Thanks AJGalaxy was you studying the highway code at 5am this morning.

yes I realise that you could tow a small trailer, and to some extent a small caravan, I did some sums for a friend years back which showed that they could tow a medium sized avondale with a ford Cmax on a B license. What made less sense is that they couldn't tow that caravan with the Land cruiser that they were also driving as it would be more than 3.5t combined mass, but arguably a more stable and safer tow, same would apply to towing a trailer tent with a D4 or fattie, nice big solid car towing a tiny mass behind, got to be a better option than towing a largish caravan with a focus or golf.

I get your point about small trailers etc, they are tricky things, but realistically on the open road folks don't tend to do a lot of reversing so in my mind its more about the stability of the overall outfit rather than the competence in manoeuvring at destination or start point, yes you should have some skills, and be aware of the extremities of the things attached to your car and have some situational awareness as to how to reverse a trailer or van, but I was never particularly convinced that a test was required for this and just a decent amount of practice gained from use is normally good enough once you have a grasp of which way to steer..... There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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I learnt to tow a large 5 berth caravan with a Granada when I was 17, first lesson was a couple of months after passing my test. My mum refused to tow, so my Dad figured it was a good life skill and would be useful to have a backup in case he was temporarily unable to drive for some reason. I haven’t done any towing in over 20 years though.

My Dad started when he was 13, his Dad used to drive to where they were staying, then get out of the car and leave my Dad to manoeuvre it into position and set everything up. MY23 Panamera E-Hybrid
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Maybe a test might be too much but what about doing a course so if the caravan started to fish tail you'd know how to try and correct it. For me I suspect a few people will start abusing this rights. If you have a car transporter and a car transporter trailer what would happen if you loaded a Ford focus on the truck and a Porsche 911 on the trailer. Simple things like this and weight distribution people won't understand.

There will also be safety factors like maintenance as a trailer dony need an mot so people won't think of getting the brakes serviced, what about when you get the normal after thump from the tow bar and it pushes you forward a few foot etc

Anyone with any sense would get some training, but unfortunately I bet most won’t and it is a concern as some people have no idea how to control their car in an emergency or maintain it properly. MY23 Panamera E-Hybrid
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The amount of cars towing trailers and caravans i see in the outside lane already is shocking. I’m a class 1 HGV driver and saying now you won’t be tested on reversing and also coupling and uncoupling a trailer is not only a danger to the driver but the general public. Making the test easier to drive something that weights up to 44 tonnes is madness. Quite terrifying really.

I'm sure I read that hitching and unhitching a trailer whilst not in the HGV test you still had to undergo approved training? BMW i3 Electric Car
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Yep, found it:-

"Tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ element – and for vehicles with trailers, the ‘uncoupling and recoupling’ exercise – and having it tested separately by a third party. This part of the test is carried out off the road on a manoeuvring area and takes a significant amount of time. Testing such manoeuvres separately will free up examiner time, meaning they can carry out another full test every day."

Doesnt seem a bad approach......... BMW i3 Electric Car
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Feels like a huge knee jerk reaction from the government to me, with very little concern for safety. It’s crazy that you can hook up a huge trailer and a couple of horses or caravan without any training.

No doubt I’ll see another sharp rise in caravan insurance next year, it was up £50 this year alone. Sold - Bell a 2015 MY16 Loire Blue Autobiography 4.4 SDV8
Previously George a 2007 MY07 Java Black VSE 3.6 TDV8
Previously a 04 MY04 Defender 90

Knee jerk is a good description of many peoples responses too. Its not unlike take your test in a 1 litre Corsa and in the afternoon legally drive a Bugatti Veyron, we need to rely on common sense (probably not a reliable thing to do).

I dont see it as a major issue, it may have been better if it was insisted that a towing course was completed with an approved training organisation omitting the DSA test at the end of it. BMW i3 Electric Car
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I know plenty of people who failed the trailer test, so there must have been something to it.

I agree on the common sense thing, but it only takes a few to lack any common sense or just not realise you wind the jockey wheel back up to ensure its hooked on properly or what the brake away cable can be clipped to. I’ve seen enough people wrap them around the electrics plates as it is. Or even realise that you need mirrors, or the speed limits when towing?

It’s often the bigger stuff that has the fancy hitches etc and are easier to tow, I towed a small old caravan and even with a stabiliser bar it was awful to tow in comparison to our old HB511 horse box or our twin axle 8m long caravan.

Some kind of formal training would have been ideal? But how would that be enforced legally. Our instructor was great, spent time to cover how you load a trailer / pack a caravan, towing weights etc. Sold - Bell a 2015 MY16 Loire Blue Autobiography 4.4 SDV8
Previously George a 2007 MY07 Java Black VSE 3.6 TDV8
Previously a 04 MY04 Defender 90

TH1985 - "I agree on the common sense thing, but it only takes a few to lack any common sense or just not realise you wind the jockey wheel back up to ensure its hooked on properly or what the brake away cable can be clipped to."

How many people have you seen driving over the speed limit, on the phone, incorrectly spaced digits on their number plate, bald tyres, not wearing a seatbelt etc? Most of them will have taken and passed a test so the testing part isnt a guaranteed solution! BMW i3 Electric Car
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Some folks will just never get it, no matter how much training they have. The number of badly matched outfits I see out there on the road is crazy. I’ve seen bug heavy twin axle vans on the back of mondeos, nose heavy vans bottoming out suspension, folks towing 3t diggers on trailers with cars, cars towing car transporters with similar sized cars on them (saw an Audi A6 with a car trailer carrying a disco the other day)…..

So no, testing and training is no guarantee of compliance, but you can only hope that anyone who wants to tow something applies a modicum of common sense and applies a bit of knowledge….

It’s not hard! Some basic rules and some you can read pretty in pretty much any caravan magazine
You can’t tow a full 3 1/2 tonne trailer with a normal car (people do….)
You can’t put 3 1/2 tonne in a 3 1/2 tonne trailer
your car has a maximum towing weight, maximum gross train weight and kerb weight
the trailer has a Tare weight, and a maximum weight the difference between which is the max load.
A caravan has a MIRO (mass in running order) and an MTPLM (max technically permitted laden mass) and difference is the payload.
your towbar has a max vertical load or nose weight, and so does the caravan or trailer chassis and again for the hitch
The max nose weight Load is as close as possible to the lowest of these.
Put heavy items over the axle
Don’t put heavy items at the back

This vid makes the argument pretty well…..  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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AJGalaxy2012 wrote:

TH1985 - "I agree on the common sense thing, but it only takes a few to lack any common sense or just not realise you wind the jockey wheel back up to ensure its hooked on properly or what the brake away cable can be clipped to."

How many people have you seen driving over the speed limit, on the phone, incorrectly spaced digits on their number plate, bald tyres, not wearing a seatbelt etc? Most of them will have taken and passed a test so the testing part isnt a guaranteed solution!

The difference is, they know better but choose to take the risk. If you have never been told / shown how do you know better? Sold - Bell a 2015 MY16 Loire Blue Autobiography 4.4 SDV8
Previously George a 2007 MY07 Java Black VSE 3.6 TDV8
Previously a 04 MY04 Defender 90

AJGalaxy2012 wrote:

Yep, found it:-

"Tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ element – and for vehicles with trailers, the ‘uncoupling and recoupling’ exercise – and having it tested separately by a third party. This part of the test is carried out off the road on a manoeuvring area and takes a significant amount of time. Testing such manoeuvres separately will free up examiner time, meaning they can carry out another full test every day."

Doesnt seem a bad approach.........

The way I see it, its going to be a great money making scheme. A third party involved, will just increase costs and no doubt someone in Govt. will be looked after very well when appointing such third party. I got my HGV. Class 1 in 1980, straight from Car licence, it was the rules change that made the HGV class 1 licence change where you had to pass a class 2 first then originally, get experience , then take your class 1. Again a money making scheme, 2 payments made to achieve class 1.
The coupling and uncoupling part of my test was done verbally not practically but the reverse was done under full scrutiny, where any part of the test went wrong was an immediate fail before even going out on the road. I’m not saying there is a flaw in this new plan, but there is going to be a flaw  19MY SVA-Dynamic Spectral Chromoflair Blue but colour not available in profile
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