Trailer advice

[Matty-MK3]

Yeah the A4 probably weighs more then 1.5 tonne.

[jake]

Yeah the A4 probably weighs more then 1.5 tonne.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Detail.aspx?deriv=25379

Less than 1400kg 

[JC]

Yeah the A4 probably weighs more then 1.5 tonne.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Detail.aspx?deriv=25379

Less than 1400kg 

that will be DRY weight as such, add in YOU, all your kit etc etc  and that will rise up 

[gazpowells]

If your towing a car on trailer you need 2 do te B+E test 

[Ben Lessani]

From my understanding ... http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

As long as:

3.5 tonnes > A4 + Golf + Trailer AND A4 >= Golf + Trailer

Then you can happily tow without the requirement for B+E.

[Diamond Hell]

You're kidding yourself about the weights.

Get the rig on a weighbridge and all will be revealing properly.

£10 says you're over and will need to do the test.

Remember - if you're caught over weight then there's no argument in court - it's empirical so you're guilty if you're over.  It's just the size of the fine and the number of points the judge is deciding on.

[dubber36]

As I understand it, you need catagory B at least to tow a trailer of more than 750kg, regardless of the weight of the towing vehicle.

The combined outfit weight can be 3500kg, but the trailer can be no more than 750kg without cat B.

[Diamond Hell]

Let's explore this some more:

Category B vehicles may be coupled with a trailer up to 750kgs MAM (allowing a combined weight up to 4.25 tonnes MAM) or a trailer over 750kgs MAM provided the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM.

Cat B vehicles are up to 3.5t, which is where the 4.25t comes from - 3.5t + 750kg

So that's the first bit, then there's the 'trailer over 750kg' bit, which causes confusion.

Let's outline the situation using my kit - I know what it weighs.

When could you tow a trailer over 750kg?  Say I'm towing with my Passat, which is stated in at 1875kg (it's a fat-ass, there's no denying it!), so in the situation where you don't have a full towing license, you could tow up to 1625kg.

BUT

Let's look at the real-world situation.  Going to the day on Monday I had the following:

1875kg Passat
60kg fuel
400kg trailer
1060kg Golf2
30kg fuel in Golf
50kg luggage
100kg tools
2 x blokes at 95kg
2 x blokes at 80kg
64kg spare wheels

Total: 3989kg

Even if you cut it down to just the cars, fuel and two blokes you're at 3585kg and that's with a car on the trailer weighing in just over a tonne, a really light trailer and two skinny blokes.

Plus, unless you know how to manoeuvre a trailer already I'd be very hesitant in hitching up a full-size car trailer - it's not like a little box trailer you can unhitch and hoick about if you get it wrong.

[dubber36]

I'm pretty sure you are still limited to a 750kg trailer whatever the towing vehicle is without having done a trailer test.

Like DH said, it would not be prudent to allow anyone to hook up to a 5.5m long trailer with a car strapped on top if the had'nt had any idea how to handle it.

I was lucky and was brought up driving tractors from a very young age, so by the time I was towing on the road at 17, I had a pretty good idea about what I was doing. Unlike other lads my age who were out of control most of the time.

[Diamond Hell]

Read the links - they're why I explored it like I did, to try and make sense of it.

750kg is the unbraked limit for sure (and why A-frames generally aren't legal) which is what might be making you think that.

I was bought up on tractors too - 40' straw trailers and high-side silage trailers FTW when learning to handle trailers.