Talk to me about legal towing on an unbraked trailer

Since the Longboat is listed as being 400kg, one has to assume that the Cruiser Longboat is heavier. Plus the engine and gear I'd be surprised if it weighs in at under half a tonne

If the trailer is moderately lightweight, the boat plus trailer coming in at 750kg is plausible

Assuming the trailer is plated 750kg MGW and the rig is actually under that weight, it is a legal tow without brakes

Depending which engine your Passat has, the unbraked towing limit could be 740kg or 750kg (stupid that, what the hell difference does 10kg make? But that is what Volkswagen state)

All of the above being equal, it would be OK
 
I suspect the trailer is going to be over 750kg loaded, therefore illegal.
The limit is less for lighter cars.
Was the trailer built with brakes?

It may or may not be relevant, but I seem to know a lot of younger drivers who been pulled over while towing.
 
I would think that you should at least have "over-run" brakes. Nowadays there are all sorts of regulations re trailers.
Many years ago, I was building a trailer for my Folkboat, and consulted the local police. "Hello, I'm building a trailer for a boat. Can you tell me what is the maximum width of a trailer?"
"Oh, I dinnae ken, (then shouts through to inner office), "Wullie, how wide's a bus?"
Some discussion folowed.
"Right then", I said, "It's going to have four wheels, on two axles, close coupled. Does it need brakes on both axles, or just the front one?"
"Oh Laddie", he said, "Yer makkin it aafie complicated".
But things were different in those days.:)
 
There's 2 issues here. If the laden weight of the trailer is in excess of 750kg, then it must be braked; from the sound of the proposed load, it looks marginal. The second issue is when you got you driving licence. A normal car licence obtained since 1996 limits you to how much the weight of the trailer and car combination is; IIRC its somewhere in the order of 3.5 tonnes. If the weight exceeds this you'll need a B+E licence, which requires a second test. The rules are not as simple as I suggest above so it'd be a good idea to check before towing. The AA or the RAC are probably the best folks to talk to about it.
 
I'd suggest that you get an actual weight for trailer and load. If the trailer was produced fairly recently it should have a plate showing its weight and the maximum loaded weight. Just as an aside, you are not permitted to tow an empty trailer whose maximum loaded weight would exceed the towing limit of your car. The laws are that peculiar, so it is hardly surprising that the average copper on the street knows nothing about it.

Once you know the theoretical fully loaded weight you may like to take the rig to a public weighbridge to confirm the actual weight. Better than doing the same trip with a police escort!

A lot of questions about suitability of trailers and towing vehicles are best answered by a trailer manufacturer, as they have to be completely up-to-date on the rules and regs for their product to be saleable. Posing as a potential customer may seem underhand, but I've known people to start that way and end up finding they do indeed need to buy a new trailer.

Rob.
 
Yep. It is going to be marginal.
I have spent three weeks on a slimming diet for my unbraked trailer for my car to get it under 550Kgs (it was 580Kgs loaded).
It's now down to 540 Kgs. You need to be aware that most public weighbridges weigh in multiples of 20kG.

The bizzare thing is that the previous tow car was identical, but a 5 door version with a 750Kg limit. The current car is a 3 door with a 550Kg limit.
The manufacturer didn't do any testing, but just homologated at a lower weight limit.

Same engine, brakes, gears etc.

In your case I would suspect the weight will be close to the max. My trials car is 380Kg and I got the trailer down to 160Kg. I don't carry the spare wheel or the trailer ramps on the trailer, but in the tow car.
In your case the motor will be about 35 Kg (a guess) and other gear may take the weight up. The more you can stick in the car the better as there is usually some spare weight capacity in the vehicle.
 
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If your confident you can stop, park and handle the trailer I wouldn't worry to much about the licence thing.

I towed a 3/4 ton trailer behind my 110 and Disco for years carrying all sorts of weird stuff and quite often well overloaded; quite often those great big farm trailers as well. I have driven past may police cars and been overtaken by many as well and none have bothered to stop and question me.

Mind you living a N Wales and in a farming area may have helped with this!
 
It ususually only costs £5 to put your boat and trailer on a weighbridge. I recently sold a boat, the buyer was going to tow it back to Gdansk (1000 miles from my house) He text me to ask how much it weighed.
You would only have a problem if you ahd an accident when towing as the Insurance Company Loss Adjuster will know exactly how much your boat and trailer weighs in order to reject any claim.
 
Ariadne said:
If your confident you can stop, park and handle the trailer I wouldn't worry to much about the licence thing.
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Sorry but that is extremely bad advice

If you ignore the law on towing weights your insurance will be invalid and you risk finding yourself sat at a check point faced with a fine, points on your licence and a big bill to get the illegal trailer and boat moved legally

If you get pulled over on a trailer check and you are overweight you will not be allowed to proceed and trailer checks are not uncommon.
 
Thanks for so much info.

To be honest I think this will be a deal breaker. This longboat is on for 3750 and for 4100 I can get one wirh a breaked trailer and feel safe.

The 750 kg limit refers only to unbreaked trailers doesn't it?

J
 
firstascent2002 said:
The 750 kg limit refers only to unbreaked trailers doesn't it?

J
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Correct. Braked trailers can tow up to the declared capacity of your vehicle with an overall maximum of 3500KGs
So you will be safe up to the 1300Kgs that you car can tow.
If the outfit is 1000Kgs or so you have some safety margin.

Post from people telling us what they used to tow are not helpful. The laws have changed a lot and check points are set up for general fuel/drugs/safety/licence/trading standards checks. So the chance of getting looked-over are much higher these days.
 
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