Vehicle towing, loading and trailers
Tow only what your licence and your vehicle allow, and know the limits before you hitch anything up.
- No motor vehicle may draw more than three trailers.
- You may not tow a vehicle whose net mass exceeds the net mass of the towing vehicle, and the distance between the two must not exceed 4 metres.
- A trailer or caravan is coupled with safety chains as well as the draw bar, and a heavy vehicle towing a drawbar must have safety chains fitted.
- Brake and lighting connections between the towing vehicle and the trailer must be sound, firmly fixed and working properly.
- Every trailer apart from a light two wheeled one must have adequate brakes.
- Display the white reflective T on the extreme right panel of the towed vehicle and a red reflective T on the right at the rear, so that a driver meeting or following you at night knows this is a vehicle train and judges its length correctly.
Do not overload the vehicle or the trailer, and do not exceed the weight or the tow ball load the manufacturer specifies. Secure the load so that nothing can shift or project dangerously. A heavy or sharp object that is loose becomes a projectile in a collision, and so does an animal that is not properly restrained. Any load projecting behind the vehicle is marked with a red cloth by day and a red lamp or red reflective material at night. Pick up trucks and other commercial vehicles must display their gross and net mass in kilograms.
Distribute the weight with the heavy items mainly over the axles and a downward load on the tow ball. Poor distribution is what starts a trailer swaying. If it does begin to snake, ease off the accelerator and let the speed fall gently. Fighting the steering makes it worse.
Carrying a load or pulling a trailer may throw your headlights out of line, so adjust them. If you cannot see past what you are towing, fit extended arm mirrors rather than guess.
After a breakdown, a tow rope is the dangerous choice. Prefer a tow bar or professional recovery.