I want to make a trailer from van rear end - will it be road legal tho?

martco

I have a project in mind but I'm not sure if it would be road legal.....I've a 2003 VW T4 Transporter 2.5tdi swb that I'd like to chop and make a trailer out of....thinking from the driver's cab back.

Like this one:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kathandtheo/6399583783/in/photostream/

Has anyone got experience of this?

I've seen a couple in the UK but what's the story here? Can I just work away or is there some paperchase that has to be done to have it on the road here legally?

any advice appreciated!

bmstuff

Loving the concept, I would say it is probably legal as long as the lights work and the reg is displayed.
You may have weight/height restrictions though with a van, might require a different driving license.
Hopefully someone with proper knowledge will shime in.

R.O.R

I passed something with half a Vivaro/Primastar/Trafic on the back. Thought there was a Van on tow, but turned out it was the back half of a Van, used as a trailer.

Irish plate on the back of the "Van". The reg year on the plate was too old to be correct on a Vivaro, and that's what really caught my attention.

Pretty cool, but kinda strange looking. Wouldn't surprise me if it was on the way to the Vantastival festival as it was that weekend, and there were a few weird yokes on the road.

Trailers have to be type approved and plated now so it would be impossible to get this done legally. However, you could always say that the trailer was manufactured before 2012.

Loading it you'd want to avoid anything heavy in front as the axle placement is far from ideal.

martco

that sounds like good news/plan...
the existing van is actually not too bad in itself, engine very good nick and running solid and sweet 2 years now after doing the injector/intercooler/map but I've always wanted a syncro so the masterplan is to find one eventually and get a nice trailer + parts bin out of her

I hear u on the axle, just thinking out the subframe/hitch now. worst case I could chop more off but if I come up with a good bulletproof solution for the longer trailer I'll post it

R.O.R

R.O.R wrote: »

I passed something with half a Vivaro/Primastar/Trafic on the back. Thought there was a Van on tow, but turned out it was the back half of a Van, used as a trailer.

Found a pic of this one - https://www.flickr.com/photos/44651774@N05/13931245950/in/set-72157644523655932/

martco

aw that's well sorted! if I get anywhere close to that standard of a job I'll be very pleased
It just seems like a massively sensible idea given the prices that some of the fancy camping trailers are going for, if you're ok with welding and basic mechanical/elec understanding. Plus imo it looks pretty good!

colm_mcm

We had one like that in the 80s, it was made out of an old Transit