Trailer towing:- B and B+E licence rules explained

[muttley9050]

So I'm Gunna buy a dmax soon. Is it correct that in order to pull a 3500kg trailer I will need to sit a class 2 test?

[alex_m]

No, B+E is fine for 3.5t + 3.5t trailer.

[muttley9050]

A couple of things changed on 19/01/2013

 

For all B licence towing of a trailer over 750 kgs MAM the one simple extra rule is now just

Vehicle GVW added to trailer MAM must not total more than 3500 kgs

 

 

Then I'm confused. This reads to me that my dmax= gvw of 3000kg ish. Doesn't this give me a trailer mam of about 500kg?

Edit. Sorry just realised that's b and not b+e.

[alex_m]

Yes for a standard B licence. B+E (trailer licence) is different.

 

(i presume this is the case.)

[Coletti]

Yeh that is pretty crap! A double cab tranny can only hold around 800kg legally, so if a 750kg chipper is behind it, then you can only carry 50kg of chip

(i think)

 

It's worked on MAM (maximum authorised mass) so basically if you have say a transit that is rated at 3500kg MAM (the weight of the vehicle and the load/tools/people) without anything in the transit you cannot tow anything if you have only a b licence as you are already at your 3500kg, hope this makes sense

 

 

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[Nick Waring]

It's worked on MAM (maximum authorised mass) so basically if you have say a transit that is rated at 3500kg MAM (the weight of the vehicle and the load/tools/people) without anything in the transit you cannot tow anything if you have only a b licence as you are already at your 3500kg, hope this makes sense

 

 

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i may have miss understood this, but are you basically saying anyway with a bog standard license cannot tow anything anymore?

[Dan Curtis]

Isn't your gvw the max permissible weight though? so you need a vehicle with a lower gvw than 3500kg, regardless of what you put into it? As I read it it's basically saying that towing with a 3.5 tonner is out unless you have b+e licence.

 

Doesn't make any difference to me, I have b+e but just curious.

[Dan Curtis]

It's worked on MAM (maximum authorised mass) so basically if you have say a transit that is rated at 3500kg MAM (the weight of the vehicle and the load/tools/people) without anything in the transit you cannot tow anything if you have only a b licence as you are already at your 3500kg, hope this makes sense

 

 

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That's what I was trying to get at.

[Dan Curtis]

No, B+E is fine for 3.5t + 3.5t trailer.

 

Long as the vehicle is capable of towing the weight though.

[Peter]

i may have miss understood this, but are you basically saying anyway with a bog standard license cannot tow anything anymore?

 

If they passed their B test on or after 19th Jan 2013

 

1. Driving licence rules and what you can tow

The rules on what you can tow are different depending on when you passed your driving test.

 

Licences issued from 19 January 2013

From 19 January 2013, drivers passing a category B (car and small vehicle) test can tow:

 

small trailers weighing no more than 750kg

trailers weighing more than 750kg, where the combined weight of the towing vehicle and the trailer isn’t more than 3,500kg

If you want to tow a trailer weighing more than 750kg, when the combined weight of the towing vehicle and trailer is more than 3,500kg, you’ll have to pass a further test and get B+E entitlement on your licence.

 

You’ll then be able to tow trailers up to 3,500kg.

 

Licences held from 1 January 1997

If you passed your driving test after 1 January 1997 and have an ordinary category B (car) licence, you can drive either:

 

a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes or 3,500 kilograms (kg) Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (with a combined weight of up to 4,250kg in total)

a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as it is no more than the unladen or ‘kerb’ weight of the towing vehicle (with a combined weight of up to 3,500kg in total)

For anything heavier you need to take a category B+E driving test.

 

Licences held before 1 January 1997

If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997 you are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8.25 tonnes MAM.

 

This is the weight of a vehicle or trailer including the maximum load that can be carried safely when it’s being used on the road.

 

You also have entitlement to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM.