Transport Certificate of Competence (UK) - From 5 January 2008

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:28 pm

Louisa you can find out both from the manufacturer. There is normally a plate on the trailer, Ivor Williams is on the draw bar. Basically if the towing vehicle can tow 3 tons then your trailer plate should have a figure of 3 tons or less, it must NOT be more.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:37 pm

Are you saying Martin that if your vehicle has a towing capacity of say 2 tonnes, like some pickups do, but you use a 12' Ifor Williams stock trailer rated at 3.5 tonnes, then you cannot use that trailer even if it is empty?

Edited By Broomcroft on 1268249891

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:08 pm

My understanding is yes you cannot use that trailer unless you change the rating to correspond with what your truck is legally allowed to tow. I may be wrong but that is what I was told by someone who is a lot more knowledgeable on the subject than me.

Tim Watson · Post by **Tim Watson** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:04 pm

This is a FAQ from the Ifor Williams site but I think it answers the question:-

FAQ:
My towing vehicle has a maximum towing capacity of 2000kg and my trailer has a maximum gross weight of 2600kg. My trailer weight with a load never exceeds 2000kg, can I still tow it with my vehicle?

Answer:
In these circumstances it is possible to get your trailer down-rated. To arrange this please contact our Customer Care department.

On down-rating we would supply a new plate to your distributor who would use it to replace your original plate. Please note that this plate cannot be supplied to anyone other than an authorised Ifor Williams Trailers distributor.

Remember also that you must never carry a greater weight on the trailer than its new plate indicates or you risk falling foul of the law.
======================

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:00 am

So looking at the Ifor Williams range this trailer below is all I can tow long distances without a tacho. It is rated at 1/2 tonne so you can put one Dexter in it, but it'll need to be a shortie :D

What the tacho rules do at our level of towing, is encourage you to get the smallest vehicle and the lightest trailer, i.e. encourage less safety. A heavy 4X4 towing a lightly loaded, stout trailer (with 4 or 6 wheels) is clearly so much safer. But get a 2 wheel livestock trailer and a vehicle that's on it's limit towing it, and you have a much more dangerous setup but at least it's legal.

Edited By Broomcroft on 1268294723

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 5:22 pm

Well having given it some thought I think I am going to go for a 7.5t livestock lorry.

Seems a bit overboard for my small herd, but I need to replace my Isuzu Trooper and the cost of a reasonable second hand 4x4 capable of 3.5t plus tacho will far exceed the cost of the lorry.

There seem to be plenty of Leyland DAF 45 based vehicles around the £5,000 region, so by the time I have sold my trailer and Isuzu the price to change will not be that high.

SteveM · Post by **SteveM** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:39 pm

Was thinking along same lines but then loose the advantages of a 4x4.

Tacho fitted yesterday, just got to call in at local ifor williams agent now to get a new plate to downrate trailer to 3.2 tonne to be fully legal behind shogun.

Wonder how many years it will be before I meet anyone from vosa?

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:45 pm

Well I went ahead and got my lorry, which has been great for picking up gates, blocking gates to fields with the current influx of gypsies.

The road tax is low and the insurance little different to that for a 4x4.

However points I didn't consider:
- Breakdown cover; very expensive, cheapest I have found is a pay as you go scheme with the AA which is £44+VAT just to be a member but then with call out and hourly towing rates.
- Operators Licence; spoke to VOSA and they definitely include attending shows or taking the odd animal to slaughter as commercial activity. There is a £250 application fee, a £350 granting fee plus cost of advertising.

The only exemption is for journeys <6 miles per week between your own land.

Maybe retrofitting a tachograph was the cheapest option afterall!

Looks like using a JCB Fastrac to tow a trailer is the only way to avoid either piece of legislation!

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 7:57 am

bjreroberts wrote:Looks like using a JCB Fastrac to tow a trailer is the only way to avoid either piece of legislation!

Not sure about tractors any more, stick to your lorry. I've got a John Deere 6420, only five years old, and I was going downhill towards the woods topping a field the other day. Suddenly I started to accelerate without me doing anything down towards the woods. I slammed my foot on the brakes, straight to the floor, no brakes. I turned the steering wheel to point up hill, wheels weren't connected to the steering wheel. Changed down gears to get the engine to do the work, nothing happened. Just before going through the fence and into the wood of very big trees, I pulled on the handbrake hard and just about managed to stop.

All this lasted about 10 seconds.

The engineer came out and all that had happened was a little pipe had blown off and released all the oil immediately. Everything.....steering, gears and brakes are all dependant upon the same oil and one little connection blowing off is all that is required. Had I been on the road with a load of silage, wow! The handbrake would do very little as it will hardly hold on a hill with a load when stationery!

Edited By Broomcroft on 1279349898

davidw · Post by **davidw** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:36 pm

Its a common problem with tractors. Years ago when I used to design them, I investigated warranty problems. One of them was that brake linings failed and produced cast iron dust that clogged the oil system and stopped the power steering from working. So the first symptom that your brakes were no good was that the steering locked solid. Thank goodness there aren't too many of those still around.