The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Equipment => Topic started by: Thyme on December 12, 2013, 12:44:24 pm
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As I've only just gotten my UK driving license :relief: it seems I am only allowed to tow a trailer up to 750kg. After googling around a bit it looks like that might be enough to transport small numbers of small livestock? I expect I'll need to do the test so I can tow a proper stock trailer but I don't think I'll plan to get anything larger than a Ryeland in my first year, so maybe I can put it off a bit? Advice much appreciated, it would be good to know if I need to make this a high priority :thinking:
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I'm no expert on this but does that 750kg figure include the weight of the trailer itself?
We only recently bought a new trailer (IW 8g) and made sure it was towable by our Subaru Forester which is only rated for towing up to less than 2 tonnes.
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yup that limit includes the trailer, your also limited to unbraked and single axle...
small stock trailers still fit this category well enough, you just have to be careful when shopping around.
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glad to hear it, thanks bloomer. I'll probably need a different car to tow anything larger anyway, so it's a relief if I can put that off for a bit :)
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i only know as i'm old enough to tow anything within reason but mrs b. has the same license type as you...
good luck
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That will be like an Ifor Williams P6e or P7e, which are unbraked single axle, 750kg max. They weigh about 250kg so that gives you half a tonne of payload. You can squeeze a fair number of sheep or pigs into one of those.
It all depends on what your long term plans are as to whether you want to fork out for a small trailer now, or wait and save up for a larger one once you have passed the necessary test.
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That will be like an Ifor Williams P6e or P7e, which are unbraked single axle, 750kg max. They weigh about 250kg so that gives you half a tonne of payload. You can squeeze a fair number of sheep or pigs into one of those.
It all depends on what your long term plans are as to whether you want to fork out for a small trailer now, or wait and save up for a larger one once you have passed the necessary test.
Much thanks foobar, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear :thumbsup: I think I'll look for a used one of the models you suggest, or similar, since I'm only planning for a small number of sheep in 2014, and then I can work on the test with less pressure. Super helpful.
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Foobar's right.
If you do get the P6e or P7e, get the big chunky "flotation" tyres. They help loads for going in and out of fields. Though I do have a license to tow a bigger trailer, we found that the cost jump up to a braked trailer was too much, so just bought an unbraked one.
I've missed having the ability to tow a builders bag or sheet of plywood laid flat, but that's about it so far. It's certainly big enough for plenty of sheep!
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mr womble, if you ever need one my trailer does both of the listed tasks and i'm not far away :-)
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Thanks Bloomer. Likewise, if you ever need some sheep moving..... ;)
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Also, learning to reverse a single-axle trailer first will mean that you will find reversing a bigger trailer really easy. Single-axle trailers wiggle like crazy and are super sensitive when you reverse, so it's all excellent practice :).
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You can also take a well mannered shetland pony to pony club in one of those wee trailers, you just get funny looks at the other end! I had my trailer test booked for in August, but it ended up being the same day as my father in laws funeral and had to cancel, waiting for better weather/light to book again.
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I looked into this a few years ago and, unless things have changed, you are allowed to go beyond 750kg. The trailer must at that point be braked, and the real limit is 1750kg- but (and this is the important bit) the trailer must weigh no more than the towing vehicle, and the combined total must be within 3500kg. Hence the resulting limit of 1750kg.
It's a really messy system!!
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that info is wrong for people born from around 1981/1982 (not sure of exact date) you can't tow anything over 750kg without taking an additional test...
pre those dates you can tow anything the vehicle can legally pull.
I can get in a 3.5 ton van with a 3 ton trailer on the back and i'm fine, mrs b is younger than me and cant drive the same vehicles on her license.
the categories on the license are different...
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I looked into this a few years ago and, unless things have changed, you are allowed to go beyond 750kg. The trailer must at that point be braked, and the real limit is 1750kg- but (and this is the important bit) the trailer must weigh no more than the towing vehicle, and the combined total must be within 3500kg. Hence the resulting limit of 1750kg.
It's a really messy system!!
Things did change, I think it was very recently too, just in the last year or so. I was born long before 1980 ;) but since I'm an immigrant to the UK my UK driving license is shiny and new (and my insurance is awful :P). So I think people who got their license more than a few years ago are all fine, but people who are just now getting their first license get the 750kg limit, and have to take another test to have it lifted.
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From https://www.gov.uk/towing-rules/y/car-or-light-vehicle/no/licence-issued-after-19-Jan-2013 (https://www.gov.uk/towing-rules/y/car-or-light-vehicle/no/licence-issued-after-19-Jan-2013)
You can also tow heavier trailers if combined weight of trailer and vehicle isn’t more than 3,500kg.
Easy to get confused. The old regs (pre 1997) allowed a trailer of up to 3500kg; the newer regs allow a train weight of 3500kg.
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Just one further thought - before committing to any trailer it's essential to check the handbook for your towing vehicle to find the manufacturer's details of the maximum towing loads allowable for that vehicle. As an example my Peugoet estate's handbook quotes trailer at max 750 kg single axle unbraked, or 1500kg multi axle braked, subject to all up 'train weight' as mentioned by others previously.
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Just one further thought - before committing to any trailer it's essential to check the handbook for your towing vehicle to find the manufacturer's details of the maximum towing loads allowable for that vehicle. As an example my Peugoet estate's handbook quotes trailer at max 750 kg single axle unbraked, or 1500kg multi axle braked, subject to all up 'train weight' as mentioned by others previously.
Thanks, and yes indeed. I only have a little Honda Jazz at present so I wasn't expecting it could do too much. Checked the make and model and it looks like it can do the 750 kg single axle unbraked but that's about it. So fine for now but I will probably need to look at something a little less urban in future :o