Is this legal then ?
jimboy124:
Is this legal then ?
I’d be tempted to tape over the plate your not using (Would imagine the foreign one) just to avoid any confusion
Harry Monk:
But this set me to thinking. In the past, I had had number plates which hung from the trailer, usually from the D rings on the rear of a tilt, suspended on short lengths of chain with clips at the end. You still see them now.Obviously these are not illuminated at night. Are they illegal?
Yep seen them in Luton it’s vauxhall ones “can’t remember the firm name” but iv see them coming out of vauxhall parts factory off toddington road with there plates like that
Legend_Scania:
Harry Monk:
But this set me to thinking. In the past, I had had number plates which hung from the trailer, usually from the D rings on the rear of a tilt, suspended on short lengths of chain with clips at the end. You still see them now.Obviously these are not illuminated at night. Are they illegal?
Yep seen them in Luton it’s vauxhall ones “can’t remember the firm name” but iv see them coming out of vauxhall parts factory off toddington road with there plates like that
There is a huge thread about missing number plates and there is a lot of legislation about registration mark lighting.
If you lose your trailer number plate, don’t forget you have got a spare one bolted to the rear of the unit!
But beware of not having a working light over the registration plate. “You shall be taken to the place from whence you came, and from there be taken to a place of execution. You shall be hung by the neck until the body be dead… dead… DEAD!”
eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex … 062:EN:PDF
See link above 
I got pulled by plod on the m3, followed him into fleet services.
See him get out with ticket book in hand so got the idea it wasnt just a chat he wanted.
Something wrong, yes driver you have no number plate on the trailer.
I was pulling a yellow olof trailer and had hung plate half way up on back curtain.
When we get to back of trailer sure enough its still hanging there. I pointed it out and asked if the eye sight requirements for police drivers were different? 
I had this discussion many years ago with the man from the ministry 
I was pulling a Belgium registered trailer which had its own unique registration plate. properly illuminated and my units reg plate dangling on a chain - His opinion was that the unique indentifier had to be illuminated for UK registered trucks and trailers that would be the units registration. for bits of kit that have their own unique mark that is what should be illuminated.
I cant however, despite giving Google a hammering, find anything that confirms what the very nice man said.
had to laugh the other day, i have a moffet on the back of my trailer, i was being loaded in sunbury and the moffet was demounted and parked around the corner. a driver came over to me and criticized me for having no rear number plate, said he’d just done all about it in the DCPC, i asked him if he noticed anything more important than the number plate missing from the rear of my trailer, the number plate is important he said, yes it is but not as important as rear lights! (mine were folded away cos the moffet was going back on as soon as i was loaded)
Surely only a real issue If pulled after dark
I noticed a new hovis trailer the other day and the number plate is on the roller shutter door. I can’t see how it would be illuminated. It wasn’t a temp bodge, it was in a proper holder. I’ve seen a few more like it so not a 1 off.
Wheel Nut:
Every driver worth his salt had a full set of Rubbolite lenses with the clear lens on it,drivers had to carry round and oblong lenses with single pin and dual pin bulbs to fit every trailer. Every one had a pin or a bolt to go through the short and long winding handles. Most had palm couplings & continental lenses too and you guarded those with your life
A square or oblong plate doesn’t make a difference, the boy racer of my day had a square front plate too,
Used to carry all that gear at P&O Ferrymasters in recent times, aswell as a square & oblong trailer no. plate.
jimboy124:
Is this legal then ?
Strange one this. The trailer is registered in Germany and belongs to Kraftverkehr Nagel from Versmold (GT - KN). Obviously the trailer is regularly pulled by a Brit subby, as the UK plate has a proper frame complete with illumination.
The UK plate would only be required once the vehicle enters the UK. Elsewhere in Europe, the German registration will suffice.
I doubt if any plod on this side of the water would bat an eyelid at this.
What the pen pushing pedants in the UK would make of it is another matter entirely.
Inselaffe:
jimboy124:
Is this legal then ?
Strange one this. The trailer is registered in Germany and belongs to Kraftverkehr Nagel from Versmold (GT - KN). Obviously the trailer is regularly pulled by a Brit subby, as the UK plate has a proper frame complete with illumination.
The UK plate would only be required once the vehicle enters the UK. Elsewhere in Europe, the German registration will suffice.
I doubt if any plod on this side of the water would bat an eyelid at this.
What the pen pushing pedants in the UK would make of it is another matter entirely.
I wonder, what if its the other way round? What if German truck pulls British trailer? British trailer will have no registration plate… German trailer will not have third plate to use it on the trailer (and it will be illegal, I guess).
Santa:
So sticking a cardboard plate on the back is admitting that you knew the plate was missing - I assume it would be better to leave it off and swear that it was there when you set off.
if you tell em that they’ll probably have you for insecure load 
orys:
I wonder, what if its the other way round? What if German truck pulls British trailer? British trailer will have no registration plate… German trailer will not have third plate to use it on the trailer (and it will be illegal, I guess).
Subbys pulling Brit trailers on the mainland tend to be eastern European these days.
Curries of Dumfries (mostly PL) and RH Freight (EST) are 2 that immediately spring to mind.
They are equipped with UK style number plates (black lettering on yellow background) with their unit registration to attach to the rear of Brit trailers.
Of course, the one that goes right off the quirkometer, is the English operation of Spedition Freund.
wirralpete will explain… 
Inselaffe:
orys:
I wonder, what if its the other way round? What if German truck pulls British trailer? British trailer will have no registration plate… German trailer will not have third plate to use it on the trailer (and it will be illegal, I guess).Subbys pulling Brit trailers on the mainland tend to be eastern European these days.
Curries of Dumfries (mostly PL) and RH Freight (EST) are 2 that immediately spring to mind.
They are equipped with UK style number plates (black lettering on yellow background) with their unit registration to attach to the rear of Brit trailers.
That springs another question: who insures these trailers? Because, unlike in UK, in Poland you need separate insurance for trailer…
I was stopped by VOSA a week or so ago and the only fault they found was that the trailer number plate light wasn’t working. I told them I had already defected it, and that it was a wiring problem, as I had already changed the bulbs.
They were fine about it, and I couldn’t fault them, they were polite and even friendly while they went about their business.
But this set me to thinking. In the past, I had had number plates which hung from the trailer, usually from the D rings on the rear of a tilt, suspended on short lengths of chain with clips at the end. You still see them now.
Obviously these are not illuminated at night. Are they illegal?
Harry Monk:
I was stopped by VOSA a week or so ago and the only fault they found was that the trailer number plate light wasn’t working. I told them I had already defected it, and that it was a wiring problem, as I had already changed the bulbs.They were fine about it, and I couldn’t fault them, they were polite and even friendly while they went about their business.
But this set me to thinking. In the past, I had had number plates which hung from the trailer, usually from the D rings on the rear of a tilt, suspended on short lengths of chain with clips at the end. You still see them now.
Obviously these are not illuminated at night. Are they illegal?
Yes,Rear number plate illumination is a requirement.
I have just retired, but while working I gained myself a bit of a reputation for wanting everything legal and safe. I worked for a company which employed a lot of drivers plus agency men. There were a lot of drivers who never checked anything before setting off.
Anyway we used to have a driver assessment every 12 months carried out on the company training vehicle. When it was my turn I walked round it before starting up and defected it because the rear number plate light wasn’t working. you could tell from looking at it that it hadn’t just gone, it was loose. The instructors face was a picture, he’d tested three other guys that morning.
I can’t answer your question Harry, but this thing always gets me…
Harry Monk:
I told them I had already defected it, and that it was a wiring problem, as I had already changed the bulbs.
I hear this a lot from drivers, they fill the defect book out and then take something on the road. I can’t figure it out, its like driving round with a confession. If i’m going to drive with a fault then i certainley wouldn’t put it in any book.