towing a trailor

[jake]

Hi guys

I just wanted to confirm something.

From my understanding you can tow a trailer with a standard car license with a car on it as long as the WHOLE weight of everything is under 3.5 tonnes.

Now i drive an audi a4 2003 reg, and I want to tow a flat bed trailer and my golf. The golf is a rolling shell, no engine, interior, and stripped to the bone. Now that will be definitely under that weight,

Yet one of my friends about a month ago towed a trailer, he had nothing on it yet he police pulled him over and said you can't be towing that, as it's capable of towing 2.5 tonnes? They took the trailer off him and fined him as well.

Now i think that is BOLLOCKS, as i have read up on the DVLA website, and it says as long as it is under 3.5 tonnes you can tow it?

Can someone please clarify for me?

THanks

[JC]

depends when you passed your test,

old sweats like me DH and len can tow trailers up to a certain weight.

youngsters DONT have that entitlement and have to do a test to be able to tow trailers of a certain weight.
 
 

clearer details

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_4022521

[jake]

yeah that is correct,  I understand that bit mate.

If you passed your test before 1997 then you can tow anything up to like 7.5 tonnes.

Yet if you have not done a C license then you can only tow up to 3.5 tonnes.

Yet why did he get pulled?

Jake

[JC]

what size trailer was he pulling ?  on what .

I have on MANY occasion been ABOVE the maximum towing weight for the car which  i was using to tow 

and thats what most people get caught out on.

if you passed your test before 1997, and subject to your golf n trailer combined are below the maximum braked weight for ya audi then you should be all legal.

However, even with the engine out you might be close if its a good solid trailer.

I can JUST drag a Mk2 on a litewieght trailer on the back of my wagon 

[Len]

Back in the early 70's I once drove a LWB Landrover with a trailer carrying a Davis trencher.
That weighed about 2 tons.

[jake]

i passed my test after 97 mate?

[JC]

then i dont think you can,

cos the trailer and golf will be over 750kg 

or

tow car, trailer and golf will be over 3.5t

[jake]

Yeah but there is no way the car golf and trailer will be over 3.5 tonnes?

It is just a shell? Say for example the audi ways worse case 1,400kg, and the trailer on it's own weighs 700kg, the golf max weighs like 600kg, so that is 2700kg, which still leaves me
with nearly 800kg to play with? With me and fuel maybe another 130kg.

So that would only equate to just short of 3k?

So if it is under 3,500 is not ok to do it?

Jake

[jake]

just read this on parkers

    * 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).
    * Category B vehicles with larger trailers i.e. more than 750kg, provided that the combined Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and the gross MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.
    * Vehicles over 3500kg MAM are classified as large goods vehicles.

[madmanmart]

I have done my B+E test for towing car and the like.

Simple answer is if you passed test after 1997 then you cant tow the golf because you only have a B license.