Legal requirements, maximum loads, snaking and braking – all you need to know to get on the road
Legal requirements, maximum loads, snaking and braking – there’s much to think about when towing your horse. Victoria Rea navigates the minefield
HOWEVER much we love competing, show days can be a stressful enough experience without the journey itself causing palpitations. Keeping your trailer in tip-top condition, and knowing how to hitch on, reverse happily and drive smoothly will all reduce the stress levels.
We break down the elements of trailer driving from storage to travel, plus the smallprint, to get your competition season off to a safe and peaceful start.
PREPARATION
OVER the winter – and the past year’s lockdowns – many trailers have been largely redundant. It’s vital to ensure they’re roadworthy well before they’re called into use.
Although there is no specific legal requirement for servicing a trailer, as there is with car MOTs, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) explains that “the law states that all trailers used on the road must be roadworthy”. The best way to be sure of this, and for your peace of mind, is to have your trailer serviced regularly.
Alex van Rooyen, owner of Berkshire County Trailers, recommends trailers are serviced “once a year”.
“There is a standard NTTA [National Towing and Trailer Association] safety check on trailers,” he says, adding that a service checks trailer electricals, tyre condition and pressures, axles, handbrake, breakaway cable, jockey wheel, couplings and wheel bearings, as well as the chassis, floor and body.
Owners themselves should also check the trailer every time it is used. Things to look out for are that the tyres are in good condition, with ample tread and no cracks. A spare wheel is advisable as it is quicker to change a tyre than wait for recovery, but many spares are stuck on trailers for years and are rotten, so check this is usable.
When it comes to maintaining a trailer floor, it goes without saying that muck and urine should be removed after every use. Lift up the rubber matting and look for signs of deterioration or corrosion anywhere; prod it with a screwdriver to ensure it is solid. If you have any concerns about your trailer flooring, get it checked rather than taking chances.
How you store your trailer will affect how easy it is to use next time.
“You shouldn’t leave your trailer handbrake on, because the brakes can stick,” says Martin
Lovell, a Driving Instructors Associationaccredited instructor, who offers trailer test training. “Once you’ve unhitched the trailer, get some blocks and chock all the wheels, then let the brake off.”
Leaving a trailer like this for short periods is acceptable, although it’s still a good idea to roll the trailer forwards or backwards every few days to avoid tyre “flat spots”.
“If you leave the weight of the trailer on the tyres without them moving, they’ll get a flat spot and turn into a dish rather than a circle,” Martin explains. “They’re rubber, a natural substance, and will rot and crack.”
If a trailer is unlikely to see much use over a longer spell, such as a couple of months, it’s good practice to store the chassis on blocks front and back, to take the weight off the wheels. Check the tyre pressures while the trailer is still sitting on the blocks, and then all the usual safety checks (see box, overleaf ) before moving off with a horse on board.
Dedicated equestrian breakdown cover that includes both your trailer and car is highly recommended before any journeys to ensure your equine charge is recovered safely along with your car and trailer. A reputable breakdown provider will talk to the police or Highways Agency to deal with lane closures or rolling roadblocks, if they are needed to move horses or trailers safely.
“Reversing cameras are brilliant – and can
be cheap to buy”
MARTIN LOVELL
EASY HITCHING
MOST new cars come with reversing cameras, which make hitching up a “piece of cake”, according to Martin.
“I think reversing cameras are brilliant, and it’s cheap to buy a bluetooth camera you stick on the back of your car,” he enthuses.
But, for those who hitch up without a camera, there are ways to make life easier.
“Get someone to see you back first time,” suggests Martin. “With the jockey wheel on the trailer wound up so the towball is under the hitch, look through the interior mirror of the vehicle at the front of the trailer. There’s normally a handle, or some marking, and you
can see where that comes to in relation to a headrest or wiper blade in the mirror. Every time you reverse back into that position, you will be in place.”
If you can’t see any obvious features to line up in your mirror, another option is to use some tape – one strip on the trailer, and the other on your rear window.
Specific hitching mirrors are also available, which attach to the front of the trailer and are angled to the correct position so drivers are able to see the reflection of the towball and trailer hitch as they reverse back.
A SMOOTH DRIVE
WHEN it comes to giving your horse a smooth ride on the road, the key things are “planning and awareness”, explains Duncan Howe of Howe To Tow, a DVSA-approved driving instructor.
“You need to look far enough ahead to see what problems are coming up on the road, and think ‘what if?’” Duncan explains. “Look at the road signs, the road markings and the information you’re being given.”
Being aware of any upcoming bends, junctions or hazards gives you more chance to slow down in advance, by “easing your foot off the accelerator and allowing the vehicle to slow, then changing down through the gears, rather than braking sharply,” adds Duncan.
Snaking, when the vehicle weaves from side to side behind the car, is a common concern.
“There are generally two reasons this happens,” Duncan explains. “Either because you have your trailer loaded incorrectly, or because you’re driving too fast.”
While for traditional trailers weight balance is normally less of an issue, larger trailers with living space can be affected more by where the load is placed in the trailer.
“The more weight you have at the back of the trailer, the more chance of snaking,” says Duncan. “I had one client who had been towing trailers for a long time, but bought a larger trailer. Every time she got up to a certain speed, the trailer would start to weave. We worked out that if we moved the partitions forward, no more than say a foot, it solved the snaking, because there had been too much weight at the rear of the trailer.”
Drivers may also find their trailer starts to snake while travelling downhill, as the weight of the trailer pushes you faster.
“This is where people get caught out,” confirms Duncan. “When you go down a hill, don’t let it get too fast.”
If snaking does occur, Duncan explains that drivers should never try to accelerate out of the problem: “The only way to get out of it is to come off the gas pedal and gently slow down.”
Different speed limits apply to those towing a trailer when the national speed limit is in place. On single carriageways, trailers are limited to 50mph, while on dual carriageways and motorways, it’s 60mph.
Additionally, when towing on a motorway with three or more lanes, trailers may only be driven in the left-hand and middle lane – they are not permitted in the right-hand lane.
Should you break down, pull over to a safe
place if possible and keep the horses on board rather than unloading. As recommended if your car breaks down, get out of your vehicle and stand behind the barrier and phone your breakdown service.
REVERSING MADE SIMPLE
GOING backwards with a trailer is the bane of many a driver’s life. While you may reverse perfectly confidently in practice, under pressure manoeuvring into the last parking space at a busy show, everything goes blank.
“If you ever get confused moving backwards, stop,” says Duncan. “The more you don’t know what you’re doing, the worse it’s going to get.”
Take your time to focus and work out which way you need to go.
“The easiest way is to think, ‘Which way don’t I want the trailer to go?’” he explains. “If you don’t want the trailer to go to the left, you turn the wheel to the left, and vice versa.
“Make it as easy as possible and just think where you don’t want the trailer to go, then look in your mirror and turn the wheel that way,” adds Duncan.
Practice really does make perfect when it comes to reversing. If you’re worried about jack-knifing, Duncan explains that you can use a feature on your trailer – such as a spare wheel – as a reference point in your wing mirror, so you know when you need to stop.
“When this point on the trailer appears in your mirror, you know not to reverse any further, or you’ll jack-knife. Just pull forward, straighten up, and try again.”
THE LEGAL DETAILS
THERE is myriad information surrounding weights and licence information for towing. But, for hauling a horse trailer, a driver will require a B+E licence. While it is legal to tow some trailers on a standard car (B) licence, realistically the weights for this do not add up for any trailer with a horse on board.
For those who passed their driving test before 1 January 1997, your licence will automatically include the +E classification allowing you to tow a trailer. But everyone else will hold only a B licence, and will have to take a towing test to upgrade to B+E.
Your vehicle’s towing capacity is paramount. This is normally found in the vehicle handbook, or can be calculated from the VIN (vehicle identification number) plate – often found inside the passenger doorframe or under the bonnet – which displays a number of weights.
The first number is the gross vehicle weight or mass (GVW/GVM), sometimes also known as the maximum authorised mass (MAM). This is the maximum weight of the car plus any load inside, such as passengers and tack.
The second number is the gross train weight or mass (GTW/GTM), which is the maximum weight of the vehicle and trailer, plus load. The third
Cleaning out your trailer after every use to ensure it is free from muck and urine will keep the floor in good condition
and fourth numbers are the maximum axle loads for the front and rear respectively.
To work out what your car can tow, subtract the GVW from the GTW.
Remember also to check the maximum weight your trailer can carry by subtracting its unladen weight from its GVW, which can be found on the trailer’s VIN plate. Although the trailer might have space for two horses, its GVW may only allow it to take two small ponies or one horse. And don’t forget to factor in the weight of water, hay and tack.
If you exceed your car’s towing capacity or the trailer’s GVW, you could not only void your insurance and breakdown cover, but also be issued with a fixed penalty notice and unable to continue on your journey.
“If you ever get confused moving backwards, stop”
DUNCAN HOWE