gritineye Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 (edited) It used to be VOSA policy to interpret the law in a way that made it illegal to tow if the combined plated weight of a vehicle and trailer exceeded the vehicle manufacturers specified towing capacity, even if the trailer was empty. This change is a few years old now, but the web and the rumour mill is still full of examples of people being fined due to this ridiculous interpretation, so I thought I'd post my findings here in case any one else was as confused as I was. I sold my LandRover so rang my local Ivor Williams dealer about de-rating my trailer to comply, and was told that VOSA had changed its mind about this, they sent me this VOSA memo which they had received in clarification. Vosa Document Trailer Weights.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------------ Just one example of the miss-information still on current websites, by people who really should be up to speed on this. " Although trailers with overrun brakes can weigh up to 3500kg gross, actual maximum weights are set by the specifications of the vehicle that is doing the towing. The law says you must not exceed the Gross Train Weight that the manufacturer has set for the towing vehicle. Look in the vehilce handbook or on a plate riveted to the vehicle to find this figure. You then have to subtract the weight of the towing vehicle (including fuel, driver, passengers, luggage or cargo) from the Gross Train Weight. The amount you are left with is the maximum theoretically-possible weight of trailer that can be towed legally. REMEMBER, the law does not care whether the trailer is empty or packed to the roof with bricks, what counts is the plated gross vehicle weight of the trailer. " http://www.armitagetrailers.com/trailerlaw.htm Edited June 27, 2014 by gritineye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooky Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Very interesting Thanks for posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 <so rang my local Ivor Williams dealer> Bernard, Ivor was a steam engine, the trailer manufacturer is Ifor:-D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 I think I am more shocked to find VOSA actually have a defined policy on anything other than how to screw road users every which way they can.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowfat Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Shouldn't there be a caveat about a court of law being the only place to interpret legislation..... like all there web sites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 So it is possession of a trailer, not the use of it……. Now bear with me here - How about I paint my Ifor Williams trailer purple and join a Red Ball re-enactor group - would I get away with it then? :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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