I am wrong that the Trailer need to has own breaks if he is heavier as the unit?
And,you need to check pulling weight of that fifth Wheel or what you have fitted
We used to pull lowloader with O&K RH9 with an unimoc
Immigrant:
I am wrong that the Trailer need to has own breaks if he is heavier as the unit?
And,you need to check pulling weight of that fifth Wheel or what you have fitted
We used to pull lowloader with O&K RH9 with an unimoc
A trailer has to have Its own brakes if its mam is over 750kg
Gridley51:
That basically sums it up.I have an Iveco Daily 35 which is 3500kgs gross and according to Iveco can run at 6500kgs GTW,But,theres another law that says the weight towed cannot exceed a certain percentage of the towing vehicle weight so I cannot get near the 6500GTW legally.I cant remember the exact weight allowed but it was low enough to stop me spending money on a towbar and tacho.
I don’t think there is anything in law that says anything about percentage of towing vehicles weight but it is generally recommended that your trailer should not be more than 85% of your vehicles kerb weight. This is however only a recommendation and you cannot be prosecuted for exceeding it.
In your example you can certainly legally tow a 3000kg trailer (the difference between the GTW and GVW) and possibly more if the van isn’t fully laden and the manufacturers towing weight limit allows it.
Paul
Found this on the Armitage Trailers | Armitage Towbars, Yorkshire, UK -
Although trailers with overrun brakes can weigh up to 3500kg gross, actual maximum weights are set by the specifications of the vehicle that is doing the towing. The law says you must not exceed the Gross Train Weight that the manufacturer has set for the towing vehicle. Look in the vehilce handbook or on a plate riveted to the vehicle to find this figure. You then have to subtract the weight of the towing vehicle (including fuel, driver, passengers, luggage or cargo) from the Gross Train Weight. The amount you are left with is the maximum theoretically-possible weight of trailer that can be towed legally. REMEMBER, the law does not care whether the trailer is empty or packed to the roof with bricks, what counts is the plated gross vehicle weight of the trailer.
I have often wondered about the legal implications of a Landy pulling another Landy on a trailer.The outfits go well enough but ,how do they stop?
alamcculloch:
I have often wondered about the legal implications of a Landy pulling another Landy on a trailer.The outfits go well enough but ,how do they stop?
Quite well enough.
I quite often pull at nearly the limit of my Disco (3.5t) and it handles it ok, you can’t go like a lunatic, but its safe enough and has passed 2 VOSA inspections and weighs in the past 12 months at that weight with no questions asked.
Henrys cat:
Found this on the Armitage Trailers | Armitage Towbars, Yorkshire, UK -REMEMBER, the law does not care whether the trailer is empty or packed to the roof with bricks, what counts is the plated gross vehicle weight of the trailer.
I’m 99% sure that is utter nonsense, it is the actual weight of the trailer not the plated weight that counts.
Paul
With ‘car’ type trailers they aren’t plated are they? They have a manufacturers plate giving a ‘design’ weight but they don’t get plated in the way goods vehicles do.
Therefore I reckon it is the actual weight that matters.
plant fitter:
Right, just to check, Asked to tow a trailer with a van, van has max allowable towing weight of 2000Kgs,Trailer is plated for 2500Kgs…
Am I right in saying that’s 500kgs overweight?
Thanks in advance for any replies
Very late to this party but that probably makes no odds as still on premod!!
It is unusual for a van to have a towing capacity limit imposed
Vans usually have just GVW, GTW and axles weights listed on a plate - just like LGVs
A common example for a van would be 3500 GVW and 5500 GTW
That does not mean it has a maximum towing capacity of 2000 (actual weight)
Van with GVW of 3500 and GTW of 5500 hitched up to a trailer with a MAM of 3500
The usual rules apply - neither the van nor the trailer plated MAMs must be exceeded
If the van actually weighed 3000 then the trailer can actually weigh 2500 as that would not be more than the GTW of 5500
OR - the van weighs 2500 and the trailer 3000 = not recommended safety wise but legal
O licence - not really my field but I have been very reliably informed that if the load is ‘own goods’ then the trailer must be more than 1020 kgs unladen for it to come under those rules if being towed by a 3.5 tonne van
Any trailer comes into O licence rules if the load is not ‘own goods’ if being towed by a 3.5 tonne van
plant fitter:
capable of exceeding the permissible towing capacity of the vehicle
No such law or rule exists in any official place HOWEVER this myth has been bandied around the internet for some time leading many to believe it is true!!
repton:
Henrys cat:
Found this on the Armitage Trailers | Armitage Towbars, Yorkshire, UK -REMEMBER, the law does not care whether the trailer is empty or packed to the roof with bricks, what counts is the plated gross vehicle weight of the trailer.
I’m 99% sure that is utter nonsense, it is the actual weight of the trailer not the plated weight that counts.
Paul
For the GTW you are correct Paul - its actual weight that counts