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Quote: Originally posted by Warnerscorner on 30/1/2010

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Thanks for all that will keep all that in mind, if you over take a folding caravan doing 10mph (cos im to scared to go faster)on the motorway give me a wave :)

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 You know it won't be me passing you......cos I will be right behind you  HAHAHAHA. I'm sure towing will be easier than we think Sonia, once we are past that first time nervous bit...if 70 year olds can tow huge vans i'm sure we can tow our little babies

There are two important things I haven't seen mentioned (although I may just be blind):

1) You must have the correct category on your driving licence. If you passed your test after 1st January 1997 then you have less categories than those who passed before that date (even though your test was actually more demanding!). Passing after that date means you only have the B car category. As a result you may only tow a trailer up to 750kg in weight.

    If this does apply to you then you would need to take the B+E test to be allowed to tow anything in excess of 750kg.

    If this does not apply to you then your licence will show category C1+E, which means that you can tow a trailer as long as the combined MAM (total gross weight) does not exceed 12,000kg. (In other words pretty much any unit!).

2) If your trailer is wider than your vehicle then you must use towing mirrors on both sides of the vehicle to provide an adequate view of the rear of your vehicle and along both sides of the trailer.

(Please note I have used the word 'trailer' to refer to any unit pulled by the car, whether it is a cravan or not. This is the term used in the highway code and by the DVLA).

Hope this is of some use. If you were already aware of this then please don't feel I intended to be patronising.

2) If your trailer is wider than your vehicle then you must use towing mirrors on both sides of the vehicle to provide an adequate view of the rear of your vehicle and along both sides of the trailer.

That's an interesting point as there are some people who don't use towing mirrors when towing folding campers/caravans....So is this LAW or not? I am hoping to have a test tow of my van soon and was wondering wether to buy some mirrors...I have a Citroen xsara picasso and assume I will *need* them?

Yes it is the law. Failure to comply will result in a minimum of 3 points on your licence from a police fixed penalty and potentially a fine of up to £1000.

It is only required to use towing mirrors if the unit you are towing is wider than the car. If the car is wider then it is not required because your car's mirrors will provide the required field of vision.

Obviously I can't comment on what others do without seeing the set up, but it is possible to get trailers narrower than your car. My Camp-let is narrower than my car and therefore I don't use towing mirrors, but if it were wider then I would need to.

Please note that the height of the unit you are towing is completely irrelevant. The width is the issue. I have heard some people try to argue that because it has a low profile on the road they don't need mirrors. They are wrong, both from a practical point of view and a legal one. Others try and argue that the law says that you need an "adequate view" and that in their opinion the view is adequate withut mirrors despite the trailer being wider. Again they are wrong. What is adequate in their view is not worth anything in law. It is up to the police and the courts to decide if it is adequate and they will always decide that if the trailer is wider than the car then the view is not adequate. (The word "adequate" is also qualified, so you must be able to see 20 metres behind the trailer and 4 metres either side).

Without mirrors that provide a clear view down the side of the trailer then you are a huge danger on the road because you cannot see vehicles approaching from behind (it doesn't matter that the rear view mirror is unobstructed because it's field of vision incorporates a blind spot that is different from the blind spot in your wing mirrors).

The simple answer is to check the width of your trailer with the dealer/manufacturer and check the width of your car in the manual. If the car is wider then you are fine without, but if the trailer is wider then you need to get the mirrors before you drive with it hitched on.

You will also need to make sure that the mirrors are E marked as well so that they comply with the requisite standards. This shouldn't be a big issue when choosing some new mirrors, but just double check to be sure. (All Milenco ones are and I imagine that the other major manufacturers are too).