Letters to the editor
BRAKING ODDITIES
I enjoy my monthly fix of Boating NZ, but continue to be disappointed with the marine industry’s position on brakes for trailer boats. After a flurry of letters from myself and others a year or so ago, and a great article on safe towing, which I believe recommended following vehicle manufacture’s guidance, things seemed to have slipped back to the NZ status quo of ‘she’ll be right’. Your article on the Sotalia in November once again reports a 1,300kg rig, make that 1600kg fully loaded, has no need for a braked trailer. And then finishes to say it is within the towing abilities of most medium-sized SUVS or wagons. I cannot seem to find a single light vehicle that is rated to tow more than 1,000kg unbraked. Typical unbraked limit is 750kg for medium and large including most of the popular utes. Your advice is once again confusing to new boaties and those moving up, and I remain unconvinced that it would be a safe tow rig. So I challenge you to find out what size vehicle can safely stop that rig in the wet in 7m from 30kph, let alone be stable in emergency braking on the open road. So please either prove me wrong, or start promoting safer towing practice in line with today’s expectations on vehicle safety. Regards, Mike Mead
Agreed – your comments are spot on. Boat towing legislation is something of a minefield in New Zealand – and it’s hard get a clear answer from boat/trailer/vehicle/towbar manufacturers, not to mention the insurance industry. I remember chatting to a trailer industry expert some years ago. He was on the NZTA committee charged with streamlining the towing legislation – and he admitted to being flummoxed by it all. What hope have we of understanding it? The Aussies have a better grasp of it – with their compulsory trailer brake legislation. I’ve always found this difference odd – the two countries are usually well-aligned with their standards. The best I can offer is a commitment to a feature about trailer legislation in a future issue. The main problem is finding a writer with sufficient hair – because he/she won’t have much left after researching it! Editor