B + E Trailer test, anyone done it?

[McSam]

RussH91 said:

Yes if i get B+E I wont be able to tow behind renault master (unless its empty ideal for towing).
and I would only be able to tow a extra 350kg behind berlingo. Arse.
does that mean i would have to take my class C to tow 3.5 ton boat? (Yes and a different tow vehicle)

No no, what I wrote there is for B alone, without B+E - if do you get B+E, you can tow whatever you like up to a total MAM of 8.25T

[R0G]

EDLT said:

my license just says "B" on it (and I got it in 2006) does that mean I can only tow a trailer up to 750kg or can I pull a pull a 1000kg trailer with a 2000kg car?

With your B licence you need to know the plated MAM of the trailer (or the load rating of the tyres if no plate) and the UNLADEN (empty) weight of your car

The MAM (or the load rating of the tyres) of the trailer must not be more than the unladen weight of your car
The actual weights of the car and trailer added together must not be more than 3.5 tonnes

Does that help you?

PS - different rules apply for B+E

Edited by R0G on Tuesday 7th June 12:45

[The Wookie]

I did the B+E test a few years ago, having had plenty of experience towing trailers below the standard license limit.

As I didn't have a car/trailer combo that met the requirements for the test (the trailer has to be a certain size compared to the car, and has to block the mirror), and I wasn't sure of the format of the test, I took an instructor and his car for half a day.

He took me through the routine of the test (there's specific manouevres that have to be completed, and a proper unhitch/hitch procedure), we drove to the test centre, and I passed with more minors than I'd care to share.

It was a 'proper' test, but the examiner could have failed me on one item in the hitching procedure if he wanted to. I think basically if you're competent at driving with a trailer, know the proper procedure for the test and don't do anything rampantly wrong then you'll be alright. I'd say that an instructor for a few hours to take you through it and 'refresh' you to driving test spec is worth the money though.

It cost me £275 for the instructor and whatever the test fee is, if I remember rightly.

[R0G]

DSA BE test fee is currently £115 for Monday to Friday tests during normal working hours

[Sandy0728]

I've passed mine last month.
After towing trailers and now a c*****n I thought it was about time I got legal! I had been winging it by making sure I had a passenger that was already legal to tow trailers so I could claim under tuition, but I never had to test the theory.

As has been said the hardest bit is the maneuver, but you are allowed to stop & move forwards before carrying on with it. You are also allowed to get out of the car to check your distance from the back, once.

Also the un-hitch/coupling up has certain points that you must carry out (i.e. checking the handbrake works before connecting up) but is common sense.

The critical bit is making sure you remember all the mirror, signal maneuver type stuff & feeding the wheel rather than spinning it!

I took 2 days tuition followed by the test, but I did not really pick up anything new.

I did fail the first one though!! A stupid mistake on my part so no excuses.
In the rain on strange roads with crap road markings I managed to stop on a keep clear box.
Passed with one minor the second time - using my car & borrowed trailer.

I have the course notes if it’s any use to anybody.
Including the layout of the reversing course - I practiced in a car park before the second attempt due to different car/trailer combo.

If you are sorting your own trailer out, a twin axle is better as they react slower when reversing. And it must be a box trailer to restrict your rear view mirror view.

Oh and my instructor said they are introducing a minimum weight onto the trailer spec soon, I'm sure he said something about the trailer must have 600 kg of ballast in it.

Sandy.

[Distant]

My advice would be to do your homework. I teach B+E and quite often see people turning up for test without the foggiest idea of whats expeted of you.

You will be expected to drive to a higher standard than your car L-test, with extra consideration for the trailer. You will not be expected to shuffle the wheel, steer normally, as long as you don't loose control you'll be fine.

There is a set procedure for doing the uncouple and recouple, it's easy to fail on this if you don't give them what they want!

Don't get talked into buying a 4 or 5 day course. I get most people to test standard (even if they haven't towed before) in less than 8 hours.

[R0G]

doogz said:

You know said passenger has to have passed the test and held their licence for 3 years, yeah? Grandfather rights don't cover you to "instruct" anymore.

ANY BE licence holder who has held that licence for over 3 years and is over age 21 can supervise a BE learner as long as both are insured and 'L' plates are used

There has been some confusion on this issue as many get it confused with the supervising of C1 and D1 drivers which changed recently

[alangla]

RussH91 said:

Yes if i get B+E I wont be able to tow behind renault master (unless its empty ideal for towing).
and I would only be able to tow a extra 350kg behind berlingo. Arse.
does that mean i would have to take my class C to tow 3.5 ton boat? (Yes and a different tow vehicle)

Your class C will only cover you for the tow vehicle if it's over 3.5 tons - if you want to tow a trailer over 750kg with a class C vehicle, then you need a C+E (aka a class 1 HGV licence!) AFAIAA.

For the person posting about 7m trailers - I've seen a few gliders travelling with the wings removed inside a shaped single-axle box trailer hauled by a car. That's probably up around the 7m length.

[Distant]

R0G said:

doogz said:

You know said passenger has to have passed the test and held their licence for 3 years, yeah? Grandfather rights don't cover you to "instruct" anymore.

ANY BE licence holder who has held that licence for over 3 years and is over age 21 can supervise a BE learner as long as both are insured and 'L' plates are used

There has been some confusion on this issue as many get it confused with the supervising of C1 and D1 drivers which changed recently

Sorry doogz, ROG is correct. It's not the first time I've heard that though.

[Baked_bean]

Benbay001 said:

Did you have much reversing with a trailer practice before hand?

Urm a little bit but the trailers were much longer (6m without frame) than my test trailer, i didnt 'get it' until my lessons though.

Good luck though.

[Acheron]

shouldbworking said:

You can drive those on a car license provided its not for hire or reward.. which seems a little unlikely

Are you sure? I thought B was 7 seats maximum...

[mph1977]

McSam said:

o no, what I wrote there is for B alone, without B+E - if do you get B+E, you can tow whatever you like up to a total MAM of 8.25T

exactly hence towing a 3500 kg trailer ( which iirc is the max allowed on overrun brakes) with a land rover 110/130 / rangie/ disco/ patrol GR ...

interestingly vans often have quite modest towing capacities i.e. 2000kg towing and 3500 mam = MPLTM of 5500 kg

[R0G]

mph1977 said:

interestingly vans often have quite modest towing capacities i.e. 2000kg towing and 3500 mam = MPLTM of 5500 kg

In the above case the van could be loaded at 2.75 tonnes and so could the trailer if the trailer MAM allows it
2 X 2.750 = 5.500

[R0G]

shouldbworking said:

Acheron said:

Sorry to hijack a little bit, but what about D1 licences? Anyone done that, and how much was it?

The reason i ask is at work, we have these;


And they have 9 or 10 seats in (cant remember exactly). All the oldies are retiring, leaving us with the predicement that drivers for these vehicles are becoming a bit like gold dust.

You can drive those on a car license provided its not for hire or reward.. which seems a little unlikely

The car licence you are referring to is those pre 97 ones which got D1 (101) for free

If thinking about taking a course on D1 then compare that with the price for D which covers D1

[LooneyTunes]

shouldbworking said:

Acheron said:

Sorry to hijack a little bit, but what about D1 licences? Anyone done that, and how much was it?

The reason i ask is at work, we have these;


And they have 9 or 10 seats in (cant remember exactly). All the oldies are retiring, leaving us with the predicement that drivers for these vehicles are becoming a bit like gold dust.

You can drive those on a car license provided its not for hire or reward.. which seems a little unlikely

Surely driving for work purposes is "for reward"? Even more so if you bag overtime if your the only person with the relevant license class prepared to work then?

[R0G]

There is nothing to determine what exactly constitues reward in the case of a 101 restriction - only a court case for each individual senario can determine it
I have a letter from the DfT Minister stating this

[LooneyTunes]

R0G said:

There is nothing to determine what exactly constitues reward in the case of a 101 restriction - only a court case for each individual senario can determine it
I have a letter from the DfT Minister stating this

Wow - surprised about this. Would have expected it to be much more clear cut, with specific guidance... otherwise it's a case of potentially not finding out until you're stuffed.

[R0G]

LooneyTunes said:

R0G said:

There is nothing to determine what exactly constitues reward in the case of a 101 restriction - only a court case for each individual senario can determine it
I have a letter from the DfT Minister stating this

Wow - surprised about this. Would have expected it to be much more clear cut, with specific guidance... otherwise it's a case of potentially not finding out until you're stuffed.

It is a grey area in some cases but it will go away when all the D1(101)s are no more

[Super Slo Mo]

McSam said:

o no, what I wrote there is for B alone, without B+E - if do you get B+E, you can tow whatever you like up to a total MAM of 8.25T

You'd be lucky to find a trailer that weighs less than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and has an MAM of 4.75 tonnes. And you'd be lucky to find a towing vehicle that can legally pull a trailer that heavy.

For a start, you require powered (air) brakes on a trailer that weights more than 3.5 tonnes (for road use), and even the 4x4 vehicles only have a max trailer weight of 3.5 tonnes. As you can't drive a vehicle that weighs more than 3.5 tonnes on a 'B' licence, the max all up train weight you're likely to see is about 6.5 tonnes behind one of the bigger 4x4's.

[R0G]

there is also the newish law that states a maximum trailer weight of 3.5 tonnes MAM/GVW for a B vehicle pulling a trailer so the absolute max would be 7 tonnes and that is if you could find a vehicle under 3.5 that has a GTW of 7.0 tonnes!!