can i tow it with my transit 190?

[gassed transit]

just bought another transit on good old ebay, 190 lwb 100ps td with a 4.63 diff (according to the ETIS site) and only 300 quid!. only prob is its 185 miles away and no tax or test. been quoted £230 to get it transported back or £45 for a heavy duty transporter trailer and 60/70 quid diesel if i fetch it myself. passed my test pre 97 so i believe i can tow the van + trailer as long as the 2 combined dont weigh more than 3500kgs, is this correct??. will be towing it with my other 190 lwb (no rush to get home).

[captain hook]

Well I know your Diesel will come to nearer £100 and....

You will be very near, if not over, the limit of your van's

Towing capacity...GTM..

Also will the Trailer be big enough for a 190...?

I would pay the extra to get it moved.

Just a thought....Will your insurance cover you and.....

If VOSA pull you they might insist you run with a Tacho...

Which I presume you don't have!

I gine this advise as a recovery driver who is a VOSA Vehicle Inspector

[el98swb]

Not too sure about wether your license covers you for towing that big a trailer, it should tell you on the reverse of your card. To be honest i've never had an incident where the old bill's ever asked wether i am allowed to tow what's on the tow hook of my van, you should be alright so long as your used to towing something that big and it's strapped down properly. If i was you though, i'd be looking to find someone with a low loader

[gassed transit]

my licence has b+e on it and i have previously towed same transporter with wifes car on behind a 120 swb. the max train weight for my 190 is on vin as 5500kgs, if my van weighs 1800kg and i will be towing 2550kg (other van + trailer) it will be well under the gtw limit. not sure how they could require me to use a tacho if im under gtw and its a one off hire??.
have measured the 190 lwb and it will fit on the twin axle trailer and it is plated to carry a heavier load than the van im collecting so thats ok, my main question was can i tow a loaded trailer which weighs more than the curb weight of towing van?? if answer is yes its going on trailer if no its a transporter job.

[MinorMatt]

The GTW of a 190 is 5500kg.

The U/L weight of a LWB is 1800-2000kg.

IF you can find a trailer big enough (probably weighs around 500kg - so you need a transporter trailer with a GVM of over 2500kg)

And you run the van with half a tonne or less in it (including you) you should be legal.

Its not a good idea to tow a trailer that weighs more than the towing vehicle, the trailer can take control, however it is legal (AFAIK)

However, (as Captain Hook says) if this is in any way connected to business you need a tachograph because the train weight is over 3500kg.

[gassed transit]

cheers Matt, its a one off to collect the td which will then replace the 190 non turbo i currently use. just spoke to my insurance and they confirmed i can tow it but will only be covered 3rd party for trailer + load as opposed to fully comp my van has. rang trailer hire place and they have told me it weighs 400kg (much less than i thought) and is rated at 3500 loaded so should come in around 2200kgs with van on (no driver + near empty diesel tank, no bulkhead). mine is off to weigh bridge after lunch with its fat controller driver on board (my guess is 1900 with half a tank + extra seats in back). will let you know how close i get later.

[Nadjenka]

This has been covered several times and there always seems to be some confusion over what we can and can't tow behind our vans. Whilst I'm certainly NOT the person to tell you you can't do it, here is a little reason why I think you shouldn't and agree with Captain Hook:

As category B but with a trailer weighing more than 750 kg. The total weight of the vehicle and the trailer together can’t weigh more than 3,500 kg. The weight of the trailer, when fully loaded, can’t weigh more than the unladen weight of the vehicle

B+E = As category B but with a heavier trailer that isn't covered in the descriptions for category B

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/DG_4022547

As I said - I'm no expert, but even with B + E the trailer shouldn't be heavier than the towing vehicle, meaning that if you are about to tow 2200kg, towing vehicle should not be less then that therefore you'd be overweight by 700kg. Or be within 3.5k but illegal on the fact that your towing vehicle is lighter than the trailer + load.

Another thing to consider is potential overweight. There was a thread about it here somewhere. You don't have to be really overloaded, but the "potential" load of your trailer exceeds the legal max train weight, then VOSA can pull you too (I don't have links to support this second claim, I'm pretty sure someone was complaining about it in transit talk though). Not trying to discourage you or be "clever", but do your research or ring DVLA too

Edit: Found it http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=59891&p=518444&hilit=potential+overweight#p518444

[madmark_50484]

Also a quote from that thread

if your vehicle does not exceed gtw over the weighbridge and the axle weight are within their tolerence then no offence has been committed

I'm not trying to be smart but half the time from what I've read VOSA don't seem to know either its a bit of a minefield.

Tho to be honest I would just pay the extra £100 and get it towed you could probably earn that in the 10 hours you was out picking it up. Then you don't need to worry about VOSA or hiring a trailer finding the place and god knows what else

[gassed transit]

prob is i need to be down there to sign logbook and pay for it + if its not as described it will be staying put. just been to weigh bridge and mine came out at 1980 with a fat guy (me) stood next to it, for arguments sake i can put 13 bags of sand in back and bring towing vehical up to about 2300. other van has no bulkhead / no extra seats / no spare / no driver or fuel so should easily drop to 1800 compared to mine, add 400 trailer and it will be less than tow van. in some peoples eye that will be better than towing with unladen van but it means an extra 300kg to pull + stop which i dont want if the law allows me to do it without. do ford state a limit to how much can be towed with my transit?

[vannut]

This problem arose last year in this thread:


viewtopic.php?f=14&t=44117&start=135

Basically it transpired that the VOSA agents dealing with the case didn't know what they were talking about, and neither did the plods who were involved. Vosa's guidance on their website was wrong, (and was subsequently changed after an e-mail from me)

There is nothing in uk law which states that your trailer must weigh less than your drawing vehicle, although you have to be careful you don't make the vehicle combination dangerous by making the trailer too heavy for the drawing vehicle.

If you are carrying the goods ie the van in the course of your business, you need a tacho, if it's not in the course of a business, you don't.

[gassed transit]

my wife just gave me kick up the a**! and told me to stop being a tight git so the transporter has won . sorted out the V5 prob + paying for it so its booked to be collected/delivered tuesday . if i wasnt scared of her i would have got it myself and had a quiet (if there is such a thing in a transit) day away from home, now i suppose i will have to invent some work i need to do in my workshop and hide in there instead
thanks for the input (even the confusing bits) as im sure i will tow something big or heavy at some point.

[captain hook]

I think you have done the best thing...

My Trailer is rated at 3500kg gross and weighs just under 800kgs

and that's without Spare wheel,Winch and straps

400kgs quoted by the hire co. is a bit light....

Could you not go with the recovery driver?

I welcome customers riding with me as....

They can see that I don't damage their purchases and...

It's not quite as easy as they think!