Stupid or....

[ShinyShoe]

I find it odd that I could have a 750kg unbraked trailer and not be able to tow it behind a car, but have a 1500kg trailer (that has to have brakes of course) so can be towed. I've just never seen any mention in any of the numerous threads on here that actually you could have an unbraked trailer and be over the unbraked limit for the car.

But I also am not sure if its illegal or just bad practice. Everything legal mumbo jumbo I read seems to talk about Gross Train Weights etc...

[Festinghouse]

if you have a little hatchback with crappy brakes then you need a trailer that is capable of helping you stop - a trailer carries a lot of momentum with it. its not always about what the car can pull, but what it can safely stop

[ShinyShoe]

Well, having now realised that such a limit exists I've now discovered that my Octavia is 600-650 unbreaked. So I could have been towing ¿illegally? For years.

But this opens up the can of worms even more... So if my unbreaked trailer was plated for 750 but loaded to 500 am I OK towing it on my Octavia? Or is it not a legal issue just a weight guidance so the plate is irrelevant...

...minefield

[Noble95]

Car has got to be rated to tow the amount stated on the plate from my understanding!

[Poly]

You need to read construction and use regs, s87(1) will tell you what you want to know.

There are two different laws, first you must have a license for the combination of vehicles you are using which is based on maximum permitted. The police don't need to weigh anything to determine this.

Second, you must not overload the vehicle / combination which is about the actual weight. A prosecution requires a trip to a weigh bridge.

[HDAV]

Or just replate the trailer? Or take your B+E test? The logic is its the law, towing law is very very rarely enforced but if something happens even a minor fender bender no fault incident you could be in hot water!

[Landlockedpirate]

Originally Posted by Noble95

Car has got to be rated to tow the amount stated on the plate from my understanding!

Any idea where you got the info from ?

Assuming the OP is not towing for commercial purpose, I have been unable to find any reference to this anywhere official.

I tow an unloaded 3500kg trailer regularly and its a lot cheaper to move it around with wifeys pretend SUV rather than my full size 4x4..

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

Any idea where you got the info from ?

Assuming the OP is not towing for commercial purpose, I have been unable to find any reference to this anywhere official.

I tow an unloaded 3500kg trailer regularly and its a lot cheaper to move it around with wifeys pretend SUV rather than my full size 4x4..

I'm the same I occasionally tow a 3.5t trailer with a hilux rated to 2700kg my understanding is as long as the trailer is below 2700kg I'm ok (i have old style licence)
I think the confusion is between load capacity & licence capacity they need to weigh you to prove overloading but for licence offences they can use the data plate for prosecution
The other option is velcro backed weight plates so you can swap them as required

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

Assuming the OP is not towing for commercial purpose, I have been unable to find any reference to this anywhere official.

That's because it's not correct. See Poly's post above.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Poly

You need to read construction and use regs, s87(1) will tell you what you want to know.

There are two different laws, first you must have a license for the combination of vehicles you are using which is based on maximum permitted. The police don't need to weigh anything to determine this.

Second, you must not overload the vehicle / combination which is about the actual weight. A prosecution requires a trip to a weigh bridge.

So just to get my head straight. Because this is going against what I've always been led to believe:-

I can tow a trailer which is plated with a mgw higher than the vehicle can legally tow, as long as I don't load it above the mgw of the vehicle/trailer combo.
E.g my new boat trailer has a mgw of 2750kg, the actual weight of boat & trailer is around 1600kg. My VW transporter can tow a maximum of 2600kg (150kg less than the mgw of the trailer) Can I tow the boat with the VW?

Ignore the licensing issue as I have an old style licence, I'm just interested in the vehicle side of things.


.....sh1t happens.......

[John Kennett]

That's how I understand it. I'm sure there's a confirmation from VOSA that has been posted somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.

[Last Tango]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Anyone ever come across a manufacturer listing a lower than 750kg unbraked trailer weight limit but above 750kg braked? According to the specs of a car I just looked at the car weighs in at 1883kg, 1500kg towing capacity, 500kg unbraked?

Whats that about?

Whats the implications of that? Never seen anything that listed an unbraked limit other than some very small cars that don't allow braked over 750.

Chrysler C300 (3 Litre turbo diesel) is only rated to tow a 500KG unbraked trailer but it does have an impressive "braked" capacity.