confusion, brakes and mudguards?

[adamdavi3s]

Hi,

I have a humber 5.3 on what appears to be a home made trailer.
Someone mentioned that it may not be legal as-
1. it doesn't have mudguards
2. it is unbraked.

I didn't realise mudguards were a legal requirement, and I *think* but can't confirm (although I may have to) that the boat + engine are less than 750kg
I have a suspicion that the trailer was almost certainly made pre 1997.

A photo of the offending item is attached! (you can see wheel guards)

I've looked on NTTA / DVLA / VOSA but can't find any substantive legal answers

[GaryC]

Originally Posted by adamdavi3s

Hi,

I have a humber 5.3 on what appears to be a home made trailer.
Someone mentioned that it may not be legal as-
1. it doesn't have mudguards
2. it is unbraked.

I didn't realise mudguards were a legal requirement, and I *think* but can't confirm (although I may have to) that the boat + engine are less than 750kg
I have a suspicion that the trailer was almost certainly made pre 1997.

A photo of the offending item is attached! (you can see wheel guards)

I've looked on NTTA / DVLA / VOSA but can't find any substantive legal answers

Doesnt the 750Kg refer to the total Mass of trailer AND what ever is loaded on it? (everything)

[adamdavi3s]

oop sorry that was meant to be one of my questions

[wavelength]

what you towing it with?
Get some mudguards!

[Downhilldai]

What suspension does it have?

[PeterR]

Hello,I,m know there are others on here who know at lot more than me and they will comfirm perhaps your guards should be legal enough.But bear in mind other road users when towing in the rain with the spray they produce.The weight of the boat engine etc has to be under 750kg is my understanding,but will watch this thread to check.regards Peter

[wavelength]

the weight of trailer and its load is a max of 750kg to be unbraked but it has to be less than half the kerbside weight of the towing vehicle. I wouldn't call those frames mudguards but perhaps they could be boxed in a bit, and be made more pedestrian friendly. It looks a bit like traffic copper bait to me as it is.

[PeterM]

Towing without mudguards can make a real mess of your gelcoat - Stones coming up from the tyres at speed will pepper your hull with tiny stones .

I'd fit some if only for the protection of the hull.

[Hightower]

I would screw a piece of alloy checker plate to the top and find some heavy rubber to screw on the back, hanging down aka lorry splash guard style. Then you've got a decent step too.

[9D280]

I looked into all this a year ago when I was deciding whether to upgrade the trailer I got with the rib or buy a new one.

Mudguards - Yes, you need mudguards, unless the body of the trailer can be deemed to be suitable. The problem is that the boat is classed as the load, so you can't use it. (e.g you launch the boat, it breaks down & you need to take the trailer 30 miles down the coast to fetch the boat......) As said before, get them to protect your hull.

Brakes - The rules for towing unbraked are basically half the weight of the tow vehicle with an absolute max. of 750Kg. (so a Disco at 2 tonnes could still only tow 750Kg unbraked) Assuming you have an O-Pro, mine (which is older, has less hull mass and a resulting 110Kg / 60Hp transom so a lightweight engine at 83 odd KG) clocks in at about 450Kg, so the chances are yours is likely going to be over the 500Kg mark. A trailer to take a boat of of that size will be in the region of 300Kg....

This is from memory, but there's not a lot that a pre '97 trailer will allow over and above current. For unbraked it's basically down to not needing a retaing wire.


For what it's worth, when I costed up the refurb of a single axle trailer, the difference between refurb & buy a new one turned out to be a lot less than I thought when I took the "add brakes" upgrade into account. (and you have twice as many wheels) The difference from launching from something that was a lot like what you have to a swing beam roller type was like night & day. I used to need 3 people & waders, I can now launch single handed keep my feet dry, and more often than not keep the trailer hitched on to the car!