Hiya folks, I have just found out my driving license does not cover me to tow a caravan.

Anyone done this test before, who can give me a few tips????

How much does it cost???, what does the test involve etc etc, any help would be appreaciated.

Thank you.

Hi Steve,

You can tow under 3500kgs combined maximum weight so check your car and caravan weights before shelling out,

OH did her B & E and it cost us about £600 all in but that was with 3 days worth of training before hand including the test.

Although she is a proffessional driver for a living (bus and coach driver) she said it was great to have the 3 days to make sure she was super confident in doing it and she passed first time with 1 minor (Doing 32 as she went past a 30MPH sign) as just didn;t slow down enough so she was gutted about that!

I certainly would reocmmend some training as depite how good a driver you think you are you really don't want to keep paying out for tests if you fail on something silly,

Firstly though check yoru car and caravan weights you may not have to do it at all yet depending on what you own.

You do not state your location so I cannot help you but if you Google B&E Test you will find a centre nearest to you.

This Web Page will also give you all the information about the test.

some interesting reading found from another caravan website

Caravanning Now - What weight caravan can I tow?

In theory up to the maximum permitted in your handbook, which might be 200% of the unladen weight of your vehicle!

In practice however, it depends upon your experience and confidence.

There are two factors that restrict your towing weight.

1. The vehicle manufacturers specify a towing limit for the vehicle which you may not exceed (for example 1800kg).

2. The vehicle manufacturers also specify the maximum gross train weight of the vehicle again which may not be exceeded (for example 3600kg).

Therefore, using the examples above, so long as your car and caravan, in total, weighs less than 3600kg, of which, no more than 1800kg is the caravan then with a licence first issued before 1st January, 1997 or if you have passed a supplementary towing test, then you can legitimately drive the combination at 60mph on the motorway.

For someone whose licence was first awarded after 01/01/97 the regulations are different in that they are not allowed to tow a vehicle that weighs more than the kerbweight of their car without taking a further test[See 1 below].

[1] All drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997[2] retain their existing entitlement to tow trailers until their licence expires. This means they are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8.25 tonnes maximum authorised mass (MAM) without passing any special driving test.

Since 1 January 1997 all drivers who hold category C or D entitlement have been limited to trailers up to 750kgs MAM; Category C+E or D+E must be held in order to tow trailers in excess of this.

I.E. new drivers for the last * years have to do an additional test in order to tow anything over 750kgs. Many of these are coming up to an age where they might be thinking about getting a caravan.

[2] If you have a medical condition that restricts your licence to a limited short term period (i.e. Diabetes Mellitus controlled by insulin), you may need an additional medical certificate to retain your C+E or D+E rights. This may be charged for by your doctor.

What the government says:

Here are the links to the government web site relating to towing weights:

http://www.roads.dft.gov.uk/

Here are the limitations regarding driving licences on the DVLA web site:

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/leaflets/inf45.pdf which tells you how to read your licence to determine what categories you are entitled to drive and http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/leaflets/inf30.pdf which explains the driving licence requirements for towing a trailer (both are PDF documents).

please note this is not my input but came from a caaravan help page

• The MTPLM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle; and
• The MAM of the combination does not exceed 3,500 kg.

Quote: Originally posted by gazmister123 on 30/7/2009

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Hi Steve,

You can tow under 3500kgs combined maximum weight so check your car and caravan weights before shelling out,

OH did her B & E and it cost us about £600 all in but that was with 3 days worth of training before hand including the test.

Although she is a proffessional driver for a living (bus and coach driver) she said it was great to have the 3 days to make sure she was super confident in doing it and she passed first time with 1 minor (Doing 32 as she went past a 30MPH sign) as just didn;t slow down enough so she was gutted about that!

I certainly would reocmmend some training as depite how good a driver you think you are you really don't want to keep paying out for tests if you fail on something silly,

Firstly though check yoru car and caravan weights you may not have to do it at all yet depending on what you own.

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Chees for that, and also others that replied.

Ive got a 91 Swift Challenger 490/5L, was recently left it in a will, som really new to this.

According to the hand book, the caravan's max laden weight is 1150kg, but i don't actually have a proper car yet, my current 1.6 astra struggled, im looking as we speak, so i can't work out the full weight.

Was thinking about a 4x4 or big saloon.

Also im based in Edinburgh

I shouold imagine as long as you don't get a big big car with a gross vehicle weight (not kerbweight)  of less than 2350kgs (3500-1150 for your caravan) then you should be fine. I would chose carefully when looking you may not have to do the B & E Test at all then.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions the people on here are great and really helpful,. OH only had to do it when we sold our second caravan and bought a heavier one as we had to buy a bigger car to tow it,

So you require a car with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 2350 kg then.  Note gross vehicle weight, NOT kerbweight.  The gross vehicle weight is the maximum permitted weight of the vehicle including the vehicle itself and all occupants, luggage etc.

A typical hatchback type vehicle will have a kerbweight of around 1400 kg and a luggage/person weight of a further 500 kg - 600 kg giving a GVW of around 1900 kg to 2000 kg so as you can see, apart from perhaps an older X Trail or CRV/RAV4 type 4 X 4 your licence will preclude you from entering 4 X 4 territory.  Do make sure you check the weights thoroughly before buying.

Ali

Cheers for the info everyone.

Ive been really nervous about the whole caravan experience, you're all helping to put it at ease.

4x4 oot the window.

Atleast I know ball park what to look at.

Thanks alot.

Hiya guys, looked at a lot vehicles today.

Im pretty sure this would be ok, gross vehicle weight 1985, to go with my 1135 caravan.

2002 Mazda Tribute 2.0 gsi 4wd, anyone think this would do the job????

Looked at a 2004 Hyuandi Santa FE, 2.4, but not even the showroom could tell me the gross vehicle weight of this vehicle.

http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/vehicle.cfm?Account=SHD7503506&Style=2&Id=AETV13747244&Make=HYUNDAI&Model=SANTA%20FE&City=Musselburgh

Any help would be much appreaciated.

Quote: Originally posted by 1875steve on 02/8/2009

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Hiya guys, looked at a lot vehicles today.

Im pretty sure this would be ok, gross vehicle weight 1985, to go with my 1135 caravan.

2002 Mazda Tribute 2.0 gsi 4wd, anyone think this would do the job????

Looked at a 2004 Hyuandi Santa FE, 2.4, but not even the showroom could tell me the gross vehicle weight of this vehicle.

http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/vehicle.cfm?Account=SHD7503506&Style=2&Id=AETV13747244&Make=HYUNDAI&Model=SANTA%20FE&City=Musselburgh

Any help would be much appreaciated.

 

 

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I'd go for the Mazda, we are on our second (although mine is not the towcar) and both have been brilliant cars. we used to tow our older caravan with OH's but had to sell it when we upgraded as needed something bigger. , When I needed to replace my car though it was first on my list. I love them and when my premacy dies I quite fancy a Mazda 5, We use mine for camping (pic in gallery) and my daily car but its not heavy enough to tow our caravan and wouldn't hesitate in recommending mazda to anyone.

 

 

 

• Unladen Weight: 1,453 kg, which probably means a kerbweight of around 1,550 kg, which is a 73% match.
• Maximum power: 123 bhp
  Maximum torque: 175 Nm
  Both should be adequate.