Help: dinghy trailer with no plate/ID, get it inspected ?

[cwb]

Hi all,

I just bought a nice Wayfarer Composite (70's-80's?) that I plan to drive down here (Spain) on a ferry taking advantage of a family trip to the UK. The boat comes with a nice trailer in good condition, but the trailer has no EC marking, no manufacturer's plate, no carved ID number etc...The seller bought both boat and trailer as is, and it seems to work just fine. I have been reading and it seems that dinghy trailers did not need any legal docs in the UK until 1992. However, if I bring the trailer with no documentation at all it will be absolutely impossible to legally use it here around the continent (at least with a local car).

I was thinking that maybe I could go to a VOSA station, get it inspected and obtain some sort of number/plate/doc. If I could get "something", then I could go to the Spanish equivalent VOSA station and try to get the trailer homologated. Basically, if I can demonstrate that it is legal to drive it in the UK, then I might find the way to drive it legally around Europe.

Any previous experience? any help will be very much appreciated; I would prefer not to waste a good trailer due to the bureaucratics

f.

 

[sarabande]

One can easily buy replacement chassis plates if the old one has fallen off.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...sis.TRS0&_nkw=trailer++plate+chassis&_sacat=0

 

[DownWest]

Apart from Sara's 'inventive' advice, probably the VOSA track would be best and get a single vehicle approval. Expect it would be enough to import it into Spain.
I am thinking of something similar, since here, everything over 500kg has to be homologated. I need a special trailer for my boat, so likely I will build it here then ship it to UK and get it approved, then import it back.
Friend did it with a big trailer and had no probs.
I used to wander around Portugal with home built trailers, but since hardly anybody used them, the police did not seem interested, only checked the lights on the single time I was stopped.

 

[cwb]

Thanks Sara and Downwest.

Regarding the VOSA path, is it still possible to home-built dinghy trailers and get single vehicle approvals? That would be ideal, but I thought it was not possible since 2010 or so. Can I just drive in with a trailer with no papers at all and get it inspected?

 

[DownWest]

Thanks Sara and Downwest.

Regarding the VOSA path, is it still possible to home-built dinghy trailers and get single vehicle approvals? That would be ideal, but I thought it was not possible since 2010 or so. Can I just drive in with a trailer with no papers at all and get it inspected?

I am not up to date, the last time I got a homebuild car legalised in UK, local plod came round, admired it and looked at the chassis plate (which we had stamped out the day before) and signed it off. That was '74 and it is still competing. Not seen a change from 2010 on the car forums that I am on.
Taking it in with no papers is the same as having just built it, so worth a quick talk with them first. They might be sympathetic.

 

[lw395]

Dinghy trailers still don't need any documentation in the UK. They don't have registration or tests. You can own an old one and use it on the road with no paperwork, no plate or serial number. It used to be OK to build your own, so long as it was roadworthy.
That all changed a few years ago. All new trailers in the UK need to be type approved or be individually tested before they can be used. At the same time, the UK adopted EU rules for new trailers where the lights need to be mounted on the trailer not the boat. So most older dinghy trailers will need a lighting board on arms out the back to pass a VOSA test. There are other rules but AIUI, that is the main one which will catch you with a typical older UK trailer. I'd suggest a proper look at the current rules before taking a used trailer for testing.

A new trailer for a Wayfarer is about £1000 to £1200.
http://www.welshharp.co.uk/sovereign-trailers/sovereign-trailers-details/sovereign-wayfarer-range/
Used trailers of indeterminate age range from £250 to £500 ish on ebay.

There are only a few trailer makers in the UK. Most of the designs haven't changed much in 20 years.
If you can identify the maker, it might be worth asking them if they can upgrade it to EU spec and put a plate on it?
Assuming it's a decent galvanised thing in good order.

Alternatively, borrow or buy a combi road base that's properly registered in the EU.
One that fits a wayfarer trolley will fit many other classes (basically they have a few models of A-frame, different lengths), but unfortunately trolleys and trailers cannot usually be mixed between brands. I have a Sovereign trailer for one boat and a Mersea for another, they don't mix.

 

[cwb]

I just talked to a Heavy Vehicle Technical Officer from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. He said they cannot inspect the trailer if it does not have a VIN number. Only a manufacturer can create that VIN number. Therefore LW395 was right, only a manufacturer could help me here.

could anybody name some dinghy trailer manufacturers so I can contact them?

I am attaching a photo of the trailer. Looks similar to Trident's, doesn't it?

 

[lw395]

I just talked to a Heavy Vehicle Technical Officer from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. He said they cannot inspect the trailer if it does not have a VIN number. Only a manufacturer can create that VIN number. Therefore LW395 was right, only a manufacturer could help me here.

could anybody name some dinghy trailer manufacturers so I can contact them?

I am attaching a photo of the trailer. Looks similar to Trident's, doesn't it?
View attachment 75785

Having the winch forward of the mast prop is quite distinctive.
The way the hitch is raised about the main frame is unusual, especially with 10" wheels.
The mast prop is very tall.
Is that silver paint rather than galv?
The high hitch and tall mast support make me suspect it's home made, to suit a high vehicle like a camper or 4x4.
It does not look like a Sovereign or Mersea.

Other trailer makers that spring to mind:
Indespension
Wessex
RM
Hayling (defunct)
Rapide

 

[ffiill]

Surely if you make sure it's roadworthy with good tyres,suspension and working lights what is the chance that anyone will stop you.
If the trailer isn't plated then it's more than likely that it predates any legislation.

 

[lw395]

Surely if you make sure it's roadworthy with good tyres,suspension and working lights what is the chance that anyone will stop you.
If the trailer isn't plated then it's more than likely that it predates any legislation.

Not sure about Spain, but in Germany, trailers have their own number plate, so non-compliance is very obvious? Outside the Uk, it's not always just a case of getting a spare number plate made and slapping it on the lighting board.
Of course one solution is to use a UK registered car to tow it....

 

[LadyInBed]

I just bought a nice Wayfarer Composite (70's-80's?) that I plan to drive down here (Spain) on a ferry taking advantage of a family trip to the UK. The boat comes with a nice trailer in good condition, but the trailer has no EC marking, no manufacturer's plate, no carved ID number etc...

Re the boat, have you seen this
https://dirtywetdog.co.uk/2017/07/03/contenders/

Personally I reckon the trailer was built pre EC regs so you are worrying too much - providing you don't have a vehicle accident!

Also, you might want to worry about the VAT status and have a read through this thread and get yourself a stamped T2L
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?514505-VAT-Status-post-Brexit

 

[Heckler]

Hi all,

I just bought a nice Wayfarer Composite (70's-80's?) that I plan to drive down here (Spain) on a ferry taking advantage of a family trip to the UK. The boat comes with a nice trailer in good condition, but the trailer has no EC marking, no manufacturer's plate, no carved ID number etc...The seller bought both boat and trailer as is, and it seems to work just fine. I have been reading and it seems that dinghy trailers did not need any legal docs in the UK until 1992. However, if I bring the trailer with no documentation at all it will be absolutely impossible to legally use it here around the continent (at least with a local car).

I was thinking that maybe I could go to a VOSA station, get it inspected and obtain some sort of number/plate/doc. If I could get "something", then I could go to the Spanish equivalent VOSA station and try to get the trailer homologated. Basically, if I can demonstrate that it is legal to drive it in the UK, then I might find the way to drive it legally around Europe.

Any previous experience? any help will be very much appreciated; I would prefer not to waste a good trailer due to the bureaucratics

f.

Tim has the best idea!

 

[DownWest]

I might have missed 'Tim's' input ? But from your talk with the bloke, a plate off the web, suitably filled in with the details from a defunct builder, as their's, could get you the cover to get it reged in Spain? Or, if slight of hand is tricky for you, just buy a trailer that complies and flog the existing one on the bay of pigs..