would an a4 pull this?

f140

i have an audi a4 1.9 tdi 115bhp. would it pull this trailer or would the trailer be too big? all that i would be carrying in the trailer is a ride on lawnmower and a smaller push lawnmower. hence need that size as small lawnmower wont fit in the booth as the gap is too narrow.
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/trailers/2731795

deandean

Look up car user manual.

It'll have max towing weight for an unbraked trailer and max towing weight for a braked trailer.

IIRC the trailer weight (including contents of course) is the limiting factor.

166man

A4 TDI? Sure that would pull the Central bank like....




:pac:

karrimor

for a trailer of that size you would need a EB licence. not just a B licence

dgt

+1

That would have a payload of over 3000kg and with the weight of the trailler itself (circa 650kg) you'd pull the arse of the car off. Plus I don't think you are allowed a twin axle behind a car (open to corrections on that)

Get an EB licence and either use a van or a 4x4 with a proper hitch

L-M

AFAIK you have to have a 4 wheel drive to tow a twin axle, and technically an artic to tow a three axle trailor!

karrimor

big trailer plus light car = crash....

megafan

Where you might run into trouble is on the leagal side link below to RSA website with car & licence requirements... Do you know what max weight the trailer is designed to carry?? & Is it heavier than weight of your car??

http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Your-Vehicle/About-your-Vehicle/Example-of-non-Dup/Trailers-/Technical-Trailer-Requirements-/

L-M

Reading that RSA thing, I can tow a trailer up to 3.5 tonnes on my standard B licence as long as it does not exceed the weight of what I'm towing with?

megafan

Limerick man wrote: »

AFAIK you have to have a 4 wheel drive to tow a twin axle, and technically an artic to tow a three axle trailor!

& as stated on previous posts you don't have to have a 4 wheel drive to pull a twin axle trailer but as most twin axle trailers can carry some weight you might need a heavier car but 4wd not necessary!

L-M

Good to finally have a definite answer on that!

Chuck_Norris

That's my understanding from reading it too.

I always thought that you could tow up to a max of 1.5 tonnes with a B licence. Well, ya learns something new every day.

megafan

Limerick man wrote: »

Reading that RSA thing, I can tow a trailer up to 3.5 tonnes on my standard B licence as long as it does not exceed the weight of what I'm towing with?

"Tow an 02 trailer, with a DGVW of up to 3.5 tonnes provided the GVW (gross vehicle weight) of the trailer does not exceed the manfacture's rated towing capacity for the towing vehicle"

darragh o meara

It'll pull it no bother. I've often towed rallycar on transporter with a passat and they're technically the same car.

We pull a similar trailer and also another closed in trailer which would be a bit bigger both carrying loads obviously with a 1.4hdi 307 so you would have no bother with an A4.

megafan

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

That's my understanding from reading it too.

I always thought that you could tow up to a max of 1.5 tonnes with a B licence. Well, ya learns something new every day.

Well your nearly right the trailer's max carring capacity has to be lighter than the towing vehicle & the total weight of max loaded weight of trailer & max manuf stated loaded weight of car cannot exceed 3.5 tonnes.. so car weighing 2tonnes & 1.5 tonne trailer = 3.5 tonnes!! Read 02 trailer requirments carefully!!:)

[URL="mhtml:{852A73D8-D91D-4EF6-A2D8-27794790D1DA}mid://00000463/!x-usc:http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Your-Vehicle/About-your-Vehicle/Example-of-non-Dup/Trailers-/Technical-Trailer-Requirements-/"]http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Your-Vehicle/About-your-Vehicle/Example-of-non-Dup/Trailers-/Technical-Trailer-Requirements-/[/URL]

megafan

darragh o meara wrote: »

It'll pull it no bother. I've often towed rallycar on transporter with a passat and they're technically the same car.

But you'll probably find your breaking the law & have insurance problems as towing weight well exceeds weight of towing car!

Ronnie Beck

Simply put it's all to do with the weight the trailer is designed to carry not the weight it's carrying. That trailer probably weighs 500kg but is designed to carry a further 2000kg which will excede the weight of your car. So legally you can't tow it even with a towing licence. Just because today it's not full of sand deosn't mean that tomorrow it won't be, is the reason for this rule/law.

I don't think that this law is enforced at all as moost guards won't be able to do all the maths and research on the spot.

Common sense on the other hand would suggest that the total weight of trailer plus load should not exceed your car's 1600 kg max towing capacity.

How much does your lawnmowers weigh?

karrimor

megafan wrote: »

But you'll probably find your breaking the law & have insurance problems as towing weight well exceeds weight of towing car!

technically most people brake the law eg a farmer with a land cruiser pull a cattle trailer full of cattle will be up to 5 ton . so to be full legal he would need a hgv licence because he is over 3500kg and a speed limiter and a tachograph because he over 3500kg

sean1141

megafan wrote: »

But you'll probably find your breaking the law & have insurance problems as towing weight well exceeds weight of towing car!

But the op asked would his car pull it not about the law;)

Bpmull

In terms of the law as far as I know you are only allowed pull the weight specified in the owners manual anymore than that and you are breaking the law. In places the guards are very strict on this and prefer when pulling a twin axle trailer you use a big van or jeep. So i am sure the car would physically be able to pull the trailer but in terms of the law you needed to check it as although you are allowed have a gvw of 3.5 ton the towing capacity of the vehicle Is now taken into account as far as I know.

mullingar

You cannot go by the number of axles per licence, its all down to the GVW, but for the majority of cases it can be considered a rule of thumb.

If your car has a GVW of 1800kg, and the trailer has a GVW of 1700kg (this weight would need 2 axles), the train weight is 3,500kg so all you need is a B licence. The other rule is that the car MUST be heavier than the trailer. However, the car MUST be approved for such a trailer weight.

If you look at the VIN plate of the car it shows the GVW figures. There are usually 4 numbers:
Big number is the MAX full train weight with a trailer
Medium number is the MAX car wight laden
Smaller numbers are the max per axle weight.

If you subtract the big number from the medium number you get the max trailer weight

Something like this is fine on a B licence if your car has a GVW of between 1301kg and 2200kg Linky

AFAIK, all trailers that have a GVW over 750kg must be equipped with brakes too.


Edit:

This link explains it in more lay-mans terms but its a UK site so licencing may be a little different

cplwhisper

The expession of : the cart is too big for the donkey fits well here

Cat B = 3500kg max weight limit legal on road
this in max 750kg tow weight from towbar back

SouperComputer

You could probably pull a 737 with a 1.9TDI. I'm not joking. Clutch would be in rag order mind you.
Your problem won't be getting going, it will be controlling and stopping it! The weight limits are set for this reason, it's little to do with power and mostly to do with safety. Stick within those limits if you want to be safe

f140

i doubt the lawnmowers together shouldnt way anymore than 250-300kg so its just that weight + the weight of the trailer. have the eb license aswell. i will be never carrying anything over a tonne in it for sure. i have tractors for that job.

BrianD3

mullingar wrote: »

If your car has a GVW of 1800kg, and the trailer has a GVW of 1700kg (this weight would need 2 axles), the train weight is 3,500kg so all you need is a B licence. The other rule is that the car MUST be heavier than the trailer. However, the car MUST be approved for such a trailer weight.

Something like this is fine on a B licence if your car has a GVW of between 1301kg and 2200kg Linky

With a B licence the GVW of the trailer musn't exceed the unladen weight of the car.

In addition the GVW of the trailer plus the GVW of the car mustn't exceed 3500 kg.

So the ideal tow car is one with a high towing capacity (manufacturer figure) a high kerb weight but a relatively low GVW.

Katunga

Here is what another VAG can pull.

Hay_man

f140 wrote: »

i have an audi a4 1.9 tdi 115bhp. would it pull this trailer or would the trailer be too big? all that i would be carrying in the trailer is a ride on lawnmower and a smaller push lawnmower. hence need that size as small lawnmower wont fit in the booth as the gap is too narrow.
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/trailers/2731795

You would have no problem towing that trailer with an A4 you wouldn't know it was behind ya :cool:

Often tow with an 8 x 4 here on a 100 bhp A4 with up to a 1 tonne plus on the trailer

Just dont stop on hills with a load if you can

CiniO

Limerick man wrote: »

Reading that RSA thing, I can tow a trailer up to 3.5 tonnes on my standard B licence as long as it does not exceed the weight of what I'm towing with?

But in addition to this, total gross weight of towing vehicle and trailer can't exceed 3.5 tonnes.

So f.e car with gross weight 2000kg (net/kerb weight) 1500kg.
You can tow a trailer of 1500kg gross weight as it doesn't exceed car's weight, and total gross weight of both vehicles is 3500kg which is maximum.

T

Ronnie Beck

f140 wrote: »

i doubt the lawnmowers together shouldnt way anymore than 250-300kg so its just that weight + the weight of the trailer. have the eb license aswell. i will be never carrying anything over a tonne in it for sure. i have tractors for that job.

Be grand so, just not legal. To be legal you'll need to get a ****e trailer...

megafan

f140 wrote: »

i doubt the lawnmowers together shouldnt way anymore than 250-300kg so its just that weight + the weight of the trailer. have the eb license aswell. i will be never carrying anything over a tonne in it for sure. i have tractors for that job.

f140... Are we more confused than ever? basically the car can well tow the weight you want to pull (300kg load & trailer say 500kg = 800kg?) the only issue is leagal about what load the trailer is designed to carry if you look for a trailer to take even more than twice your load say 800kg & trailer weight of 500kg =1300kg your still well ok!!