UK driving licence caravan/trailer towing restrictions NOT being lifted on Nov. 15th

[BTB 500]

Yeah , I bought one of those on ebay , it seemed pretty cheap & cheerful

For sure - TBH mine came with the trailer and I've never actually used it (or the spare wheel carrier come to that). But I would if taking the trailer anywhere.

 

[JHS]

Yeah , I bought one of those on ebay , it seemed pretty cheap & cheerful , so I got something better ; the key for my trailer padlock is on the same keyring as my car keys , along with the keys for my Thule roofbars , so I'd hope pretty easy for them to find in an emergency - hopefully the first place they'd look ?

Oh , and , yes , on my caravan I had the breakaway cable that connected to the other end of the caravan 'handbrake' lever . Also had my 'buuldog' ( think that's what it was called ? ) damper which reduced the tendancy to snake under certain circumstances . I think it is still in my storage container somewhere but not really needed for the small trailer .

I no longer need a big , twin axle , caravan , but am tempted to get a smaller van , something like an Eriba Touring , since it would only be for myself and my son , or to set up on site for my ex and him to have on holidays ; or if I needed just for myself to tour round different parts of the country for work .

I like Eriba vans , good German engineering , and quite compact .

"quite compact"
I have just sold my Eriba Triton (420) and glad to see the back of it. Looked cute, but I found it impossible to get comfortable in it. Advancing old age did not make it any better.
The 300s are minuscule, the 400s are small and the 500s a bit bigger.
They are however, pretty solid and heavy and do not depend for their strength on the furniture connecting the floor to the walls.
A Wobbly White Box is infinitely more comfortable though.

 

[candydonzs]

TBH in my younger days having seen so many bits of ineptitude and had some scary moments with other road users who were towing - I'd not drop this. I think that towing a caravan or larger trailer should require a licence category that needs a test.

 

[baxlin]

TBH in my younger days having seen so many bits of ineptitude and had some scary moments with other road users who were towing - I'd not drop this. I think that towing a caravan or larger trailer should require a licence category that needs a test.

I remember with horror towing in the 70s, I had a Viva HB 1159cc, no towbar, my dad had an imported Fiat 124 (Lada shape) Sport, with a towbar.

FIL had small 2 berth caravan, so we borrowed both of these to go on holiday with.

The Fiat, with the van on, had similar, if not better performance than the Viva, and about 20 or so miles into the trip, having got fairly relaxed, I literally forgot about the van and made a chancy overtake, enjoying driving my Dad’s ‘faster’ car.

Only the reactions of the lorry driver I was overtaking saved me from quite a coming-together.

I took more care from then on…

 

[Pontoneer]

TBH in my younger days having seen so many bits of ineptitude and had some scary moments with other road users who were towing - I'd not drop this. I think that towing a caravan or larger trailer should require a licence category that needs a test.

It does now for new drivers , but the requirement was dropped after the pandemic due to the shortage of driving test appointments.

 

[BTB 500]

I remember with horror towing in the 70s, I had a Viva HB 1159cc, no towbar, my dad had an imported Fiat 124 (Lada shape) Sport, with a towbar.

I had a Viva HC 1159 cc that came with a towbar and a really noisy diff - I think the two were related! I never tried towing with it myself, IIRC the engine had about 60 bhp.

 

[ALFAitalia]

As an aside I was always told that although legally OK the emergency services don't like people to tow with anything fitted that would make it more difficult for them to unhitch in the event of an accident.

True...legal but frowned upon. No need either.....even the keenest thief is unlikely to steel it whilst its actually being towed.

 

[BTB 500]

even the keenest thief is unlikely to steel it whilst its actually being towed.

I assume people want to avoid having to put it on each time they stop and take it off again to continue. We don't stop while towing, so only lock the hitch (and the wheels in the case of the caravan) when unhitched.

 

[Pontoneer]

True...legal but frowned upon. No need either.....even the keenest thief is unlikely to steel it whilst its actually being towed.

Last year . when moving house , I had to vacate my old house six weeks before getting into the new one . Nowhere else to keep the trailer in between , so it remained hitched to my car , and locked on , for the six weeks - everywhere I went , along it came with me .