EB Driving Test - passed!

leex

I have been a lurker on this forum and the Learning to Drive one for the past few months and was trying to obtain info to prepare me for the EB trailer test. Information seemed very limited until recently. I passed my EB test today and said I'd share my experience with the rest of you. If only 1 item below is of help it is worthwhile.

From memory the structure was as follows:

* 5/6 Theory questions - moderate difficuty, e .g. Yellow box, crossing white line etc, what is clearway.
* 5/6 road signs - again moderate difficulty "everyday" ones. Roundabout, clearway, mini roundabout, slippy road are some I remember.
* I was verbally asked the checks to carry out on trailer before taking off. Lights check, towbar cable, coupling ok etc
* As soon as we got outside - tester counted the 30 concrete blocks
* Under bonnet checks - how to check oil, brake fluid, windscreen washer.
* Lights at front and back of car and back of trailer were checked.
* Before moving off - questions about controls in the car - rear window demister, rear windscreen wiper, hazard lights.
* Driving test then - drive around the town, similar to regular B test. Junctions, hill start, reverse around corner. Items relevant to trailer here apart from taking care with trailer and extra weight for stopping incl reverse trailer around corner and driving car/trailer up a very steep hill. Important to use gears properly on the hill. I think I got a Grade 2 here for being in too high of a gear.

Item to note: ANY warn lights on in vehicle is a potential failure of test, even an engine management light.

sea12

Welcome to the farming forum. Congrats on the test. Good info above. What town did u do it in. Did u get lessons in advance.

leex

sea12 wrote: »

Welcome to the farming forum. Congrats on the test. Good info above. What town did u do it in. Did u get lessons in advance.

Tuam and 1 lesson which was definitely worthwhile.

Dunedin

leex wrote: »

Tuam and 1 lesson which was definitely worthwhile.

i thought you had to get 12 lessons as a minimum - or did you have your provisional got before they introduced that???

tomo75

'As soon as we got outside - tester counted the 30 concrete blocks'

Whats this about??

dodod

You have to carry a certain weight for the test have to have 30 blocks since January

leex

Dunedin wrote: »

i thought you had to get 12 lessons as a minimum - or did you have your provisional got before they introduced that???

Did my theory test and obtained learner permit just before this was introduced 2 years ago.

leex

tomo75 wrote: »

'As soon as we got outside - tester counted the 30 concrete blocks'

Whats this about??

Have to have weight in your trailer since middle of January. More info here.

http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Learner%20Drivers/Third%20Directive/Link%20D%20FAQ's%20on%20real%20total%20massV2.pdf

leex

Also the following is from the email I received with my test booking. Note the bits I have highlighted in red. Car length of 4.25m will cover most saloon cars but I'm guessing smaller hatchbacks like VW Golf, Ford Focus or some smaller vans may not qualify. The 2.4m requirement for trailer length is quite long so worth checking your trailer.

Representative Vehicle: A combination, made up of a Category B test vehicle which should be either (a) a length of at least 4.25 metres, or (b) a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and a trailer with a design gross vehicle weight of at least 1,400kg but not exceeding 3,500 kg., capable of a speed of at least 100km/h, which does not fall within Category B. The cargo compartment of the trailer must consist of a permanent, closed box body which is at least as wide and as high as the motor vehicle, and have a length of at least 2.4 metres. The closed box body may also be slightly less wide than the motor vehicle, provided that the view to the rear is only possible by use of the external rear-view mirrors of the motor vehicle. From 19/01/2013, the trailer must be presented with a real total mass (the actual weight of the trailer including any load if necessary) of at least 800 kg., having due regard for safety, stability, manufacturer’s guidelines and legal limits of the combination.

Walshy11

Hi Leex,

Well done.
Doing my test next month!!
Did you have a working fog light and reversing light on the trailer? I heard you need these for the test. ?!

Thanks.

bbam

Well done !!

new2me

how much in total does it cost...
I done my hgv arctic licence few years ago and so did not have to do this which was great.

supersean1999

12 lessons. What a load of #Hit. How Can they Tell everyone needs that many. How bloddy much Do they cost. Another irish rip off like. The 25 e to weigh a commercial vechicle. Any many many more.

new2me

my brother has to do this too but instead he is going for the arctic licence and will get 2 for 1...he already has the c Licence

vanderbadger

passed today in Galway, another annoying job out of the way, took a few lessons and they were essential for a man who likes his elbow out the window and other such bad habits etc

MfMan

Anyone know what the deal is with tri-axle trailers / artic licence etc. ? As far as I can ascertain, it's not the number of axles that you tow, it's the weight you tow that's needed for such a licence.

Sharpshooter82

vanderbadger wrote: »

passed today in Galway, another annoying job out of the way, took a few lessons and they were essential for a man who likes his elbow out the window and other such bad habits etc

well done :cool:

jkk1

Hi,
2 things.
1 you cannot legally tow a double axle trailer rated at 1400kg (the minimum for the test) with a regular car, it has to be an estate. The manufacturers specification will give you the maximum allowed braked trailer to be towed by the car.
2. The maximum design gross weight of trailer and vehicle combined allowed with an EB license is 3500KG. If you are driving a long wheel base jeep then you are not permitted to put a double axle trailer rated at 2000kg on it as this would put you over the dgvw allowed.
Check your EB license it restricts you to 3500kg, your only way to have the correct license and be sure you are technically insured is to get the artic license.