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Towing Wide Caravans Legally

Posted: 12 March 2007 by Ian

This is a topic that comes up over and over again in our caravanning forums and seems to the source of much confusion so I thought it would be worth summarising the main points here.

The law in the UK is that in order to legally tow a trailer with a width of over 2.3 metres (or a length of over 7 metres), the towing vehicle must have a permissible gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes (Department of Transport - Requirements for trailers). Even the largest 4x4s do not have this permissible gross weight. However, there are a few commercial vehicles that do, for example the LWB Mercedes Sprinter or the new Ford Transit 17 seater minibus.

Unfortunately, it appears that there are a number of police officers that are unaware of this requirement which has led to a number of people receiving incorrect advice 'by the roadside' or when telephoning their local police station.

Another thing that adds to the confusion is that certain people have been able to obtain insurance on these wider caravans. However, this insurance only relates to the caravan itself, not the towing vehicle and as Keith points out:

"CIS may have taken your £350, 'cos it's fine to pull it with a goods vehicle over 3.5 tons and it's fine to have it sited on a park but I assure you, if anything happens on the road which results in a claim, they will revoke the insurance contract."

While you may be able to obtain insurance by being economical with the truth, and while you may be able to fly under the radar of many police patrols, the fact remains you are driving without insurance, as Gary points out:

"Do you know what an IN10 is?? It's what they put on your licence for driving without insurance and we call an endorsement, that's along with the mandatory 8 points that go with it ? Insurance companies love it when they ask "any endorsments" and you reply IN10 sheepishly. The next thing you will say is... HOW MUCH. And that's if they will insure you at all"

and

"The point is if you do have an accident and a bone is broken (any bone), then the police 'accident investigation unit' will be doing the investigation, not the local beat copper. Be assured these guys know the law inside and out and won't miss the width of your van."

In fact, most if not all manufacturers do not sell these wider vans in the UK as few caravanners have an appropriate vehicle with which to tow them. Which leads us to the final point, which is that these vans are sold in mainland Europe due to different legislation.

In Europe, EU law allows caravans of 2.5 metres to be towed by a normal car. However, Phil received a letter from his MP stating:

"The issue had been debated in Parliament and the government had decided not to adopt that rule here in Britain"

If you are interested in campaigning for a change in the law to bring UK law in line with that of the EU, Kaiko2107 is launching a government petition to try and get the law changed and is asking other Preloved members for their support.