show me your car/trailer setup?

[Raceface_13]

hey guys,
As most people the whole towing with a post 1997 license if baffling me. im sure its obvious what the law states to some people but I cant get my head around it.
from what I understand I cant tow over 3500kg total.
what setups are you using? looking to buy a daily/tow car and abit confused on whats best. good daily MPG would be nice though but reliability trumps all.

 

[Mertin]

Simplest and best option is to go do the training and get the full licence. Then your not limited to weights of tow car, trailer or whats on the trailer.
Least then you can use a trailer to its full potential and even use it for shiftinf cars etc for some beer tokens. Soon as you have a car trailer you become everyones best friend

 

[JB21]

If you're post 1997 you wont be able to tow a Clio no doubt as I found out the hard way when I went to collect a hire trailer, lol.

 

[JamesBryan]

The 3500kg is combined, so it's tow car and trailer with load. The loaded trailer can't be heavier than the tow car either, so you're going to struggle with a Clio tbh.

 

[Jonnio]

If you do go for training/test aim for somewhere with their own test centre/proper instructors, first place I went to for training/test (at the nearest centre) the guy was nit picking like hell at things that turned out to be completely irrelevant when with the proper trained instructors. Genuinely brought my confidence down and felt it was 50/50 if I'd pass, luckily I broke the electric handbrake 10 mins before the test so avoided failing :smirk:...

Did it again and went here, not sure how far away you are but they were very good - https://www.tilstontraining.co.uk/

 

[Sam Linssner]

Do the test. Have no worries

 

[Raceface_13]

If you do go for training/test aim for somewhere with their own test centre/proper instructors, first place I went to for training/test (at the nearest centre) the guy was nit picking like hell at things that turned out to be completely irrelevant when with the proper trained instructors. Genuinely brought my confidence down and felt it was 50/50 if I'd pass, luckily I broke the electric handbrake 10 mins before the test so avoided failing :smirk:...

Did it again and went here, not sure how far away you are but they were very good - https://www.tilstontraining.co.uk/

sent these guys a message as it doesn't say how much it is on their site just the cost of assessment and test (£140)
you guys are right should just take my test and wont have to worry/will be safer. how much do these test/courses usually cost?

 

[EVO 4LEX]

I have just done a 3 day novice course with test on the third day and that cost £750. Th y serenyou thwas cheapest place but had by far the best first time pass rate...

http://diamonddrivertraining.co.uk/

They use the show ground at Newark and have testers come to them! Great bunch and sure enough a first time pass for me with no driver faults.

 

[JamesBryan]

Yeah around £700 is the going rate for this.

 

[Coops Mk1]

I still get confused on this myself, I was looking into it as well, this is what is allowed on a 1997-2013 pass licence

• Vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and no more than eight passenger seats (ie: officially dubbed Category B vehicles and are typical cars) with a 750kg trailer (4.25 tonnes total Maximum Authorised Mass or MAM).

• Category B vehicles with larger trailers i.e. more than 750kg, provided that the combined Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and the gross MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.

• Vehicles over 3500kg MAM are classified as large goods vehicles.

my plan was an alfa 159 sportback (1.54t unladen) 0.6t trailer (braked) and car at 0.85t to just come in at gravy at 1.54/1.45, add some stuff for trackday to car boot and your just over 3t

 

[Djw John]

£700?! Jesus. How much is just the test?

 

[scruffydubber]

I'm also going through simular motions/thoughts but luckily have an older license.
I'm interested to see other peoples tow cars and trailers. Mine would need to be a daily and ideally have reasonable economy.

From the research I've done everything with a decent towing capacity, has poor economy.
I was considering a XC90 or X5. Looking at there economy I'd be better with a 535d at least it makes the daily commute abit more interesting.

 

[Coops Mk1]

ai don't go 4x4 or MPV etc as they have the aero of a brick so day to day economy will be awful, stick with estates, lower drag and slightly less weight so you'll see better mpg. real world though larger cars are nearly always s**t!lol!

 

[Jonnio]

sent these guys a message as it doesn't say how much it is on their site just the cost of assessment and test (£140)
you guys are right should just take my test and wont have to worry/will be safer. how much do these test/courses usually cost?

I think it was around £350 total, will see if I can find an exact figure unless they get back to you first. That covered the short assessment, four hours training one day, a couple more the day after and then the test.

 

[Raceface_13]

I think it was around £350 total, will see if I can find an exact figure unless they get back to you first. That covered the short assessment, four hours training one day, a couple more the day after and then the test.

thanks bud, sent them an email and they rang me within 20mins, very nice over the phone. they suggested I do a 2 day course which is 6 hours on the Monday and then the test the Tuesday which comes to 440ish she recons. apparently they have a 90 something % pass rate which is 3 time national average. im happy aslong as I pass and safe :smile:

 

[Jonnio]

Yeah the instructors were all very friendly. They did say that the tester would usually be fairly talkative during the test but the guy I got only gave me the route intructions and nothing else. He got a bit pissed off as I spent a bit too long (literally seconds :astonished going to get my coat as it started to rain after the reversing when we were about to do the hooking up etc. Threw me slightly but that was the only negative bit.

Ended up with 3 minors. He let me off with a minor for not noticing (checking my blindspot!) people pressing a pedestrian crossing button and ploughing straight though as it was on amber based on the rest of the driving which was lucky.
On the days I was booked in I also had an hour or so driving around Wrexham before I got there just to try and get my bearings a bit.

Put a coat in the test vehicle and you'll be reet lol :up:

 

[Jonnio]

£700?! Jesus. How much is just the test?

£115 I think if you book it yourself and take a suitable car/trailer/load.

Edit: https://www.gov.uk/driving-test-cost

Weekend is more!

 

[Djw John]

£115 I think if you book it yourself and take a suitable car/trailer/load.

Edit: https://www.gov.uk/driving-test-cost

Weekend is more!

More than I expected then!

 

[Borstii]

Actually only the cars belong to me, the trailer was borrowed, but the aim is to buy one myself. Maybe a lower one like shown in post #6

As said, get yourself a reliable Diesel-station wagon (.... Alfa?! 😂) that is able to tow around 2 tons. That gives you enough possibilitys to additionally carry some sets of wheels or

My Audi A6 TDI Quattro for example does a great job at towing my clio, can tow 2100 kilograms, set the cruise control to ~60 mph and just enjoy the ride. :smile:

 

[Raceface_13]

Audi looks like a good shout.
I know sweet FA about anything german made (other than the odd beemer) just had a quick look at audi a6’s on FleaBay and they are all mega mileage. Do they eat miles well? @Borstii

 

[Borstii]

Mines on 263.000 Kilometers and doing well, just buy one with a "Bxx" engine, not the "Axx" diesels

Gesendet von meinem E6653 mit Tapatalk

 

[Chambers_RS]

 

[Mertin]

£350 is more like the going rate for the 1 day training and then test.
If you can, get hold of a trailer and an open space if possible and have a play about reversing to get used to the feel of it.
If possible, avoid test centres that use little single axle trailers! Most places seem to use a twin axle box van or a caged trailer with tarpaulin so that its a decent size and you can see it behind you easily and watch what its doing

 

[charltjr]

I'd love to get myself a trailer setup, but I've got a tight 90 degree corner to get onto my drive and I don't think I'd be able to make it - basically a single track road with a 90 degree turn into a driveway just wide enough to get a transit down with a couple of inches clearance either side. No room to swing out wide to make the turn. Bugger.

 

[botfch]

I'd love to get myself a trailer setup, but I've got a tight 90 degree corner to get onto my drive and I don't think I'd be able to make it - basically a single track road with a 90 degree turn into a driveway just wide enough to get a transit down with a couple of inches clearance either side. No room to swing out wide to make the turn. Bugger.

Pics?

I bet you could do it with some practice a front wheel car would be easier.

 

[charltjr]

Pics?

I bet you could do it with some practice a front wheel car would be easier.

Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid, just basing it on sometimes it can be a bugger to get a car to make the turn in one go if you get the line slightly wrong. First pic is the view down the drive towards the road, second two are the road and the turn onto the drive.

There's also a white stone bollard on the right hand side which we can't move as it's not our property and the owners want it left in place to protect the fence/gate on the corner which is fair enough. You can just see it in the last photo, it's half hidden by a fence post. I can see the problem being that if I'm far enough to the right to not clip anything when the back of the trailer swings out on the turn then I'll be too tight to the bollard to make the turn. I guess the only way to know for sure is to try.

 

[JKING3008]

I did my b&e test which cost about £500 in total.
I did have a Volvo v70 t5 to tow my trailer and Clio.
I will now have ml55 after Christmas to tow with

 

[@Josh]

The scenario is very confusing I even rang DVLA and they couldn’t tell me the right answer do the test it’s easy enough and can do it all in 1 day if you want.

 

[VenomUK]

Picked mine up over the weekend towed with an A4 avant PD130

 

[Mertin]

Current setup, using the disco sport family car

Best setup was my 3.2 shogun

 

[Eddie555]

I was using my Q7 but swapping to my T6 Transporter now that I've finally, after 2 months, waiting to get a towbar fitted.

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[Eddie555]

Hooked up for the first time today. Its kinda loooooooong..

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[adamlstr]

Picked mine up over the weekend towed with an A4 avant PD130View attachment 1494707

What does your average trailer like this weigh? At the moment, I've got:

CRV 2.2 (340Nm) = 1692 Kg, with a 2000 Kg towing capacity.
Evo = ~1300 Kg

Giving me only 500 Kg headroom for a trailer. I get the feeling the Evo is too heavy for me to tow and stick under the 3.5T limit. It would also mean the trailer laden would outweigh the CRV by a few hundred Kg, I guess that's a no no too?

 

[botfch]

What does your average trailer like this weigh? At the moment, I've got:

CRV 2.2 (340Nm) = 1692 Kg, with a 2000 Kg towing capacity.
Evo = ~1300 Kg

Giving me only 500 Kg headroom for a trailer. I get the feeling the Evo is too heavy for me to tow and stick under the 3.5T limit. It would also mean the trailer laden would outweigh the CRV by a few hundred Kg, I guess that's a no no too?

They go off the plated weight not the actual weight so your way over on a standard license I'm afraid.

 

[adamlstr]

They go off the plated weight not the actual weight so your way over on a standard license I'm afraid.

Thought as much. 🤦‍♂️

 

[VenomUK]

So the original plate on mine was 1500kg which would be too much including the towing vehicle so its been down plated to 1350kg putting me under the 3.5kg limit

 

[Joe S]

I have a 2012 4motion SWB Transporter with a Brian James Minno and a 900kg Clio so whole train weight comes in @3300kg so all good as long as licence is up to it

 

[loggyboy]

Grandad rights rule - past mine in Aug 96 - so im freeeeeee.

 

[VenomUK]

I have a 2012 4motion SWB Transporter with a Brian James Minno and a 900kg Clio so whole train weight comes in @3300kg so all good as long as licence is up to it

Any photos of your Clio on the trailer and what is your Clio suspension set up?

 

[Chambers_RS]

Hooked up for the first time today. Its kinda loooooooong..View attachment 1495868View attachment 1495869

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I want a transport now!!!!