Another towing question

The 110 is OK to tow 3.5 tonnes on overrun brakes as long as the car trailer is rated for the load.

I don't know the weight of a series landrover but both my 110 and 101 come in just under 2 tonnes, my trailer weighs 700 kg and is rated at

3.5 tonnes, giving a gross weight of 2600kg.

AJH

On or around Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:06:06 -0800 (PST), "Andrew T." enlightened us thusly:

should be OK, the LR is under 2 tons, and the trailer won't be over a ton. the legal limit is 3.5T gross on over-run brakes. Test passed in 1988 means you have B+E without restrictions.

Is the weight of the trailer and its load legally allowed to exceed the weight of the towing vehicle?

Yes. As long as the towing vehicle's manufacturer rated the vehicle to tow that in the first place then there is no problem. Badger.

On or around Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:07:44 -0000, "Badger" enlightened us thusly:

I'm not sure there's anything in the law, as such, which precludes towing heavier trailers, but you might find the insurance would try to use it as a way out of paying any claim.

Thanks for all the replies, I kind of thought it was OK, but was not sure. I just need to find a trailer and a suitable cheap LR to buy within 200miles...(of Fort William) Or I'll send the local garage with their recovery flatbed truck.

Andrew

If there is how do 40 tonne arctics work? That is a towing vehicle and trailer...

Don't forget suitable straps to attach the wheels of said Land Rover to trailer.

Whats the max TRAIN weight of towing vehicle ? I thought that the max TRAIN weight was the restriction ....and the max tow weight was just the capability of the vehicle.

John

Max train weight is by definition the sum of max laden weight and max towed weight.

Heh, I dunno, that's why I asked. I wasn't thinking along those lines I suppose, the braking system on them's a bit more sophisticated than plain old overrun though, isn't it?

I pick up all sorts of fact and fiction about the legalities of towing, it seems like a minefield. Makes little odds to me personally though as my license is too new.

ISTR that there is a restriction when pulling an un braked (i.e. less than 750kg trailer) of more than 1/2 the towing vehicle's weight but I've just got in and haven't looked it up.

AJH

On or around Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:40:12 +0000, AJH enlightened us thusly:

yep. unbraked trailer can be up to half the towing vehicle's kerb weight, or up to 750Kg, whichever is the lower figure.

On or around Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:59:32 +0000, Douglas Payne enlightened us thusly:

yes, it is. on a typical artic, you have 3 semi-separate braking systems - normal service brakes, trailer-only and unit-only. Loss of air pressure to the trailer also automatically puts the trailer brakes on under some circumstances, although it can still all go wrong... failure of the wrong brake lines can leave you with only the unit brakes.

I'd also heard of the max train weight, is there any restriction on how high this can be on a normal (1988) driving licence? Max of 110 (towing vehicle) 2950, max weight of suitable car trailer +

109 2a would be around the same or a bit more I guess

Andrew

I just found this link which has some well explained detail, more interesting stuff is at the bottom of the page

Amdrew

On or around Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:57:51 -0800 (PST), "Andrew T." enlightened us thusly:

plated vehicles have a train weight which you can't legally exceed. Stuff like transits often has a manufacturers plate with a train weight on it (or sometimes a GVW and a max. trailer weight). I'm not sure of the legal aspect of these, although as I say, the insurance would doubtless use it against you if you exceeded it and there was a claim.

On or around Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:10:00 -0800 (PST), "Andrew T." enlightened us thusly:

useful but limited. For example, there's a restricted C1+E entitlement, which limits the train weight to 8250Kg. This is what most people with older class B licences have.

It also doesn't mention the third class of trailer, i.e. linked brakes, which is required for trailers over 3500Kg.

I rather think that there's no legal restriction, if you have B+E, on larger trailers with linked brakes.

the other thing that's silly is the one about trailer sizes. My minibus is

3850 Kg GVW, so it can tow a bigger trailer than an identical model van which is 3495Kg GVW. Who thought that one up?

Linked brakes.