Mike
Organiser: North West and North Wales
Premium Member
Registered: 20th May 06
Location: nr. Skipton, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Ian
quote:
Originally posted by Col004
mmmmmm.. intresting lol. The papers and little booklet i've got with my licence doesn't go into depth like that link, it only states what I put.
Good bit of gen that. You learn something new everyday lol.
Its a proper minefield. Don't even get me started on the legal definition of MAM 
Some say plated weights, some say actual weight...
I try and stay legal for both and at least it doesn't matter you interpret it.
That also technically means that my trailer can never be used without +E because its plated to 1750kg and the tow car must be heavier than it, which at 1751kg would be 3501kg and too much.
Or if you interpret it as actual weights you could do if it was empty as its 500ish unladen. Which is also the situation you'd be in if the trailer didn't have a plate because it was too old or home made.
On a category B license it doesn't matter what the trailer actually weighs, it's all down to the plate, so you're right, your trailer couldn't be used by someone who didn't have the +E entitlement.
The other thing people seem to be missing is that there are 2 weights for the tow car that need to be taken into consideration. The manufacturer's unladen weight (not what the car actually weighs at the time of towing) and the gross vehicle weight (the maximum weight that the car and load can legally weigh) usually there's a difference of at least 400kg between those 2 weights. So for example, when I was looking at avoiding the trailer test, I was looking at buying a Passat with an unladen weight of 1600ish kg, a gross weight of 2100kg which left me needing a trailer with a gross weight of 1400kg or less, which aren't massively popular.
I did a LOT of homework on this when I was trying to avoid paying for the training and test and it really is difficult to work out a legal setup but as Will said doing the test also gives you that bit of experience under supervision which is nice if you've never towed before.
[Edited on 08-03-2012 by Mike]
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Col004
Member
Registered: 25th Jun 03
User status: Offline
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Good shout that mike. It's defo worth doing the test to gain supervised experience 
I'll be doing mine one day when the turbo is finished lol
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willay
Moderator
Organiser: South East, National Events
Premium Member
Registered: 10th Nov 02
Location: Roydon, Essex
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well worth getting some experience, hate to think what it would of been like without
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Chris F
Show Staff
Organiser: East Anglia
Premium Member
Registered: 26th Dec 05
Location: Newmarket Drives: Escort Van 1.8
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Yeah but are u a MAN?
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antnee
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 07
Location: Cov Drives: Clio 197
User status: Offline
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I was looking at cars and trailers the other week.
As other have said something like a Passat can tow a small trailer (usually single axle) with a 1000kg car on. There are a few companies making light weight trailers for this purpose.
Im probably a year or 2 off towing, but I might just do the test so I can get a decent trailer.
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