You cannot tow any car as a trailer on C2 because even the Ford Ka has a MAM greater than 750kg. Any trailer with a MAM greater than 750kg requires brakes and unless there is a way of the towed cars brakes operating whilst on tow…
I know that peeps driving motor homes, tow small cars on an Aframe and all of these are victims of salesmens patter, because even if the kerb weight of the car is less than 750kg the MAM will be quite a bit more and therefore will require a braking system that operates whist on tow.
You can tow a trailer with a MAM greater than 750kg (requires those all important brakes) on a B license as long as the combination doesnot exceed 3500kg and the trailer kerb weight does not exceed 85% of the tow cars kerb weight. (this needs clarification but I’m pretty sure I’m correct).
Peeps get away with allsorts, I’ve even seen a fully laden transporter (normal tractor not the stretched type) towing a transit on an Aframe Now I’m pretty sure thats not right.
MADBAZ:
You cannot tow any car as a trailer on C2 because even the Ford Ka has a MAM greater than 750kg. Any trailer with a MAM greater than 750kg requires brakes and unless there is a way of the towed cars brakes operating whilst on tow…
I know that peeps driving motor homes, tow small cars on an Aframe and all of these are victims of salesmens patter, because even if the kerb weight of the car is less than 750kg the MAM will be quite a bit more and therefore will require a braking system that operates whist on tow.
You can tow a trailer with a MAM greater than 750kg (requires those all important brakes) on a B license as long as the combination doesnot exceed 3500kg and the trailer kerb weight does not exceed 85% of the tow cars kerb weight. (this needs clarification but I’m pretty sure I’m correct).
Peeps get away with allsorts, I’ve even seen a fully laden transporter (normal tractor not the stretched type) towing a transit on an Aframe Now I’m pretty sure thats not right.
C2■■? ahh class 2!!!
the trailer entitlement on a class C says up to 750kg it doesn’t say a mam of 750kg, so i don’t see why you can’t tow a trailer plated at 3.5t with an unladen weight of 700kg or a small enough car.
i think there are exemptions for recovery about not needing the towed vehicle to be braked if the mam is over 750kg and i’m guessing under 3.5t, but as i said before there’s a differance between recovering a broken down vehicle and transporting one.
on a B license you can tow a trailer with a mam over 750kg so long as the mam of the trailer doesn’t exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle and the combination of the 2 mam’s doesn’t exceed 3.5t. if the trailer has a mam up to 750kg then the combination mam can be up to 4.25t with the max mam of the tow vehicle 3.5t. i think the 85% thing is an old rule
MADBAZ:
You cannot tow any car as a trailer on C2 because even the Ford Ka has a MAM greater than 750kg. Any trailer with a MAM greater than 750kg requires brakes and unless there is a way of the towed cars brakes operating whilst on tow…
I know that peeps driving motor homes, tow small cars on an Aframe and all of these are victims of salesmens patter, because even if the kerb weight of the car is less than 750kg the MAM will be quite a bit more and therefore will require a braking system that operates whist on tow.
You can tow a trailer with a MAM greater than 750kg (requires those all important brakes) on a B license as long as the combination doesnot exceed 3500kg and the trailer kerb weight does not exceed 85% of the tow cars kerb weight. (this needs clarification but I’m pretty sure I’m correct).
Peeps get away with allsorts, I’ve even seen a fully laden transporter (normal tractor not the stretched type) towing a transit on an Aframe Now I’m pretty sure thats not right.
i think there are exemptions for recovery about not needing the towed vehicle to be braked if the mam is over 750kg and i’m guessing under 3.5t, but as i said before there’s a differance between recovering a broken down vehicle and transporting one.
on a B license you can tow a trailer with a mam over 750kg so long as the mam of the trailer doesn’t exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle and the combination of the 2 mam’s doesn’t exceed 3.5t. if the trailer has a mam up to 750kg then the combination mam can be up to 4.25t with the max mam of the tow vehicle 3.5t. i think the 85% thing is an old rule
stevie
Your quite right Stevie ,
The 85% is a recommendation from the Camping and Caravanning Club ,hence the edit and the clicky thingy.
stevieboy308:
the trailer entitlement on a class C says up to 750kg it doesn’t say a mam of 750kg,
No, it does say MAM of 750 kgs.
Large vehicles with or without trailers
Description Category Minimum age
Vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer up to 750kg C 21*
Vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer over 750kg C+E 21*
*Age 17 if member of armed forces
*Age 18 if member of the young drivers scheme
thats what it says here, no mention of mam to me, government website
Don’t know if this is relevant as I am talking about C1 ,but I used to drive an Isuzu plated at 6.3t towing a trailer plated at 3.5t, because the total plated weight was 9.8t DVLA said that it couldn’t be driven on the restricted C1 license but both VOSA and the Police said that it could be, as long as the Max train weight of 8.25t wasn’t exceded as the Isuzu was plated below the 7.5t threshhold.
Just wondering if all these people with Range Rovers and transits who pull trailers on a B1 license know that if the go over 4.25t train weight they need to have a tacho fitted.
I bet a large majorty would not realise, i doubt the saleman covers that in his selling speech worthy of an oscar
Looking on landrover forums though it looks like quite a few have tacho’s fitted - i’m guessing these people are farmers or people who carry heavy things on trailers for a living. So some are clued up.
I have seen police/wheel tappers setting up road side check points before and just pulling over cars/vans/4x4 with trailers on…so i’m guessing it’s a common problem .
If it has tacho’s do they then fall under the WTD
It was covered on top gear a few years back i think as well.
Yes there is, right at the top of that page you have linked it says:
All weights refer to maximum authorised mass (MAM) unless stated otherwise.
Paul
yep, you’re right, cheers fella. but why not include mam all the time instead of some of the time. except for classes c + d, i think they always refer to mam in that table. do they not think its complicated enough to start with??
And to put some more kittens into the blender, the bloke with the motorhome and a smart car on an ambulance now needs a braked trailer to carry said car, well they do in France anyway.
And some other regs to consider.
‘A’ frames and Dollies
Q. What is a trailer?
A. A road vehicle, usually (but not necessarily) two wheeled, towed by a motor vehicle.Given the above dictionary definition, it is fairly clear that anything attached to the towball and having wheels in contact with the ground is a trailer. This includes cars on ‘A’ frames and dollies. Bearing in mind that the unbraked towing limit of 750 kgs refers to Maximum Gross Weight (i.e. the figure on the towed cars VIN plate) and not to actual weight, it severely restricts the options. The only cars I know of with a MGW of less than 750 kgs is the Aixam range. These are around 450 to 550 kgs.
There are strict regulations on braked trailers and, whilst a braked ‘A’ frame attached to a towed car constitutes a braked trailer, it is not legal for transportation as it cannot comply with EC71/320. With car dollies, the situation is somewhat different. Under regulation 83 of the Road Vehicles (construction & Use) Regulations 1986 (SI.1986/1078) Amending Regulations, a car dolly, with a car in place, will be considered as two trailers. This is legal for recovery but, under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 (Schedule 6) the combination is limited to 40 mph on motorways and dual carriageways and 20 mph elsewhere.
Note that there is a very specific difference between recovery and transportation. Recovery is the removal of a broken down vehicle to a place of safety. It does not include removing a rotor arm (for instance) and travelling the length and breadth of the country. The police are well aware of the difference due to the regulations covering Tachographs and Operators Licences. Recovery vehicles are exempt.
It is well known that some countries in the EEC tend to overlook the regulations (the UK included) but some countries don’t. The situation regarding enforcement could change at any time and, as a result, the only safe way to transport another vehicle behind a motorhome is on a car transporter trailer. Play safe! Don’t take the risk!
The regulations which cover this aspect of towing are:-
91/438/EEC covers driving licences.
71/320/EEC covers auto reverse braking systems and couplings.
S.I. 1971 No 450 Part III covers the obstruction of number plates.
94/20/EEC covers type approval of towing equipment and ‘S’ and ‘D’ values.
95/48/EEC covers Masses and Dimensions of M1 class vehicles.
E.T.R.T.O. 1991 section 13 covers wheels and tyres.
BSAU 113c covers 50mm ball and coupling dimensions.
BSAU 24a (1989) covers eye couplings and pin/jaw arrangements.
98/12/EEC covers brake linings and will be implemented in the UK from 1/4/01.And not strictly towing but applicable to motorhomes is EN1648-1 covers extra low voltage installations in Leisure Vehicles and Caravans.
bowserman:
So have we anything conclusive then to the original question?
I thought ROG may have been into this discussion!
yep, they’re illegal, if its for the transportation of cars. a class 1 holder could get done for not having brakes on a trailer with a mam over 750kg, a class 2 holder could get done for not having brakes on a trailer with a mam over 750kg and not holding a license to drive that combination of vehicle. all in my oipinion of course! assuming the car has a mam over 750kg, as 99.9% of car will.
Now I’m pretty sure thats not right.
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