chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
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on my licence i have a picture of a car and a milkfloat and nothing else..
at work i drive a ford t350 (pickup/flatbed) and they are thinking of replacing them with a standard transit but with a trailer. do i need a test to be able to tow a trailer?
ta.
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fazza
Member
Registered: 7th Feb 08
Location: Plymouth
User status: Offline
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Legally yes
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
User status: Offline
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Depends on the weight of the trailer iirc
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
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Depends on the size of the trailer. MikeB or someone will be along to tell you more in a minute
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fazza
Member
Registered: 7th Feb 08
Location: Plymouth
User status: Offline
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really? i thought any trailer a license is needed?
be awesome if you dont need an extra license
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fazza
Member
Registered: 7th Feb 08
Location: Plymouth
User status: Offline
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http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_4022564
explains there but its confusing :S
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Twiggy
Member
Registered: 15th Oct 04
User status: Offline
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Small camping trailer and your ok. Big fuck off trailer towing cars and heavy shit you need to have the extra license
Thats what i remember
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
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Twiggy has it tbh.
I used to tow my Dad's little trailer all the time when we had a car with a tow bar, quite legally.
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RichR
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Oct 01
Location: Waterhouses, Staffordshire
User status: Offline
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Officially you can tow a 750kg trailer with a vehicle of up to 3,500kg - in addition to this you can tow any combination of vehicle and trailer weight so long as the vehicle mass is in excess of the trailer weight.
The confusion arises with plated trailers; A trailer with a mass of 750kg but a MAM of 3,500kg such as a car or boat trailer would appear to be illegal to tow on your license even if it is unladen as the Police take the MAM.
You could tow the same trailer if it was unplated and didn't show a MAM.
The set up is ridiculous and there is lots of Ambiguity; Ian and I have had a few discussions about this and there's a big argument on the Land Rover sites about this issue but the safest bet is to ask your company to put you through the trailer test
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RichR
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Oct 01
Location: Waterhouses, Staffordshire
User status: Offline
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For clarity You can tow:
- upto 750kg with a vehicle of 3,500kg
- any combination of trailer weight plus vehicle weight upto 3,500kg so long as the vehicle weighs more than the trailer i.e. 1751kg Vehicle towing a 1749kg trailer load making a train weight of 3,500kg
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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I've been driving tractors with trailers stacked full of bales for years now  Not taken an extra license for it 
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whitter45
Member
Registered: 15th Nov 02
Location: Norton
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by mwg
I've been driving tractors with trailers stacked full of bales for years now Not taken an extra license for it
bit unfair on the A3 that isn't it
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Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Online
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There are combinations under which you could do this but with a heavy tow vehicle you are likely to be limited to a light trailer to stay under the 3500kg train requirement of category B. Subtract the weight of the trailer itself and you won't be left with much payload.
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RichR
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Oct 01
Location: Waterhouses, Staffordshire
User status: Offline
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You got a link to the Land Rover forum Ian, its quite an interesting read and show's the ambiguity of the whole set up.
Safest bet if you're doing it for wok is to have them put you through your trailer test anyway tbh
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by whitter45
quote:
Originally posted by mwg
I've been driving tractors with trailers stacked full of bales for years now Not taken an extra license for it
bit unfair on the A3 that isn't it
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chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
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i very much doubt my company would put me through the test, they will just expect us to do it.
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oceansoul
Member
Registered: 19th Jun 06
Location: Sunbury, Surrey
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by chris_uk
i very much doubt my company would put me through the test, they will just expect us to do it.
Tell them to gtfo then. If its illegal they cant make you do it.
quote:
Originally posted by LiVe LeE
For clarity You can tow:
- upto 750kg with a vehicle of 3,500kg
- any combination of trailer weight plus vehicle weight upto 3,500kg so long as the vehicle weighs more than the trailer i.e. 1751kg Vehicle towing a 1749kg trailer load making a train weight of 3,500kg
Do these 2 points not contradict themselfs?
[Edited on 30-03-2011 by oceansoul]
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RichR
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Oct 01
Location: Waterhouses, Staffordshire
User status: Offline
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No, they're ambiguous but clear enough; you're absoloute limit is 4,250kg; HOWEVER; there is a combined train mass equivalency which is limited to 3,500kg total.
IMO, it would be far clearer if they made it 4,250kg full stop and not give the two amounts.
The whole law needs to be made transparent
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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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I've not read anything above so this might have already been posted.
You say a standard Transit, within that you've got various GVW (gross vehicle weight)options, 2.6, 2.8, 3, 3.3 and 3.5 tonne.
If the trailer you're towing has a gross weight of 750kg or less, then any of the above options are fine and you can tow legally.
If the trailer has a GW of over 750kg, it all becomes more complicated. Once the trailer goes over 750kg, the maximum train weight (GVW + GW of the trailer) you're currently allowed to tow drops to 3.5 tonne, which means the only Transit you could potentially tow with would be the 2.6 tonne but even then you would only be able to tow upto a 900kg trailer on your current license.
Realistically it's fairly likely you'd need to do your towing test which atm costs £115 for the test. Training cost varies between companies and how much training you need etc. I paid £335 for 2 days (6 hours per day including test time on the second day) which was just about right for me, I'd never driven with a trailer before although I had spent a bit of time trying to think my way through reversing which probably helped a bit.
If you need to know anything else, feel free to ask
[Edited on 30-03-2011 by Mike B]
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chris_uk
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jul 03
User status: Offline
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ill just ask them to put me through it if they do indeed go for a trailer..
and i was told today it would be a meriva van we are getting.
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Nick-S
Member
Registered: 3rd Mar 04
Location: Leigh. Drives: RS Megane 230 F1 Team R26
User status: Offline
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Small trailers are a pain in the arse to reverse. 
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MJFF88
Member
Registered: 30th Apr 08
User status: Offline
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Do you need a tachograph aswell nowadays? Could've sworn I saw that on one of the police programmes
Edit, if it does I'm sure this will explain for your situation:
[Edited on 30-03-2011 by MJFF88]
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Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Online
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Good point - you'll also probably end up needing a tacho whereas at the moment you're just about exempt.
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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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Yeah, if it's a heavy enough train to need the extra license then it's heavy enough to need a tacho
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Dave
Member
Registered: 26th Feb 01
Location: Lancs
User status: Offline
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I think you only need the tacho if you are driving for business use.
It's amazing that they make us take extra tests when, technically, my gran could jump in a Transit and tow a 3.5t trailer quite legally, even though she is incapable of getting her Seicento onto the drive without bouncing off both gateposts
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