Towing in the UK

Cocolola

Hi guys just a quick question about towing.

Myself and my partner are going over to the UK on Friday to pick up a kit car. It's going to be a long trip and we're tight for time so I was wondering if I'd be able to share the driving legally while over there so as to give him a break?

We both have full Irish driving licence and he has his trailer licence but I only have the standard Category B. Our car is a Skoda Superb estate which I think has a gvw of around 2117 (I'll find out for sure later). I don't know what the combined weight of the trailer and kit car will be yet.

Thanks for any help.

ARGINITE

Rules for towing.

So the answer depends on the total weight of the trailer + car + what ever load you have on the trailer.

What kitcar?

Mycroft H

Combined gross weight of the trailer and the car must not exceed 3.5t while the car being the heavier of the too. Cant really tell unless you know how heavy the load is going to be.

CiniO

Mycroft H wrote: »

Combined gross weight of the trailer and the car must not exceed 3.5t while the car being the heavier of the too. Cant really tell unless you know how heavy the load is going to be.

ARGINITE wrote: »

Rules for towing.

So the answer depends on the total weight of the trailer + car + what ever load you have on the trailer.

What kitcar?

Load on the trailer doesn't matter.
What matters is trailer design gross weight.
If sum of towing vehicle D.G.V.W and trailer D.G.V.W exceeds 3.5 tonnes, then it can not be towed unless you hold BE licence.
It doesn't matter if trailer is fully loaded or empty.

DakarVert

Bit of a grey area but the above is correct as far as I know. (As usual all depends on the person stopping you)

Basically your car GVW (Max your car can weigh) + Trailer GVW (Max your trailer can weigh loaded)
They don't go by actual weights.

R.O.R

Have you factored in the slower speeds for towing in your journey times?

Markcheese

Cocolola wrote:

We both have full Irish driving licence and he has his trailer licence but I only have the standard Category B. Our car is a Skoda Superb estate which I think has a gvw of around 2117 (I'll find out for sure later). I don't know what the combined weight of the trailer and kit car will be yet.

I think a lot of posters are kind of missing the licence issue .
Your licence doesn't permit you to tow anything that big- ( as far as I know the equivalent licence in the uk would allow you but you're on an irish licence so that'd affect your insurance )
I know they can be very strict on towing limits over there so be careful ...

CiniO

Markcheese wrote: »

I think a lot of posters are kind of missing the licence issue .
Your licence doesn't permit you to tow anything that big- ( as far as I know the equivalent licence in the uk would allow you but you're on an irish licence so that'd affect your insurance )
I know they can be very strict on towing limits over there so be careful ...

That's nonsense.
It's not the licence which let's you tow.
It's the laws of the country in which you are driving that matter.
Those laws specify who can tow what holding certain kind of licence.
If holder of B category UK licence can tow certain set in UK, then holder of B category Irish licence, can tow the same in UK.

Insurance must cover that, if towing was legal in country you were doing it.

Cocolola

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone, they're much appreciated. I've been away from the computer all day so sorry for the delay in replying.

ARGINITE wrote: »

What kitcar?

A Locost, as far as I know Arginite, if that means anything to you!

CiniO wrote: »

Load on the trailer doesn't matter.
What matters is trailer design gross weight.
If sum of towing vehicle D.G.V.W and trailer D.G.V.W exceeds 3.5 tonnes, then it can not be towed unless you hold BE licence.
It doesn't matter if trailer is fully loaded or empty.

I've found out that the combined car and trailer GVWs exceed the 3.5 tonnes, regardless of the load, so that's me out of the running. Thanks for the info CiniO.

R.O.R wrote: »

Have you factored in the slower speeds for towing in your journey times?

Ya, I hope so anyway, but thanks for pointing it out

Sh1tbag OToole

Put the engine and as many other parts as you can into the boot, put only the back wheels on the kit car and attach a steel bar with a hitch and a few U bolts to the chassis. That way you don't need a trailer and the weight of the thing you're towing will be well below 750kg. If there was no one with you you'd nearly fit the whole car into the boot

The Sidewards Man

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

If there was no one with you you'd nearly fit the whole car into the boot

Sure they could parcelmotel it altogether.