find a trailer that weighs 570KG or lower thus giving me a total weight of 1377KG + 1230KG + 570KG = 3177KG.

I'm guessing that's all legal in line with UK road law? The trailer that i would use is twin axle and will be braked also if that makes any difference?

Any help or confirmation is much appreciated! I know there are a lot of people on here who have trailers etc!

Thanks

Ben

[Red Devil]

Er, have you looked at the sticky at the top of SP&L?
As R0G says the gov.uk site is not always the best resource...

[scorcher]

Have you read the sticky by ROG at the top of this section?

[anonymous-user]

b17blg said:

Evening All

Happy New Year!

So, I need some clarification and as I keep going round in circles reading one thing and then another,telling myself yes that's fine, but then, no then doesn't sound right!

I plan to tow a car with another car on a trailer and i acquired my license after 1st January 1997 which is when the 3500KG limit came into action.

So here are the facts and figures:

Towing Vehicle:

VW Golf GTD 2.0TDi
kerb Weight 1377KG
Towing Capacity: 1800KG


Vehicle to be Towed
2008 Vauxhall Astra VXR
Kerb Weight 1230KG

Now it doesn't actually weigh that with all the heavy seats removed etc etc but for legalities,I want to play it on the safe side.

So this is the statement i've been reading:

"If you passed your car driving test on or after 1 January 1997 you can: drive a car or van up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass ( MAM ) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM. tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg"
https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/what-you-can-to...


So am I right in thinking that the 1377KG Golf + 1230KG Astra gives me a total weight of 2607KG. Now bearing in mind the towing capacity of the Golf (1800KG) that means i could find a trailer that weighs 570KG or lower thus giving me a total weight of 1377KG + 1230KG + 570KG = 3177KG.

I'm guessing that's all legal in line with UK road law? The trailer that i would use is twin axle and will be braked also if that makes any difference?

Any help or confirmation is much appreciated! I know there are a lot of people on here who have trailers etc!

Thanks

Ben

No you won't be able to as it's the plated weights that they add up not the loaded weights. i.e. the trailer will have a MAM way in excess of what you're actually carrying but that is what they take into account.

[scorcher]

You may also fall down on the fact you want to tow more than the kerb weight of the towing car on your 'restricted' licence?

[AlexRS2782]

Red Devil said:

Er, have you looked at the sticky at the top of SP&L?
As R0G says the gov.uk site is not always the best resource...

scorcher said:

Have you read the sticky by ROG at the top of this section?

Here's a link to the thread, as referenced by the posters above.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[b17blg]

Thanks for the link and pointing me in the direction of that sticky thread.

The .gov website makes it really easy to assume you are abiding by the law!

So the MAM of the Golf is 1850KG which leaves me to look at a trailer with a MAM of 1650 but weighs 400KG or less so I can add the 1200KG of the vehicle being towed?

Even if I did my trailer test I'm guessing I'm still in a difficult position?

[Red Devil]

b17blg said:

So the MAM of the Golf is 1850KG which leaves me to look at a trailer with a MAM of 1650 but weighs 400KG or less so I can add the 1200KG of the vehicle being towed?

Not if you only have a B licence. Then it's the kerb weight of the towing vehicle that counts, not its MAM.

R0G said:

To tow over 750 kgs with a B licence you need to say NO to the following:-
Is the plated MAM of the trailer more than the UNLADEN/KERB/EMPTY weight of the towing vehicle?

Using the figures for your vehicle kerb weight and plated MAM of the trailer (above), the answer is YES.
You would need a trailer with a plated MAM ≤1377kg. But then you have to look at the second part.

R0G said:

Does the GVW of the towing vehicle plus the plated MAM of the trailer add up to more than 3500 kgs?
Is the ACTUAL weight of the empty trailer and its load more than the listed towing capacity?

You can't exceed the towing capacity of your car so you'll be restricted to a trailer with a UW ≤570kg

b17blg said:

Even if I did my trailer test I'm guessing I'm still in a difficult position?

For a B+E licence use the example R0G gives for where the towing capacity is listed.
What counts is the unladen weight of the trailer plus the weight of what you're carying on it.
In your case if that is less than 1800kg you're good to go.
Witht he known kerb weight of the Astra, your trailer UW will need to be ≤570kg.

Note that the latter is the same in both cases.
E

b17blg said:

So the MAM of the Golf is 1850KG which leaves me to look at a trailer with a MAM of 1650 but weighs 400KG or less so I can add the 1200KG of the vehicle being towed?

Not if you only have a B licence. Then it's the kerb weight of the towing vehicle that counts, not its MAM.

R0G said:

To tow over 750 kgs with a B licence you need to say NO to the following:-
Is the plated MAM of the trailer more than the UNLADEN/KERB/EMPTY weight of the towing vehicle?

Using the figures for your vehicle kerb weight and plated MAM of the trailer (above), the answer is YES.
You would need a trailer with a plated MAM ≤1377kg. But then you have to look at the second part.

R0G said:

Does the GVW of the towing vehicle plus the plated MAM of the trailer add up to more than 3500 kgs?
Is the ACTUAL weight of the empty trailer and its load more than the listed towing capacity?

You can't exceed the towing capacity of your car so you'll be restricted to a trailer with a UW ≤570kg

b17blg said:

Even if I did my trailer test I'm guessing I'm still in a difficult position?

For a B+E licence use the example R0G gives for where the towing capacity is listed.
What counts is the unladen weight of the trailer plus the weight of what you're carying on it.
In your case if that is less than 1800kg you're good to go.
With the known kerb weight of the Astra, your trailer UW will need to be ≤570kg.

Note that the latter is the same on either licence due to the listed towing capacity of your VW.

[R0G]

R0G said:

To tow over 750 kgs with a B licence you need to say NO to the following:-
Is the plated MAM of the trailer more than the UNLADEN/KERB/EMPTY weight of the towing vehicle?

That rule was revoked on 19/01/2013

I have edited that bit out of the sticky

Edited by R0G on Sunday 8th January 10:16

[R0G]

b17blg said:

Thanks for the link and pointing me in the direction of that sticky thread.

The .gov website makes it really easy to assume you are abiding by the law!

So the MAM of the Golf is 1850KG which leaves me to look at a trailer with a MAM of 1650 but weighs 400KG or less so I can add the 1200KG of the vehicle being towed?

Even if I did my trailer test I'm guessing I'm still in a difficult position?

This is legal with your B licence

Car
GVW 1850
Tow max 1800

Trailer
MAM 1650
Empty 400
Max load for trailer 1250

If you find a trailer that is 400 empty but plated too high then providing the manufacturer is still trading you can get them to down plate it

[powerstroke]

I think the whole thing is madness either you are deemed safe to tow or you should have to take a test before you are allowed tow anything ,
another over complicated pathetic example of pen pusher stupidity .... idiots !!! so a little trailer is safe but a bigger one might be dangerous

[R0G]

powerstroke said:

I think the whole thing is madness either you are deemed safe to tow or you should have to take a test before you are allowed tow anything ,
another over complicated pathetic example of pen pusher stupidity .... idiots !!! so a little trailer is safe but a bigger one might be dangerous

Those of us with pre 97 licences do not seem to have a great issue with towing so what makes post 96 drivers less capable ?

I posted the info in the sticky to make it more simple to understand

[rewc]

powerstroke said:

I think the whole thing is madness either you are deemed safe to tow or you should have to take a test before you are allowed tow anything ,
another over complicated pathetic example of pen pusher stupidity .... idiots !!! so a little trailer is safe but a bigger one might be dangerous

At 70 you retain the BE if you have it so can tow 'large trailers' with a 3500 MAM vehicle. You have to take a medical to retain C1 to drive a vehicle over 3500kg MAM. Is it more dangerous to drive a 4250kg motorhome than tow a combination with a train weight far exceeding that. As you say madness.


As far as 'little' trailers go they could weigh 1500kg and be towed by a reasonable sized car on a B only licence.

Edited by rewc on Sunday 8th January 11:04

[silverfoxcc]

B17big

thanks for your unitentional way of giving me a chuckle. I intend to tow a car, with another car on a trailer

I thought brave man

Towing car + towed car + trailer with car on.

Knew what you meant but i still got a great mental picture of this land train!!
As an aside has the B17 name got anything to do with trains?

[George111]

I've towed a kit car (500ish Kg) on a trailer many times with cars and even that scenario is not ideal. People think towing is just hitching up a trailer and going for it but there are many situations, especially these days, where it's not safe. With a VW Golf I'd happily tow a small camping trailer or even a single motorbike on a trailer but nothing more. It might be legal to tow more but until you've done it on a regular basis you won't appreciate the risks and difficulties.

Either rent a much heavier vehicle, like a 4x4 or at least a much heavier car or get somebody else to do it.

[R0G]

The golf empty with a driver is going to be say 1450 actual weight
The trailer loaded is going to be about 1600 actual weight

That being the case then I would not tow it because it could easily be a case of the tail wagging the dog !

Fully loaded car towing fully loaded trailer then yes I would tow it

[Willy Nilly]

I'm glad these laws are so clear and easy to understand.

[Nigel Worc's]

Willy Nilly said:

I'm glad these laws are so clear and easy to understand.

I often wonder why motoring laws are not written in a simple fashion, apply Rogs towing rule to vans for example, it actually matters who the towed goods belong to then !

[R0G]

Nigel Worc's said:

I often wonder why motoring laws are not written in a simple fashion, apply Rogs towing rule to vans for example, it actually matters who the towed goods belong to then !

Licence laws and commercial towing laws are different issues

[A500leroy]

Maximum weight the tow car can be must be more than the total weight the trailer can be loaded (ie trailer plus car on trailer)

Max weight tow car can be plus max weight trailer can be loaded must be less than 3500kg.