Having spent the last month in my new job driving what I thought was a Wag and Drag I am now confused. Chatting to a couple of mates in the pub recently, both of whom are Class 1 holders who no longer drive, the talk got round to my work. They are adamant that I am driving a drawbar unit. My workplace insist it is a wag & drag. My trailer has two axles in the middle of the trailer and a rigid bar connecting it to the truck. My understanding is that a drawbar has a moveable front axle and a fixed axle at the rear of the trailer. Any of you fonts of knowledge out there that can put my mind at rest?
And what are they like to drive and reverse, starting a job on the 5th driving them any tips■■?
An “articulated lorry” and a “wagon and drag” are exactly the same thing in licensing law.
A rigid-bodied goods vehicle (class C) drawing a trailer (class E).
So a C+E licence entitles you to drive either.
Vince
Bilgepump,
What you are driving is a caravan mate. It reverses the same as an artic.
Officially a centre axle drawbar.
A traditional drawbar is what was originally meant as a wagon & drag and is a wheel in each corner with the front 2 steering. This is entirely different for reversing, having 2 pivot points to the artic/caravans one.
Salut, David.
We have both where I work, we all consider a draw bar (caravan) (drag) to be what you are driving with no steering wheels on the trailer and the other sort is known as an “A” frame. both have their own advantages and disadvantages, but I much prefer the drag, its a lot quicker to reverse but doesn’t follow quite as well. both are sometimes known as road trains, but don’t have anything on the ones from down under
I take it that is you with the finger 
on 404s site 
Dafman:
I take it that is you with the finger
no mate i’m the one in the stripped shirt here last year
groups.msn.com/404trooprct/reuni … otoID=1063
and this one 25 years ago
groups.msn.com/404trooprct/thela … hotoID=833
were you ever in the army and, or in Belize?
Dafman, sorry not to have answered earlier, but I spotted that you were in Tenerife enjoying the sun while I was making the most of my one day off over xmas.
When I first went out on my own with the trailer I was bricking it! After a few days I calmed down and now really enjoy it. The trailer follows the truck quite easily on the road. Have picked up reversing fairly well, but I will still go a long way to avoid blind side back ups - there does not seem to be as much manoueverability with the rigid as opposed to an artic unit. You have to pay a lot of attention to where the left side of your cab is turning into (lampposts, signs etc) as it swings round.
Get out and go for it mate, take it careful at first and you’ll soon pick it up and find out that it is quite fun in the end.
Just one more thing to bear in mind when driving Draw bars, the back of the trailer is normaly a long way from its rear axle so when turning sharp bends the back of the trailer will swing out, with the Westermann truck I used to drive on its maximum turning angle the trailer swung out more than 2 metres from the origional line of the truck. 
I have driven both as well. I think of an A-frame as a wagon n drag and a caravan type as a drawbar.
I think that different parts of the country use different names for different types of rig and that wagon n drag or drawbar is mainly just a term meaning a wagon and trailer, as against an artic. Whatever people tell you, that you are driving just grin and nod your head. It isn’t worth bothering about because you will have it the wrong way round somewhere in the country.
Reversing an A-frame (steering front axle) trailer is an artform best practised in private untill you’ve got the general idea. Unless you were born reversing one, its always a challenge to do a neat job of backing onto a bay 
. If asked I can give pointers, so don’t be shy, but by far the best option is to get into the wagon in the yard and practice, when its quiet.
I found out nearly to my cost that when fully loaded you have to watch your speed more when rolling down steep hills on motorways etc. Whereas a normal 5th wheel unit and trailer seem quiet happy to follow you down the hill at whatever speed you wish to let it rise to (not naming any figures as the anti-everything brigade will rush out in force again), a wagon & drag (twin fixed axles in middle of trailer) is less happy and loves to start fish-tailing from side to side just like a caravan would. It’s most scarey when you look out of the side window (not mirror!) and see the back end of the trailer waving at you 
(slight exaggeration maybe) 
by the way Simon, I think you’ll find that a [colour=green] not blue or red!! 
Rob K:
by the way Simon, I think you’ll find that a [colour=green] not blue or red!!
Geezabrekmon, I’me trying to sort it out so that it looks right. 
