Looking at doing my trailer test

[Justme]

justme, i see you are a trainer, can you tell me more about the part of
"we cover loading & its effects in theory as we have to use a pre loaded trailor with a fixed load for all lessons"
does it cover securing the load to the trailor & what to use and the correct way to use it & are they box trailors or flat backs

The trailer for the test must be a box type large enough (height & width) so that you cant see behind the vehicle without using the external mirrors. For the test the trailer must have a minimum 600kg load & the minimum real weight of trailer & load must be 800kg (the load must be either a 600L or 1000L IBC filled with water or clear sealed weight labeled bags of aggregate.

I could train with no load & then add it for the test but I feel thats not really on even if it will save me in fuel, wear & tear.

For the theory part I try to make it as suitable for the client as possible so will cover the types of loads that they will be carrying & the trailer types they will be using.

Fixings & straps ect need to be suitable re the weight of the load. It also depends on the number of hours they want. Some just want the min to get by & others want the full experience.

A lot of the demand is for fixed plant (chippers ect) trailers so no load as such.

Its worth noting that you can self teach (no L plates or supervisor) for the B+E test using your cat B licence if the car / trailer combo comes under the cat b limits & weighs more than the test requirements.

So you can turn up for the test in your car & trailer, fit L plates front of car & rear of trailer take test & even if you fail drive home with no L plates on.

 

[dunk]

Thanks for the insight justme, i agree training with no load is a bit pointless, as on the test you have to have a load onboard which will give a different feel to towing
i like the fact that the trailor & load is set at 800kgs that makes it that the trailor has to have brakes and its also a box trailor which forces you to use your mirrors,
i think it could be worth adding a section into the test to show how a pupil would strap a load down on a mock up
To be honest thou i think its about time this test should have to be taken if you want to tow a trailor period,

 

[Henrik]

Justme, some great money saving tips there! It's very much appreciated, but don't do yourself out of a job

 

[Justme]

I live in an area that is full of farms & horse people, I cant see trailer training slowing up to much.

I think the min test weight is a bit low.

Even the reality of a 1000L IBC & a normal box trailer at about 600kg still is relatively low at 1600kg when they can then tow 3500kg.

I do lots of personal & business towing of various trailers from a small unbraked 750kg (600kg load) to fully loaded 3500kg ones. The largest physical sized one weighs 2900kg & is really plant rather than trailer. Its right upon the max width, height & length that was allowed when it was first made. Under the new rules if made today you would not be allowed to tow it with a Cat B vehicle. It tows really smoothly & is a dream to reverse as the wheel are set well back. The small 750kg trailer can be a pain to reverse as its slightly narrower than the cars so you can quite see it when going in a straight line unless the load is tall enough to be seen. I often fit a flag pole to its rear to make it easier to see.

The difference between each trailer is quite remarkable. Using the right tow vehicle is also important.

The 750kg trailer behind the tow car for the 2900kg monster tows terrible due to the too low nose weight. So it only gets pulled by the standard car type vehicles.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

Dunk, had to take it, cant tow a 3500kg cattle trailer behind a disco 3 (2500kg ish) on a cat b license!