Towing restrictions

[Miller]

Im looking at getting a bigger rib but was wondering about the towing restrictions....google came up with a multitude of drivel that still didint answer it!

The boat is a 9m on a twin axle 3500kg trailer...The boat is very beamy and i reckon the boat and trailer has got to be at least 35ft long.

I know I can take up to 3500kg if the car can take it(L200?) but I m not sure about the width and length restrictions.

Any help appreciated

[Lee argyle]

Think it's max 7m plus draw bar and 3m wide........mines over size and any distance I deflate my tubes , so far no issues with plod

[Nasher]

I don't think an L200 can't legally tow 3500kgs.

2700kgs rings a bell.

Nasher

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Nasher

I don't think an L200 can't legally tow 3500kgs.

2700kgs rings a bell.

Nasher

I dont think it can either....Would a 9m rib with twin 150s weigh 3 tonne?

Failing that, got my old mans landcruiser....that could probably tow the Queen Mary!

[cptsideways]

L200 is definitely not legit !!


You will be needing a 3.5ton tow weight for that, big Landcruisers (not the smaller Prado's) Big Patrol, most Landies & the Daihatsu Fourtrak will do the job.

[Trell]

Originally Posted by Miller

Im looking at getting a bigger rib but was wondering about the towing restrictions....google came up with a multitude of drivel that still didint answer it!

The boat is a 9m on a twin axle 3500kg trailer...The boat is very beamy and i reckon the boat and trailer has got to be at least 35ft long.

I know I can take up to 3500kg if the car can take it(L200?) but I m not sure about the width and length restrictions.

Any help appreciated

More details please, what breed of rib, what breed of trailer engines 4 stroke or 2 ?

[Miller]

Twin 150 4 strokes

[thomas]

My friend tows his 10m protector copy, tubes deflated with a pair of 150 four strokes all over the place, he did have a Jeep thing, now a Land Rover and has never had a problem - mind you he also has disc brakes which I gather is a no no over here, guess once the trailer Euro MOT comes in he'll be converting them.

[tehguy]

With a tow vehicle up to 3500kg gross you can tow a trailer up to 7 metres long (not including the drawbar or coupling) and 2.55 metres wide, you are also allowed up to a 2 metre overhang which must be clearly marked at the end (normally a piece of bright cloth or a high vis vest). For anything longer you need a towing vehicle over 3500kg gross weight.

Is 35 feet an accurate figure or are you just guessing? As the standard full-length articulated lorry trailers are only 44 feet long and that's pretty damn big.

All Land Rovers (excluding Freelander) will tow 3.5 tonnes, in fact the Defender can actually tow 4 tonnes if a suitable braking system is fitted on the trailer (overrun is not allowed above 3.5T).

[Poly]

Originally Posted by tehguy

With a tow vehicle up to 3500kg gross you can tow a trailer up to 7 metres long (not including the drawbar or coupling) and 2.55 metres wide, you are also allowed up to a 2 metre overhang which must be clearly marked at the end (normally a piece of bright cloth or a high vis vest). For anything longer you need a towing vehicle over 3500kg gross weight.

Is 35 feet an accurate figure or are you just guessing? As the standard full-length articulated lorry trailers are only 44 feet long and that's pretty damn big.

All Land Rovers (excluding Freelander) will tow 3.5 tonnes, in fact the Defender can actually tow 4 tonnes if a suitable braking system is fitted on the trailer (overrun is not allowed above 3.5T).

Length rules don't apply to "indivisible loads" (which boats are).

[Festinghouse]

what weight is stamped on the trailer? if it says 3500kg, then in the eyes of the law it is a 3500kg trailer whether it weighs that or not.

[tehguy]

Originally Posted by Poly

Length rules don't apply to "indivisible loads" (which boats are).

Interesting.

[m chappelow]

I think an indivisible load becomes an abnormal load as soon as it goes over 3.00 m wide or more than 18.50 m long .
Also why boats classed as an indivisible load only needed white forward facing outer marker lights during hours of darkness unlike other trailers eg caravan that are compulsory all the time .

[tehguy]

Well I just found this:



Could be worth a sticky thread.

[biffer]

You can go round in circles for days over towing. Even if you're legal if it looks unsafe or wrong they will take you off the road. The golden rule I work by is. If it looks right they won't look any closer. It's rare you get a batard cop nowadays. They don't want the work. If it looks like it's going to fall off the trailer or you're going down the motorway at 10 mph you're going to get nicked

[solent spence]

On motorway cops they pulled a transit flatbed towing a plant trailer with a mini digger on, because it came up on the anpr as having no insurance. They pulled off and the trailer had no number plate on! But that didn't seem to bother the police and was on tv!

Always best to have working lights, number plate, proper lashings, mudguards, safety chain and then less likely to be stopped. Towing too much with a small car - we know the answer to this

[Barrowboy]

Originally Posted by biffer

You can go round in circles for days over towing. Even if you're legal if it looks unsafe or wrong they will take you off the road. The golden rule I work by is. If it looks right they won't look any closer. It's rare you get a batard cop nowadays. They don't want the work. If it looks like it's going to fall off the trailer or you're going down the motorway at 10 mph you're going to get nicked

Absolutely agree. BUT, if you're towing in/through Cheshire be warned; the local traffic plod have all been through some 'intensive' training over the past 6 months re. the law as it applies to towing because it had been identified (by themselves) that most of them simply didn't know the rules and regs in sufficient detail...

I'm reliably informed that they're now fully conversant and happy to put their newly found knowledge to the test.

Having said all that, I'm amazed at some of the sights I see being towed (dragged) along our roads on occasions where, as Biffer says, you don't need a detailed knowledge of the law to know that it's just not safe.

[SW Boat Transport]

Originally Posted by Poly

Length rules don't apply to "indivisible loads" (which boats are).

Correct to a point. They only don't apply if the load cannot be carried on a vehicle conforming to C&U regulations ie if the boat could be carried on a artic, then you cannot use the indivisible load exemption.

[SW Boat Transport]

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

what weight is stamped on the trailer? if it says 3500kg, then in the eyes of the law it is a 3500kg trailer whether it weighs that or not.

As far as driving licences and tachographs are concerned, yes. As far as towing vehicles are concerned, it would be perfectly legal to tow a 3500kg plated trailer behind a vehicle not rated to tow that weight, provided the actual weight of the trailer was inside the vehicle's towing capacity.

[SW Boat Transport]

Originally Posted by m chappelow

I think an indivisible load becomes an abnormal load as soon as it goes over 3.00 m wide or more than 18.50 m long .
Also why boats classed as an indivisible load only needed white forward facing outer marker lights during hours of darkness unlike other trailers eg caravan that are compulsory all the time .

Anything above 2.9m wide or 18.75m long is classed as an abnormal load. These require a 2 day notification to police along with extra marking and lighting depending on the size of the load.