Trailer Weights

[TheMuffinMan]

I'm thinking of buying a car which will need trailering home and I am not sure about the legality of me using a trailer. As far as I can work out, the direct gov website here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073 says that any category b car can tow a trailer up to 750kg, which would be less than the combined weight of the car and trailer. However, it then goes on to say that the combined weight of the trailer can be over 750kg so long as it is still less than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.
The tow car will be an old Land Rover Discovery and it will be towing a smallish four wheel trailer with an Austin A35 on it, so as far as I can work out it will be legal, but it would be nice for someone else to confirm this! Sorry for the boring post and thanks in advance.
I was going to post it in speed,plod and the law but it wouldn't let me.

[v8will]

The Disco would be fine. What does your driving licence say though?

If you started driving after Jan 1st 1997 (IIRC) you probably are not covered to tow that weight.

[TheMuffinMan]

My licence itself says nothing about weights. It says I am categories B,B1 and fkp(not sure what that one means). I only passed a year or so ago, but I can't find anything that says that the pass date matters.

[The Moose]

What you need is B+E entitlement on your licence which if you passed a year ago you'll only have under provisional.

So, in short, you can't do that without doing a B+E course (not worth it for one car - I've been there)

Cheers

The Moose

ETA: yes, it's all extremely badly explained and yes, you'll get a big bking if you get caught (thing driving without a licence). I only know this because of towing my race car. Apparently at one event the local police stopped all towing vehicles and checked the drivers entitlement to drive. fked over a fair few guys too

Edited by The Moose on Sunday 30th January 18:28

[v8will]

You're not covered.

You need B+E on your licence.

[mike50001]

you'll probably go over the 3500kg all up limit.

but you would be ok with a smaller tow car, as long as you dont go over the limits

[wolf1]

Your licence dictates what you can tow and the VIN plate dictates what your vehicle can tow.

[Mars]

And once you have the right licence you then have different weights depending upon whether you're using an unbraked trailer (750Kg) or braked one, and then you're limited to the max tow weight of the car (Disco should be OK for 3500Kg), and then a total max for a "normal" licence and "normal" car of something like 7 tonnes (you need to check).

Don't assume you're limited by the unladed weight of the tow vehicle either. My Legacy weighs 1500Kg unladen but can legally tow up to 1800Kg. A Disco weighs something like 2500Kg (D3 = 2700Kg) but can tow up to 3500Kg.

[kambites]

If your licence is the same as mine, you're probably not covered.

I can tow a combination where the MAM of the car and trailer combined is less than 3500kg and the MAM of the trailer is less than the unlaiden weight of the towing vehicle.

ETA; Sorry: MAM is maximum allowable mass.

Edited by kambites on Sunday 30th January 18:37

[TheMuffinMan]

Okay thanks for the replies, I don't think I will try to risk it. Our trailer is fairly ropey, so it is likely to draw police attention and it's quite a long journey. I have a friend with his trailer licence who I'll have to pester. I'd rather not get a proper person to do it as it will almost double the price of the car.

[jagracer]

You can't do it, the Disco has a gross train weight of around 6 tons, it weighs 2200kg empty, has a kerb weight of around 2.6 tons and can tow 3.5 tons. You are limited to a maximum authorised train weight of 3500kg with the class B licence when you tow a braked trailer with a MAM of more than 750kg.