Trailer licences.

muddyl

Hi all,

Does anyone know of any cheap ways to get a trailer licence?

I'm thinking about getting into caravanning as a cheaper/more accesable alternative to holidays as with 4 kids they arent cheap or easy to arrange.

I got my licence a few months after the rules changed (in 97 or 98 i think) so would need to do a seperate trailer licence. But they seem to be around £250 - £300. :undecided
I have towed trailers before (but only reversed them a few times admitedly) but think i could pick it up fairly quick as i have a decent understanding of the physics behind it. So paying that much seems a little over the top.

Anyone have any ideas at all?

Cheers, Mark

Paperbird

You already have a trailer license.
If you look at the weight plate on your car there will be a maximum train weight, if this is not more than 3500kg then you will be legal with any caravan your car is able to tow.
If you have a 4x4 you will need to pass the extra test.

muddyl

Ah ok. I thought the laws changed around that meaning a licence was needed for any trailer. I'll have to check that.
Thanks

madjay

if you have cat BE on Car driving licence you can pull a trailer.But it would only be on it Car driving licence first obtained before 1 January 1997

muddyl

The DVLA states what madjay said.

Drivers who passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 are required to pass an additional driving test in order to gain entitlement to category B+E and all larger vehicles. In addition to the new driving tests, drivers of vehicles which fall within subcategories C1, C1+E, D1 and D1+E also have to meet higher medical standards.

I past mine in about july 97.


So, does anyone know the cheapest way to obtain this entitlement?

spiro

Paperbird wrote: »

You already have a trailer license.
If you look at the weight plate on your car there will be a maximum train weight, if this is not more than 3500kg then you will be legal with any caravan your car is able to tow.
If you have a 4x4 you will need to pass the extra test.

Wrong, it depends when you passed you test.

NeverEnough

muddyl wrote: »

The DVLA states what madjay said.



I past mine in about july 97.


So, does anyone know the cheapest way to obtain this entitlement?

You need to pass a test towing a suitable trailer to get the B + E entitlement if you don't have it on your licence already. Yu can tow trailers up to a max I think of 750kg GVM, without having B+ E entitlement, but you need to check on that. So towing a small trailer to the tip will be no problem, in other words, but most caravans and larger trailers will need a B+E.

Lots of driving schools offer the facility to train for and get a B+E, the trailer you use for the test has to have sides and be of a minimum size etc, so they have the correct one to use if you go with a driving school. But nothing to stop you just booking a test and going with a suitable trailer, then it will just be the cost of the test - that will obviously be the minimum.

Otherwise, a few sessions with a driving school and use of their trailer for the test is likely to cost quite a bit more - its worth phoning driving schools in your area to get comparative quotes.

muddyl

I have had a look around and depending on how many days training would be required I could be looking at anywhere between 2 - 600 then the test fee on top (£141). Kind if defeats the object of doing this to make holidays more affordable. I know in the long run it would work out, but that no good if I can't afford it in the first place.

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll keep looking for cheaper ways to get the trailer licence.

Rover_Driver

Paperbird wrote: »

You already have a trailer license.
If you look at the weight plate on your car there will be a maximum train weight, if this is not more than 3500kg then you will be legal with any caravan your car is able to tow.
If you have a 4x4 you will need to pass the extra test.

The train weight is the combined weight of the car and trailer.

To tow a trailer on a B licence, the MAM (Maximum Authorised Weight) of the combination (Train Weight) must not exceed 3500kg, and the MAM of the trailer must not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle.

If the weights are are higher than that, (most car/caravan combinations are) B + E is needed.

SailorSam

I have a small trailer to go on the back of the car, it has been used a couple of times for holidays but now it's only when we've got rubbish to take the dump, and i'm hopeless driving with it. When i want to turn around i need to unhook the trailer and turn it around by hand. I wonder how many others do the same.

Norman_Castle

OP, You could buy a tent.