towing weights for import vehicles

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Duke2584

Hi John, know this was a while back now, but would be very interested to see a copy of the email trail you had.
Regards

Chris

What are you trying to achieve? All the towing regulations are now fairly easy to access on the govt website & are fairly clear now.I suspect you will get a clearer picture nowadays than when this thread was discussed

[Jon Tallis]

Originally Posted by Duke2584

Hi John, know this was a while back now, but would be very interested to see a copy of the email trail you had.
Regards

Chris

Chris, I'll have a look. I might have chucked them as the venerable mighty Hilux has now been replaced with a Landcruiser 80 - fully plated for 3.5te.

[Jon Tallis]

Originally Posted by beamishken

What are you trying to achieve? All the towing regulations are now fairly easy to access on the govt website & are fairly clear now.I suspect you will get a clearer picture nowadays than when this thread was discussed

Fully accessible but vague as regards any PLG vehicle that wasn't supplied with a weights plate.......an old friend of my father's used to tow until very recently with his 1926 Bentley, that would get the rozzers scratching their chins too whilst they tried to find something to book him for

[Jon Tallis]

Found it.
PDF of mail trail attached

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Jon Tallis

Fully accessible but vague as regards any PLG vehicle that wasn't supplied with a weights plate.......an old friend of my father's used to tow until very recently with his 1926 Bentley, that would get the rozzers scratching their chins too whilst they tried to find something to book him for

Theres nothing vague about the info regarding vehicles with no train weight on the vin plate:-
"If your*VIN*plate doesn’t list a train weight, you should not use your vehicle for towing."

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/w...d-width-limits

Whilst I realise its nonsense, thats the line I got years ago from vosa when we were importing cars from Japan.
Looking at the Email thread linked you may get an engineer to stick his neck out & state the weight he thinks is correct (probably from the uk version of the vehicle) but whether it would hold water if the shit hit the fan I have no idea. I just used to use the uk vehicle limits & never worried about it & didn't have any problem but never had an accident or incident where things would be scrutinised. Often the imports have significantly different braking systems to ours & therefore aren't the same.

[Jon Tallis]

The key ambiguity is in the following paragraph.

"If your*VIN*plate doesn’t list a train weight, you should not use your vehicle for towing."

"Shall" indicates an absolute requirement, "should" indicates a preference.

I did find a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with who was fully familiar with the vehicle to assess it's towing weight. That engineer was me. Exactly as recommended by DOT.

But I agree - it's bollo**s!

[MarkX]

It is not straightforward, hence the conflicting advice given , even by the enforcement agencies - VOSA etc. To prove an 'excess weight' offence it is required to show that the actual weights exceed those listed on the Manufacturers Plate (usually a metal plate) (or, for generally large vehicles mostly commercial, a Ministry Plate - a paper plate issued after testing in a ministry test centre). For most of us the issue surrounds what can I tow with my passenger car, light van or 4 wheel drive SUV. Of the 3 only a light goods van requires a Manufacturers Plate therefore the weights listed on that plate cannot be exceeded. The other vehicles, passenger car and a 4WD SUV (imported or not) may well have such a plate fitted but this is not a 'Regulation 66' Manufacturers Plate and therefore exceeding the weights on the plate is not an excess weight offence however the driver can still be prosecuted for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition or even dangerous driving using the manufacturers recommended weights as a guideline but, unless the overweight is excessive, it would require further evidence from the authorities as to how it was dangerous - braking, stability and even speed - 60mph on a Motorway may be dangerous but 20mph on an empty road may not. The above is much simplified and does not address issues such as large trailers (which may require a Manufacturers Plate in their own right) driving licences, trailer brakes etc. (Regulation 66 refers to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986). Don't get me started on International Trailer Registration!!