Trailer Law

Trailers and the law
The law is very complex. While we have tried to explain the current law as we understand it in everyday language we cannot be held responsible for the interpretations given. If in doubt, either consult the relevent regulations which can be obtained from the HMSO, or your own lawyer.

Road Tax
Private vehicles or light Goods Vehicles (weighing less than 3500kg.) do not have to pay any additional Excise Duty. Heavier Goods Vehicles towing trailers below 4000kg GW do not come within a trailer taxation class and therefore do not have to pay additional Excise Duty.

Insurance
Most vehicle insurance policies will cover 3rd Party liabilities when towing provided the trailer is attached to the towing vehicle
Additional insurance should be arranged to cover theft, damage to the trailer (including contents).

Passengers
Absolutely forbidden in all trailers.

Towing speeds
On Motorways 60 MPH.
Dual Carriageways 60 MPH.
Other roads 50 MPH provided no other lower limit is in force & the combined gross weight of vehicle & trailer is less than 7.5 tonnes.
Note - no car with a trailer, 8+ seater vehicle, HGV are not allowed in the outside lane of a motorway i.e. lane 3 of a 3 lane motorway or lane 4 of a 4 lane motorway.

M.O.T.
Not required for trailers of less than 3500kg. But be warned, it will not be long before all trailers are registered and MOTed

Weight
The i2 trailer is an unbraked trailer, law states that an unbraked trailer can weigh 750kg gross or up to half the weight of the towing vehicle’s weight. A mini weighs less than 800kg so our trailer is plated to weigh 350kg gross, to comply with this law. With the trailer weighing as much as a person a 1300 tuned mini is not necessary a 1000 mini will happily pull the trailer.

Lighting
All trailers must have triangle reflex reflectors. Trailers under 130cm do not require a fog lamp our trailer’s body is under this, but if wider arches are fitted a fog lamp is required. All i2 trailers that have electrics are fitted with a fog lamp as standard.

Wheels & tyres
All wheels and tyres are subject to the same laws that apply to vehicles. 1.6mm of tread across 75% of the width of the tyre.

Brakes
No brakes are fitted to our trailer, as the weight of the brakes alone would weigh the same as our trailer. Car brakes CANNOT be used on trailers. Only Approved brakes can be fitted these are currently auto reverse barkes.

Tow bars
All tow bars fitted to cars registered after July 1998 must have an E approved tow bar fitted. Rover Mini is not E approved so no tow bar can be fitted to minis registered on and after 1st August 1998 .So if a mini was registered on 31 July 1998 it can pull a trailer however if the same car was registered on 1 August 1998 it cannot. However a towbar can be fitted with electrics to a S reg onwards car if it is used for cycle carriers etc .