best van for towing car trailer...

[HughF]

Van for towing a trailer.... hmmmm.... Iveco or mk8 transit, they're the only ones plated for a 3500kg trailer.

My ex RAC mk7 is 2000kg up the back.

I'd buy a disco

 

[colnerov]

And also what does a trailer weight become if it was home made say a single wheel car trailer like was always about till ifor etc became more avail be

Hi, That is why trailers are plated now. As for older unplated trailers initially they will go by the weight rating of the tyres.

Colin

 

[colnerov]

Van for towing a trailer.... hmmmm.... Iveco or mk8 transit, they're the only ones plated for a 3500kg trailer.

My ex RAC mk7 is 2000kg up the back.

I'd buy a disco

Hi, That's a starting point, but you have to check the individual vehicles plate in the door shut as to what it's plated at. If there's no plate then it's deemed not suitable for towing, as per Normapanners disco.

Colin

 

[octo0072000]

Hi, That's a starting point, but you have to check the individual vehicles plate in the door shut as to what it's plated at. If there's no plate then it's deemed not suitable for towing, as per Normapanners disco.

Colin

my disco was the same but had a factory fitted tow bar work that out,
disco bought in UK for personal export (allowed use in UK for X no of months)
used by Mr bigs embassy staffs wife.
then exported to Africa owner was embassy staff returning to africa then later re imported to UK owned by some big Africa embassy staff man as wife's car checked all history and owners at Gaydon costs £25

 

[Justme]

so with B+E could i use a trailer plated at say 3T, but only actually have a total weight of 1.8T with a vehicle that is rated to tow say 2T

Yes

 

[HughF]

Hi, That's a starting point, but you have to check the individual vehicles plate in the door shut as to what it's plated at. If there's no plate then it's deemed not suitable for towing, as per Normapanners disco.

Colin

Think you'll find they won't be sold in Europe without a plate... European whole vehicle Type approval and all that..

 

[Justme]

my passat is a pain here. as it has a MAM of 2160 KG and has a towing capacity of 2000 KG so i can tow 1340 kg going on MAM, the car actualy weighs in at about 1700 KG from memory so can i really tow 1800 KG. it so close to makeing B+E pointless for that car.

but we allways have another car about quite often as the car is lighter and even tho it's plated as been abel to tow less it's to my understandin legal to tow more, so be rateing trailers is goign to be a mega pain as it would i guess have to be to the lowest weight

Not sure I follow what you are saying.

Your car is 2160kg MAM
Its GTW is 4160kg (the 2160kg & the 2000kg towing capacity you quoted)

Where did the bit about you can tow 1340kg come from?

With Cat B the real weight of the car has no bearing on the issue so the 1700kg is not needed. You can not tow 1800kg on a Cat B with your car with a MAM of 2160kg even though its real weight is less. Cat B is all about the max plated weights.

So with a Cat B you can tow a combination of up to 3500kg - 2160kg for the car leaving 1340kg for the trailer. Ah now I get it the 1340kg is what you can tow on a cat B.

Not sure that makes the B+E pointless as it will add another 640kg to your capacity on that car.

 

[Justme]

my understanding is you could not tow the trailer even if its empty on a cat b license as the total mam is greater than 3500kg but you could on a cat b+e, then it goes on actual weights not mam

Yes

 

[Justme]

And also what does a trailer weight become if it was home made say a single wheel car trailer like was always about till ifor etc became more avail be

Already been partially said but the lower of:-

The combined capacity of the tyres
The capacity of the axles (hard to prove)
Any plate fitted
The max capacity of the tow hitch

 

[Justme]

Think you'll find they won't be sold in Europe without a plate... European whole vehicle Type approval and all that..

I think he means that the plate does not have a GTW weight on it.

No GTW no towing.

For some reason one of the landrovers models left the factory without any GTW.

 

[HughF]

Fair enough... dig out the book, find out what it is, stamp it in

 

[octo0072000]

I think he means that the plate does not have a GTW weight on it.

No GTW no towing.

For some reason one of the landrovers models left the factory without any GTW.

my Disco 1 was the same as norms plate not stamped for towing
but had a factory fitted tow bar work that out,
disco bought in UK for personal export (allowed use in UK for X no of months)
used by Mr bigs African embassy staffs wife.
then exported to Africa owner was embassy staff returning to africa then later re imported to UK as embassy staff wifes car owned by some big Africa embassy staff man as wife's car then they retired to the UK checked all history and owners at Gaydon costs £25

 

[Robotstar5]

Fair enough... dig out the book, find out what it is, stamp it in

You don't stamp VIN labels any more, they're etched into tamperproof film with a laser!, quite impressive to watch them being made.

 

[premmington]

Our Land Rover Discovery and hydraulic tilting recovery trailer.

Plated at 6.38 tons gross train weight (MAM)! Truck laden 2880kgs - trailer unladen1650kgs (MAM 3500kgs) plus airbrakes and tachograph gives a payload of 1850kgs.

 

[F.J.]

It's all so confusing and everyone seems to have their own take on it. My mwb sprinter 315 can tow 2.2t. I have a 3.5t trailer that weighs approx 740kg and I carry buckets that weigh up to 1.5t making it 2.2t. I have driven from Manchester to London via the centre of Birmingham with no issues, I regularly tow in and around Manchester with no issues. Suppose I am just lucky not getting pulled up to not deal with the grief but the van pulls it very well and doesn't sit low once hitched up either so doesn't make you think you are overloaded

 

[premmington]

It's all so confusing and everyone seems to have their own take on it. My mwb sprinter 315 can tow 2.2t. I have a 3.5t trailer that weighs approx 740kg and I carry buckets that weigh up to 1.5t making it 2.2t. I have driven from Manchester to London via the centre of Birmingham with no issues, I regularly tow in and around Manchester with no issues. Suppose I am just lucky not getting pulled up to not deal with the grief but the van pulls it very well and doesn't sit low once hitched up either so doesn't make you think you are overloaded

You need a tacho! Even if you don't go over 100km from base and actually need to use the tacho. Anything over 3.5ton for business use needs a tacho!

I keep getting pulled with the Disco and trailer, they keep asking me for my tacho smartcard, I keep replying "I am a single use owner operator I am using the internal memory". They hold me for an hour till they decide I know the law better than they do!

 

[premmington]

You don't really need air brakes (or anything other than overrun braking) on a trailer unless it's over 3,500kg though.

True, if the trailer was plated at 3501kg it would need joined brakes (not even air brakes) and the same test as an artic trailer.

Air brakes are just so nice thou, touch the brakes and the trailer pulls you back, everything in a straight line.

Most car trailers are plated at 2700kgs (due to euro plating). Finding one at the full weight of 3500kgs is not easy.

I am a bit of (budding) expert on the subject, I did once own a mini artic so had to learn the rules!

 

[HughF]

Overrun brakes are a pile of festering ****... Glad you have air. Electric is the other option, USA style.

 

[premmington]

Overrun brakes are a pile of festering ****... Glad you have air. Electric is the other option, USA style.

True, I have never ever found a better system than air (it is why artics have it). Only down side is the dead man syndrome, but tank and suzie line valves make pushing an empty trailer about possible.

 

[premmington]

There are exceptions to needing a tacho for over 3.5t commercial use...

Yes there are exemptions, but moving a digger bucket about on a trailer is not one of them.

I could possibly use the "recover to a place of safety exemption" excuse.

But I don't...