Boat trailer - how do I tell what its capacity is?

[philipm]

My second hand trailer has written on it that it has a "Gross weight" of 1,490 kg however elsewhere it says "GA 950 - 1600 kg".

I take it one refers to the weight of the trailer itself (the "gross weight") and the other is the range of weight it can carry but I'm not sure. Does anyone else know what these two things mean as it's pretty important!

Thanks
Phil

 

[VicS]

Gross weight means the weight of the trailer plus load. IE The maximum allowed fully laden if the men from VOSA stick it on a weighbridge. Exceed this at your peril.

No idea what the GA figures mean.

Try looking at the NTTA website . i had a quick look but could not see anything.

BTW it would apparently be an offence to tow a trailer with this max gross weight behind a car not capable of towing that weight even if the trailer is lightly loaded or empty!

 

[Lakesailor]

Yeah.
If you want to find it's actual weight a rough guide is to use some bathroom scales under each wheel and the jockey wheel in turn and add the weights together. If it's a four wheel trailer put a plank between each pair of wheels and weigh once.
If you want it more accurately block the trailer up by the height of the scales and replace each block in turn with the scales.


When you have the trailer weight you can deduct it from the gross weight to find out what weight of load you can carry.

I can't imagine a trailer with a gross weight of 1500kg will weigh more than 300 kg itself.
...................................

Further to what Vic says here is a quote from a traffic cop on a Police Forum

[ QUOTE ]
The Maximum gross weight, or the maximum authorised mass as it is also known, is enforceable, whether or not the actual weight is below the permitted limits covered by the licence.

If I drive a car and a caravan combination, for example and for arguments sake, the car has nothing in it but me and the caravan has nothing other than fittings in it, although its actual weight may be well below the train weight of the towing vehicle, it's gross plated weights are what is used.

For non traffic police this may sound like mumbo-jumbo, so I will try an example...

A private car may have a kerbside weight (weight of car without occupants or any load) of 1.5 tonnes, but a gross weight (maximum permitted weight of car plus occupants plus load) of 2.3 tonnes and a train weight (gross weight plus trailer and load) of 2.8 tonnes. Some trailers and caravans will have a manufacturer's plate showing the gross weight of the trailer.

To find the actual weight of the car and trailer, you need to look in the owners handbook for the kerbside weight. Add to that, your weight, the weight of any passengers, the weight of any articles you are carrying and the gross weight from the trailer manufacturers plate. If all this adds up to more than the train weight of the car, then it is illegal.

If the trailer does not have a gross weight shown on it (most small trailers don't) then you would need to add the actual weight of the trailer and any load carried on the trailer, to the weights you have for the car plus load.

So if my car has the weights detailed above and the caravan weighs 750kg with nothing in it, but has a plated gross weight of 1.5 tonnes, then I cannot tow it with my car, even if it is empty and I have no passengers as the gross weight of the car and caravan would be 2.3 tonnes plus 1.5 tonnes = 3.8 tonnes, well over the train weight permitted on the plate on the car and well over the maximum permitted by a category B entitlement on a licence, even if issued prior to 1997, as the maximum weight of car + trailer combination, cannot exceed 3.5 tonnes.

In any case, the weight of whatever is being towed must not exceed the weight of the towing vehicle.

It's a nightmare, unless you know what you are talking about, but it is very common for drivers with licences issued after 1997 to be carrying well over what is permitted on their licence. A special test is required to give B+E entitlement (car + large trailer).

I hope all this makes sense.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[Nigel_Ward]

I am no expert on these matters but...

As VicS says the gross weight is the maximum allowable weight of trailer plus load. This is on the trailer plate.

Sometimes a similar plate on the tow hitch gives a range of gross trailer loads which the hitch is a suitable match to. Generally the trailer gross load will be somewhere between the minimum and maximum of the hitch.

If you read the technical section of the Indespension manual on trailer parts, it stresses that the brakes must not be too powerful for the trailer otherwise snatching will occur under heavy braking.

 

[lw395]

The GA may be what the suspension or brakes are designed for ????

 

[philipm]

Thanks guys. I think the range of weights relates to the hitch as that is written on the hitch itself (thanks Nigel).

Hard to know what the capacity is if they only tell you the gross weight but I guess that's the system.

 

[Avocet]

I agree with Nigel. I have a trailer with a Knott coupling and it has a plate with a wiggly line on it (not "GA") and two different weights. In my case, this is the range of weights with which the damper in to tow hitch can cope (hence the wiggly line).

I might also be worth looking for a plate on the trailer axle(s) themselves, just in case the axle was sold as a complete sub-assembly. Finally, have a look at the tyre sidewalls. They should quote a weight in kg that the tyres themselves can cope with. At least that should give you a rough idea of whether the plate is in agreement with the tyres.

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
Finally, have a look at the tyre sidewalls

[/ QUOTE ] To which end I noticed there was a key to the tyre makings on the NTTA website when I was looking at it earlier.

Make sure you know what the correct tyre pressures are.