Towing question trailer weights

[GrahamBrown1]

Hello all, I have a question and reading online it's only making me even more confused. So my VW transporter van has a maximum towing weight of 2000kgs.
So this means I can only tow trailers with a gross weight of 2000kgs. Now we have a new trailer at work with a gross plated weight of 2600kgs. If this trailer is empty can I tow it? I thought if the trailer is plated above my towing weight the law does not care if the trailer is empty of stacked with bricks it's plated over my towing weight so you have the capacity to be over weight. Am I correct?

[volvoid]

Thers a lot of confusion about this
Police have done people for towing an empty trailer with plated max weight above the cars limit.
On the other hand if actual weight is within all limits then you should be ok
Hard to prove, magistrates simply rubber stamp whatever "crime" they are presented with
Dont go there.

You could get a data plate made up for the trailer saying for example 1999kg, but then you cant put the extra 600 in.

[GrahamBrown1]

Originally Posted by volvoid

Thers a lot of confusion about this
Police have done people for towing an empty trailer with plated max weight above the cars limit.
On the other hand if actual weight is within all limits then you should be ok
Hard to prove, magistrates simply rubber stamp whatever "crime" they are presented with
Dont go there.

You could get a data plate made up for the trailer saying for example 1999kg, but then you cant put the extra 600 in.

yes your right there! my friend was done for towing a flat trailer completely empty with a land rover but the trailer was plated at 3000kgs. Local traffic plod issued fine and 6 points!!! the actual weight was obviously far less than the plated weight as the trailer had nothing on it but they didn't care about that because he had the capacity to load it and be over weight for the land rover. it was only a Freelander mind!

[Simon Jones]

That's nuts. By that logic, they could have nicked him for speeding as his vehicle has the capacity to travel at 100 mph even though he may have been traveling well within the limit. I'd have just told them I was delivering the trailer and had no intention of putting a vehicle on it.

[Rooster]

Simple answer is yes you can but instead of max trailer mass been 2600kg it is reduced to 2000kg as that is the max towing weight of the towing vehicle,

Ive also heard of it been done other way aswell with max trailer weights been reduced on the trailer chassis plate so for instance somebody without a B+E licence could tow it without been over the 3500kg limit,

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by GrahamBrown1

yes your right there! my friend was done for towing a flat trailer completely empty with a land rover but the trailer was plated at 3000kgs. Local traffic plod issued fine and 6 points!!! the actual weight was obviously far less than the plated weight as the trailer had nothing on it but they didn't care about that because he had the capacity to load it and be over weight for the land rover. it was only a Freelander mind!

I would have contested that

[Tannaton]

There's loads of bollurks going around forums on trailer weights....

If DVSA/VOSA or Plod wish to prosecute you or issue you with a FPN for exceeding the maximum towing capacity of a vehicle or maximum authorised mass then they first have to establish what the actual weight of the trailer is - and that means taking it to a weighbridge or using axle scales which some authorities now carry. So if you have a Freelander which has a towing capacity of 2000Kg, and you have a trailer which is plated with a kerb weight of 1000Kg and a maximum gross weight of 3000Kg and it has a 600Kg load (i.e. 1,600Kg total) then that is 100% legal.

It has never been an offence to tow a trailer which is plated with a maximum gross weight that is above the maximum towing capacity of the vehicle [providing its actual weight is within capacity]. Probably up to a half of HGV's on UK roads are in this configuration.

ALSO - The offences of overweight vehicles and trailers - where dealt with via a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) - are dealt with by a fine depending on the percentage that the vehicle is overweight (5-10% overweight £100, 10-15% overweight £200, 15%+ overweight £300). It is a non endorseable FPN offence so NO POINTS are added to your license. If you are more than 30% overweight then it's a court summons. So far as I am aware - the only FPN offence that carries six points is driving without insurance. A Policeman or VOSA/DVSA cannot give you points for overweight vehicle/trailer offences, it has to go to court for that.

This may help - page 18:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...ler_owners.pdf

"It is perfectly acceptable for a goods vehicle to
be used with a maximum plated train weight of
less than the combined plated gross weights
of the vehicle and trailer, as long as the trailer
isn’t actually loaded to the extent that its
actual weight would exceed the maximum
threshold of the towing vehicle’s maximum
plated train weight.

For example, a towing vehicle with a plated
gross weight of 3 tonnes and a plated train
weight of 5 tonnes, could feasibly tow a
trailer with a maximum gross weight of 3.5
tonnes. However, if both the vehicle and
trailer in the combination were loaded to their
respective maximum gross weights, then the
combination’s maximum train weight would be
exceeded by 1.5 tonnes. It’s the actual weight
of the vehicle and load which is important in
determining a vehicle’s compliance with
legal weight thresholds, not the potential
carrying capacity"

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Simon Jones

That's nuts. By that logic, they could have nicked him for speeding as his vehicle has the capacity to travel at 100 mph even though he may have been traveling well within the limit. I'd have just told them I was delivering the trailer and had no intention of putting a vehicle on it.

Good analogy!

OR you've just driven out of the pub. You've had one shandy but you could have had six pints of Stella...

[Rversteeg]

Don't know about the UK, but here on the continent it is quite simple:

If you just have B then they can fine you based on just the registration papers of the vehicle and trailer. No matter what the actual weight is, the max allowable trailer weight should be lower than the maximum allowable trailer weight on the vehicle registration. The total allowable mass of car and trailer together should also be less than 3500 kg. This could mean you have to have to downgrade the max trailer weight on the trailer document.

If you have B + E they always have to take you to a weighing bridge to determine the actual trailer weight to see if you are over the limit. With B+E you can legally tow any trailer as long as the ACTUAL weight is below the maximum allowable trailer weight of the towing vehicle.

As long as you are still within the EC I guess this will also be applicable to the UK ;-)

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Rversteeg

Don't know about the UK, but here on the continent it is quite simple:

If you just have B then they can fine you based on just the registration papers of the vehicle and trailer. No matter what the actual weight is, the max allowable trailer weight should be lower than the maximum allowable trailer weight on the vehicle registration. The total allowable mass of car and trailer together should also be less than 3500 kg. This could mean you have to have to downgrade the max trailer weight on the trailer document.

If you have B + E they always have to take you to a weighing bridge to determine the actual trailer weight to see if you are over the limit. With B+E you can legally tow any trailer as long as the ACTUAL weight is below the maximum allowable trailer weight of the towing vehicle.

As long as you are still within the EC I guess this will also be applicable to the UK ;-)

Not sure how this applies in the UK, but if it was an issue I *think* the offence would be driving otherwise in accordance with license, rather than overweight vehicle.