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gazza808

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 08
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:36

But you can tow a corsa on a trailer with 1.5 tonne MAM with a 2tonne MAM car. On a licence taken after 97.

Leighton

Member

Registered: 21st Feb 01
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:37

All im going to say is me and Ian have spent alot of time looking into this and that is why i am getting a C1+E and he is upgrading the Pre 97 to a full C1+E as well.

Gazza if you want to tow by the way you are saying make sure you take a print of the website with you when you get stopped so you can try explane it

gazza808

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 08
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:38

I have been stopped by vosa, weighed me all was ok, and sent on my way. Was border line though.
People get trailer that can carry more then their licence allows hence why they get in trouble even though it could be empty

[Edited on 19-05-2010 by gazza808]

Nic Barnes

Member

Registered: 5th Apr 04
Location: nowhere near ginger people
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:38

quote:
Originally posted by gazza808
But you can tow a corsa on a trailer with 1.5 tonne MAM with a 2tonne MAM car. On a licence taken after 97.

no.

John

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 03
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:41

http://www.parkers.co.uk/Company-cars/Advice/Towing/

You must hold a full driving licence to to drive vehicle and trailer combinations weighing up to 8.25 tonnes. However, if you passed your test after January 1, 1997 then these restrictions apply:

Vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and no more than eight passenger seats (ie: officially dubbed Category B vehicles and are typical cars) with a 750kg trailer (4.25 tonnes total Maximum Authorised Mass or MAM).

That says you can't tow over 750kgMAM with a car.

Leighton

Member

Registered: 21st Feb 01
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:45

I think he is getting confuesd by looking at it as iff he can tow up to othe 4.25tonnes mark, were thats only listed if you have a big car like a disco that weighs 3.5 tonnes

gazza808

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 08
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:52

That I agree with a disco or larger van you are limited to 750kgs on normal licence,
but if you have a 2tonne car and 1.5tonne mam trailer your legal. Adding up to 3.5tonne.

[Edited on 19-05-2010 by gazza808]

pooly-adam

Member

Registered: 11th Feb 10
Location: Hartlepool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:55

i recently had this problem i rang dvla and a drivin train company and the answer was i can tow my caravan because the mamof my caravan is 850kg and that isnot heavier than me fvreelander then the both weights do not exceed 3.5tonne so i can tow my caravan without takin a seperate test wich i got quoted £630

gazza808

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 08
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:56

For example:

•a vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a MAM of 2 tonnes coupled with a trailer with a MAM of 1.25 tonnes could be driven by the holder of a category B entitlement. This is because the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and also the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle
Whereas

•the same vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a MAM of 2 tonnes when coupled with a trailer with a MAM of 1.5 tonnes would fall within category B+E. This is because although the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer is within the 3.5 tonnes MAM limit, the MAM of the trailer is more than the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle
•Vehicle manufacturers normally recommend a maximum weight of trailer appropriate to their vehicle. Details can usually be found in the vehicle's handbook or obtained from car dealerships. The size of the trailer recommended for an average family car with an unladen weight of around 1 tonne would be well within the new category B threshold.

gazza808

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 08
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 17:57

quote:
Originally posted by pooly-adam
i recently had this problem i rang dvla and a drivin train company and the answer was i can tow my caravan because the mamof my caravan is 850kg and that isnot heavier than me fvreelander then the both weights do not exceed 3.5tonne so i can tow my caravan without takin a seperate test wich i got quoted £630

exactly i did the same thing, even though it's also in black and white on the website.

pooly-adam

Member

Registered: 11th Feb 10
Location: Hartlepool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 18:01

u can i towmy caravan and its completely legal i dnt need a seperate licence as long as the mam of the traileris not more than the unladen weight of the vehicle then th both weights dnt go over 3.5 tonne

bigron1988

Member

Registered: 29th Aug 09
Location: Southport, Merseyside
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:06

so does this mean i need to do another licence or not ?lol

Nic Barnes

Member

Registered: 5th Apr 04
Location: nowhere near ginger people
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:08

the internet says you dont. and the internet never lies.

bigron1988

Member

Registered: 29th Aug 09
Location: Southport, Merseyside
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:12

lol, any links to companys that do the tests?, thanks

Nic Barnes

Member

Registered: 5th Apr 04
Location: nowhere near ginger people
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:14

yellow pages mate for your area. should be a lot listed.

my advice is tomorrow to phone vosa or dvla or whatever and ask them about towing and go with what they tell you that you are entitled to use your license for.

Cole

Member

Registered: 11th Nov 02
Location: eastbourne Drives:zafira sold now a qashqai
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:23

i passed my test on january 19th 1997 i was gutted

basslinecorsa

Premium Member

Registered: 15th Jul 09
Location: Gravesend
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:37

but he got his license in feb 2006 so surely all this does not apply?

Project Scarlett - http://www.corsasport.co.uk/board/viewthread.php?tid=661417

Ian

Site Administrator

Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:44

My understanding is that you can tow a trailer over 750kg if:

The MAM of the car is greater than that of the trailer.

The train weighs less than 3.5t

So you are OK with a trailer of, for example 850kg MAM like a caravan if your car has a MAM greater than 850kg but less than 2650kg, which most would be.

The problem you have is that towing a car means your trailer is a lot heavier than a caravan. You need a trailer of around 500kg then you've only 1250kg for the car which is a light car by modern standards. Then you need a car of exactly 1750kg. More than that and you'll be over the 3.5t train, less than that and your trailer will be heavier than the car.

Very, very borderline if you're planning to tow a car.

There are permutations where it will work but you need to be very careful indeed.

And for the record, the reason I need to upgrade my pre-97 C1+E to a post 97 is that I can only currently draw a train of 8250kg which based on the plated weight of the wagon at 7500 only gives me a 750kg trailer, which isn't enough to tow the Puma on a trailer.

Transit van and Puma on the trailer is fine as the lower weight of the van allows more weight for the trailer whilst staying under 8250kg.

New C1+E gives 12t train which will allow a 3.5t trailer on the wagon.

Clear as mud.

Regarding the original question, that Brian James trailer - in fact most twin axle car trailers - are out of the question as they are plated to 2t MAM. So there is no circumstance under which you can stay below a 3.5t train if your tow car must be heaver than the trailer.

[Edited on 19-05-2010 by Ian]

gazza808

Member

Registered: 30th Jun 08
Location: Peterborough
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:50

thanks for clearing that up

bigron1988

Member

Registered: 29th Aug 09
Location: Southport, Merseyside
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 19:58

thanks ian, any idea how much it will cost for the extra licence ?

Ian

Site Administrator

Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 20:17

Depends where you go and also how ready you are for the test. Mine was 530 but that includes the bigger test, failed it so another 115 for the test plus perhaps another few hours tuition/hire of the van and trailer.

Not cheap but I've no choice as the wagon is so heavy.

B+E will be less if you're towing with something smaller but you need to shop around and do a few assessment drives. Also helps if you can practise somewhere although I would find a big trailer to do that with and get someone to drive you to the car park rather than try and learn with a little Erde or something fiddly like that.

pow

Premium Member

Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 20:44

Spent ages looking into this:

You can tow a trailer + load + car > 3500kg. The MAM of the trailer must not exceed the unlaiden weight of the car.

j7 gkk

Member

Registered: 16th Jun 05
Location: Sheffield
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 22:29

right peeps i have my class1 (C+E) so know about this, you can tow a trailer but the vehicle pulling it with the combination of the trailer cannot exceed 3.5tonne gross weight, for example a 2tonne car would only be able to pull a trailer that weighs no more than 1.5 tonne. They brought the B+E out for people to pull more than 3.5tonne gross weight for example a big transit say around 4tonne which will pull a trailer that is 2.5tonne, unless you take your C1 C or C+E the towing vehicle cannot exceed 3.5 tonne then plus the trailer which is +E
FAO Leighton, why not just take your C+E? you can take your C license which is the same as C1 but bigger then class 1 C+E, and you can drive anything then instead of been restricted on weight

poolyboy81

Member

Registered: 13th May 10
Location: Hartlepool
User status: Offline

19th May 10 at 23:44

quote:
Originally posted by Leighton
Were are you located? there will be loads of driving schools around you that will do it for you.

And as AK says if your going to try make some money off doing this you will need the correct insurances and a CPC on your driving license as well which allows you to make money from driving, this needs to be done every 5 years.
you will need public liability insurance as well

And if im not mistaken, if its for the purposes of business, making money, the tow vehicle needs a tacho in it. May be wrong but sure its correct

ianofbhills

Member

Registered: 10th Feb 01
Location: newcastle
User status: Offline

20th May 10 at 00:27

so as there is some confusion over this what is the answer for the original question?
vectra c tow car 1300kg ish
corsa let 1100kg ish
trailer 500kg ish (not sure how heavy a trailer would be)
= less then 3500 total but the trailer weight is more then the tow car.

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