Discos and towing

Assuming the usual over-run trailer brakes, 3500kg. A reasonably well-designed and maintained trailer, with suitable tyres, may even be fairly stable with that load and speeds up to the legal maximum (60 mph on dual carriageways) but you'll be down to 40-45 on the steepest motorway gradients.

On or around Sat, 27 Jan 2007 21:43:27 -0000, "Autolycus" enlightened us thusly:

depends on the dynamics of the trailer. hitch height is important, among other things, and nose weight.

IME, too much nose weight is bad - also with a twin axle trailer you need to know get the hitch height right for when it's laden, which may not be the same as empty. In the case of a car trailer, you generally get to vary the balance and the nose weight by how you load it.

Thanks, just what I wanted to hear. I've got to move a 1.8 ton car from Brum up to Warrington with a proper car transporter trailer, so that should be well within the law.

Once I pulled a 3 ton tractor on a 3.5 ton plant trailer behind a Mitsy L200 from Cornwall to Warrington. I was almost needing low box for some of the hills in the west country, and 45mph on the motorway was about as fast as a dared to go before the tail started wagging the dog. Anyway, it wasn't a very clever thing to do and I promised myself never to do it again. I passed a few cops, but they didn't seem to take any interest in me - probably because of my careful progress!

Julian.

In news:astvh.51941$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net, Julian wibbled :

Well to remember 45mph is the MINIMUM allowable speed on a motorway!

When did they change it?, I thought it was 25mph?, more sensible though at

45mph.

Martin

In news: snipped-for-privacy@bt.com, Oily wibbled :

Think it has always been so without an escort!

I'd be interested to see an authoritative source for that one.

IIRC your vehicle has to be capable of at least a certain speed, you just don't have to drive it at that speed, otherwise traffic jams could be an interesting money-spinner ;-)

"227: Prohibited vehicles. Motorways MUST NOT be used by pedestrians, holders of provisional car or motorcycle driving licences unless exempt, riders of motorcycles under 50cc, cyclists and horse riders. Certain slow-moving vehicles and those carrying oversized loads (except by special permission), agricultural vehicles and most invalid carriages are also prohibited."

There are sections of the road network that have minimum speeds, they are blue round signs with the minimum speed in them so you could be done for not driving fast enough! Look in the blue round sign section on the following link;

IIRC the Dartford Tunnel has such signs, not been there in ages though.

No mention in the Highway Code motorways section about lower speed limits in force by default.