Towing? - i'm an idiot
Turbo Mini Forums

Ive had a look, searched, and its all going over my head a bit. So i thought i'd check.

passed my test in 2001

and i want to tow a braked trailer, with a 550kg - ish mini on it.

with a mondeo.

am i right in saying im ok - as long as the trailer doesnt weigh over 200kg? (750kg total)

This is FORD country, on a quiet day you can hear Vauxhalls rusting.

i *think* the trailer must not exceed 170kg, and the overall weight must not exceed 3500kg, but don't quote me on it

The info on direct.gov.uk is crap.

My interpretation (which is most likely wrong so don't take any notice of it) is:

You can tow an unbraked trailer up to 750KGs or a braked trailer upto the MAM for the tow car.

So mini + small trailer being towed by a mondeo should be OK

EDIT: link here, it misses the bit about trailer weights though...

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Drive...cles/DG_4022564

Edited by apbellamy on 11th Jun, 2009.

yes bud that is right , weight of trailer + car not to exceed 750kg.....
Description
Category
Minimum age

Motor vehicles with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg having not more than eight passenger seats with a trailer up to 750kg. Combinations of towing vehicles in category B and a trailer, where the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3500kg and the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle B
17*

Don't go slow !!! Go Turbo :))))))

Yeah, you cannot tow over 750kg! One of the reasons I'm trying to loose a much weight off the car as possible!

how much does it cost to get the full license, and what do you need to do?

Last time I spoke to it mate about it it was around £400 pass or fail. Same again if you have to retake!

You do all of you manouvers in a car park and then drive around on the road for a while.

This was a couple if years ago when he did his.

any ideas what the average brian james single axle trailer weighs?

Team Racing

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

damn my mini needs to loose some weight!!

Brian james single axle trailers will all be braked so the 750kg limit wont apply. OR am i reading it wrong as well.

This page:



States:

"If you passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 you're limited to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass towing a trailer up to 750kgs, or a vehicle and trailer combination up to 3.5 tonnes MAM providing the MAM of the trailer doesn't exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle. You will need to pass an additional driving test in B+E if you wish to tow a caravan or trailer combination which exceeds these weight limits."

So a Mondeo towing a Mini on a trailer should be OK.

E&OE

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Hi,
Gross train weight of a Mondeo is 3150kg so whatever else happens the whole thing can't weigh more than that...
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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The MAM of a trailer must be the gross weight.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Yes, but also, Steve W cannot go over 750Kg trailer weight on his license.

So....

Your trailer cannot exceed the unladen wieght of the vehicle.

Your train weight cannot exceed 3.5 tonnes.

Your trailer weight cannot exceed 750kg.


My plan is to make a flatbed truck suitable to load the mini onto. Stick a winch, a beaver tail, and some ramps onto the back of a flatbed/dropside sprinter/transit.

That way as long as your gross weight doesnt exceed 3.5 tonnes and you dont overload the rear axle your fine on your current license.

And they are easier to manuever than a trailer.

But thats another vehicle to keep on the road.....

This is where a towing dolly could come in handy!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fusion-Fabri..._homepage_panel

www.fusionfabs.co.uk



1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

Hi,
You now need to be registered as a recovery company to legally use a dolly?
Cheers,
Gavin :)

VEMs Authorised Installer / Re-seller. K head kits now available!

WB/EGT gauges. Click here for customers write-up

Visit www.doyouneedabrain.co.uk

My Mini build diary

the way i read it is that you cannot (and this goes for everyone it think) tow a unbraked trailer over 750kg

if you read the next bit on the dvla site it says the total train weight cannot go above 3.5 ton, so that would mean searching through cars chassis plates and comparing numbers.

what i found was a jeep wrangler that had as the top number 2 ton, and 4 ton train total so that would mean that vehicle could tow its own weight but as you are capped to 3.5 you could tow a 1.5 ton trailer behind it and keep to your 3.5 ton limit.

this is semi summed up on page 4 of this leaflet



(most cars will have 750kg listed as the unbraked limit on a trailer, any more and you need a braked one)

I've read it now - old licence no probs - new licence cannot tow a car trailer due to the MAM being over 750kg

On 5th Sep, 2011 Vegard said:
I stand corrected. You should know

no, taking a snippet from that leaflet i linked:

''a car with a unladen weight of 1.25 ton and a MAM of 2 tons towing a trailer with a MAM of 1.25 ton can be driven under category B as the MAM of both doesnt exceed 3.5 ton.''

you can tow more than 750kg trailer with a post 97 licence BUt you have to know your weights to stay in the law.

notes:
trailers over 750kg need to be braked.
the MAM of the trailer cant exceed the unlaiden weight of the car, not the MAM of the car.

"Cars with a maximum authorised mass of no more than 3500kg, having no more than eight passenger seats, towing a trailer up to 750kg."

Lifted directly from that leaflet.

The last point is the important one. But yes your right, over 750KG has to be braked and you need a + E licence (B + E in most cases)

so, in short

as the average car trailer weighs well over 200kg, Im pretty fucked.

unless i strip the mini down, put the engine in the boot of the mondeo, and reassemble it when i get there!

This is FORD country, on a quiet day you can hear Vauxhalls rusting.

you guys like to keep a topic going , don't you have anything else to do

if the car looks bigger than the one being towed is that not enough ...

and if the car has no tax etc , think it has to have all four wheels of the road ?

Edited by minivan rick on 11th Jun, 2009.

Don't go slow !!! Go Turbo :))))))

Well here are the specs for my truck!

I cant tow anything! But hey, i've done thousands of miles with trailers etc. oh well!

I thought the test was only around 150squid as well

Gross Vehicle Weight(Kg): 2830
Kerb Weight(Kg): 1805
Towing Limit(Kg): 2700