Towing Be Aware

On my way to cahore this morning i was stopped by customs and the gardai,must of been the most aukward gardai,but he knew his stuff inside out,he checked boat for the weight and then got all the details of weight from the trailer tags,un laden trailer 400kg etc,he then looked for driving licence,and when i did not have E+B on licence told me to pull over some where safe as he would not allowed me tow the trailer as i was not covered by insurance and breaking the law,thus a summons would be forwared to me with a court date for driving without insurance as i was pulling the trailer without E+B,meaning a 12month ban from driveing,he told me he was going to impound boat at a cost to me,if i could not get someone with an E+B licence to tow it away for me,luckey willie styerman was not to far away and came to the rescue,a very big thanks willie,so lads never mind the bull about braked and unbraked trailers,if the load is more than 750kg you need the above,now i have to do a car theory test again to apply for a provisional e+b to tow the boat,even though i have this for the last 20 years,what do yea think of this bollocks...............dezzer..............

Sorry to hear about that Dez. Did you ever have the E+ on your licence? Perhaps you've an old licence and could check that. If it was accidentally left off the most recent licence you might be able to plea that the Licencing Office are at fault.

Reason I say this is about 9 years back I renewed my licence and realised two weeks later that they'd issued the licence without the E+ even though it was on the previous one (it was the office in Mullingar). I went in, by chance got the same girl who I dealt with the first time and explained what had happened. She said 'Do you need the E+?' - but she did agree to change it once I asked to see her Supervisor.

Dezzer, you have a PM.

Here’s my take on the situation:
The law states that with a B licence you can:
Tow a trailer up to 750kg GVW (gross vehicle weight ie: trailer + load)
Or
Trailer Design GVW (Plated weight on trailer) must not exceed unladen weight of the towing vehicle and the GVW of the combination must not exceed 3500kgs.

So to take the example of:
Warrior 165 = 550kg
75 Hp Honda = 166kg
Trailer = 300kg
Gear etc: 150kg
Total Kerbside weight: 1116 KG

Pulling with long wheelbase 4X4
Unladed weight = approx 1800 – 2000 kg
Trailer might be plated somewhere like 1500kg GVW
This is not heavier than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.
The Gross weight of the combination (depends on the amount of gear in the jeep) – Lets guess at 300kg

4x4 laden weight: 2100kg – 2300kg
Laden Trailer: 1116kg
Gross Vehicle weight of the combination – 3216kg – 3416kg
Combination is less than 3500kg and can be towed with a B licence.

Q.E.D.

i think theyve little to be doing stopping you and putting the shits up you like that.but you have opened a can of worms
lots of people myself included did not know of this licence itowed my boat back from essex england was stopped by police and was handed my licence back go a head iwould have thought they would have been stricter over there.
another way of ripping us off here another provisinal licence you dident need 10yrs ago

Hi
Tsk Tsk Tsk, are you daring to suggest this is revenue collection , rather than a safety issue!!!
That would never happen here
screeming

Hi all,
I was stopped in '07. I was heading to Co Clare from Co Cork. I came across a check point in Limerick. Gaurd told me to pull over, checked the trailer and the lights. Came back to me and said off you go. Didn't bother to check my licence.

I spoke to my solicitor this morning about this because I was getting worried too, he basically confirmed the opinion from Jim stated above. As long as you had a 4x4 towing the boat and did not exceed the GVW of 3500 kg the guard is wrong. He wasn't a rookie by any chance, was he? Do you have his badge number? Talk to your solicitor, that's my advice.

no this man was no rookie,he was the head of a traffic core,have his name,but witheld,what he stated were the facts,dezzer......

no this man was no rookie,he was the head of a traffic core,have his name,but witheld,what he stated were the facts,dezzer......

I may be stating the obvious Dezzer, but don't let his rank or appearance of experience guide you. We had a Chief Superintendent around here who seemingly didn't realise it was against the law to drive whilst drunk. He was arrested by a rookie who didn't realise you don't arrest Chief Superintendents regardless of how staggeringly drunk they are and the Chief Superintendent seemingly didn't realise that you should not threathen a guard doing his duty with banishment to Tory Island.

Note: This was in the papers, so it's not hearsay.

[The Austrian]

Here a bit more info from the Citizens Information website:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categ ... in_ireland

Essentially, there are three different types of vehicle categories; basic, higher and trailer.

"Trailer categories:
for the EB category - Vehicles in category B with a trailer attached, means you will need a Full EB licence."

Not too sure about this, the old paper license allows you to tow a trailer as Jim has stated above, even shows the picture beside the explanation for the B category. If you had a full B license for the past 20 years you might compare it, providing you still have a copy or the original pink paper or maybe someone you know has one. I saw the license from my solicitor this morning and it was clear that you were not doing something illegal, obviously there was a change in recent years regarding the categories, that's the statement from the above site:

"When you pass the B driving test, you are then entitled to apply for an EB licence, without the need to sit the driver theory test again." - Hope it's not too late for that now

"If you wish to have an additional category of vehicle added to your existing licence, your application is made directly to the Motor Tax Office of your local authority.
http://findaddress.citizensinformation. ... ce_finder/"

Bit confusing really , still, I'd advise to get in touch with your solicitor or a local politician, I'd say it's important to find out where you really stand in this case before it's too late and the mills of the law start grinding.

Election time is approaching fast, someone might listen to your problem now when they are after your vote.

Good Luck!

Last edited by The Austrian on Thu May 28, 2009 5:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I looked up towing a trailer on the rsa website. It is as Jim from cork stated.
750kg trailer OR GVW up to 3500kg.
Hope this helps.

So you can go over 750Kg as long and the combined weight is not more that 3500Kg Doesn't make sense to me.

Kev

So you can go over 750Kg as long and the combined weight is not more that 3500Kg Doesn't make sense to me.

Kev

only if your trailor is rated for more and you are towing with a 2ton jeep.

i think that what they mean.

just out of interest dezzer, what were you towing with

if you were towing a 165 with an opal astra it might just look a bit not right, worthy of pulling in to have a look

on the other hand if the same was beign towed by a large van or jeep it wont look out of place and you might be waved on .

Towing a 175 warrior witha 100efi 4stroke engine with an isuzu trooper,unladen weight of trailer 450kg max gross weight 1800kg,dezzer................

You can tow more than 750kg gross if:
The design GVW of the trailer (plated weight) is not more than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle and the GVW of the combination is not more than 3500kg.

Possible scenario:
Trooper LWB = approx Unladen = 2000kg
Plated weight of trailer = 1800kg
B required.

However if the trailer was running close to GVW and the jeep a few kgs heavier with fuel etc then the combination would exceed 3500kg and therefore an EB would be required.
I would think the GARDA assumed that the trailer was running close to GVW and therefore required an EB. However in fact the boat and trailer would be around 1400kg if my memory serves. It would be a close run thing to see if the combination was over 3500kg.

Heres what I would reckon anybody concerned should do:
Check the plated weight of your trailer
Check the unladen weight of your towing vehicle (you will normally find this on a spec sheet online)
If the trailer plated weight is greater than your vehicle unladen then you are in a bind straight away. (the plate should be there by law but sometime they can be blown off. If it does get blown off then make sure that you get the correct replacement!!!!!!! )

Weigh your combination at a local weighbridge (most sand and gravel pits, dumps, scrap metal or the local council bridge) if you are under 3500kg then all is OK

Guy's I have been onto the RSA, the dept of the enviroment, and the motor tax and licencing office.
On a cat. B Licence you can only tow a single axle trailer with a gross laden weight of 750 kgs or less. full stop. that's it, there is no way around it, even if you got your licence before 1997 (even with the eu directive of that date)
Also you cannot tow a double axle trailer unless you have a 4wd.
If your trailer weighs more than 750kg you have no option than to get an EB classification on your licence, there are no exceptions to this, no combinations of trailer and car weight etc to get out of it you have to get an Eb licence as follows.
1, book a driver theory test.
2, pass test and apply for a 2 yr provisional B, EB licence.
3, apply for an EB test,
4, pass test and get a full B, EB licence

The only concession is that when you get your provisional EB licence you don't have to have a fully qualified EB holder with you for the 2yrs, you are coverd on this by having your Full B licence.

That's it guys, the gospel according to Dave , lol

btw wish me well for my theory test on sat 6th

From the RSA site:

http://www.rsa.ie/SERVICES/RSA_Services ... _a_Trailer

Towing a Trailer
If you hold a category B licence and wish to tow a trailer you may do so provided
(1) the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle and the combination does not exceed 3500 kg or
(2) the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer does not exceed 750 kg.
If you wish to tow a heavier trailer you must hold a category EB licence.
The holder of a driving licence in category C1, C, D1 or D may tow a trailer provided the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer does not exceed 750 kg. Categories EC1, EC, ED1 or ED (depending on the towing vehicle) must be held in order to tow trailers in excess of 750 kg.

thank you Jim, great find, that makes sense and clears any doubts.