LET’S GET TECHNICAL

Should you have reflectors on everything you tow? And if so, should there be two or seven? Where do you put the yellow reflector tape? Here are all the answers to your burning questions.

THE BRAKES

A trailer weighing less than 750 kg when fully loaded is not required to have brakes, but if the GVM is between 750 kg and 3 500 kg, your trailer must have run-in brakes.

This implies that the trailer you use to dispose of garden refuse on Saturdays doesn’t have to be equipped with brakes of its own, but your caravan or off-road trailer must have overrun brakes. When a towed vehicle weighs more than 3,5 tons, it must be equipped with service brakes.

And if you absolutely must tow a ski boat and trailer behind the caravan (not recommended) and the combined weight of these two exceeds 3,5 tons, then both the trailer and the caravan must have service brakes.