Towing MR2 to trackday and in general

[cantfindausername]

Just wondering what the weight is of an MR2 (not stripped) + a generic trailer.

I'm trying to figure out what the Braked Towing Weight requirements would be for a replacement car.

Thanks for any info.

Ant

[toxo]

Book spec is 1280kg if that helps?

[cantfindausername]

Cool, thats a good start. A car trailer shouldn't way too much should it?

Wondering if a 1500kg Braked Towing capability would be enough to do it legally.

[Quigonjay]

i asked a similar question a while back and was told your average twin axle trailer weighs about 500 kg
that seems a bit much to me though as you can get cars weighing less than that

[cantfindausername]

I had a look on a few sites and a single axle transporter generally has a gross weight of 1300kg, and 285kg of that seems to be the trailer itself. So a twin axle I would think would be around 350-400kg given the extra axle weight and also the extra material in the frame.

[Quigonjay]

unless you get a 4x4 you are going to need a big diesel engine (most modern 2.0+ turbo diesle engines in big family cars) or a v8 or something
mondeo/a4 size type stuff is where you start getting really good towing weights
i found the parkers website when i was looking around as it gives you the towing weight for most cars

[tonigmr2]

Suggest you go on the Brian James site and they list dimensions/weight of their trailers, it'll give you a guideline.

[cantfindausername]

Cheers for the input. I've been looking at the new Passats as I currently have one as a Courtesy car, but also looking at others around the same sort of weight/engine spec. Most seem capable now of 1500+kg braked towing weight. Parkers is where I've lived for the last couple of days

Will have a look at Brian James in a bit too.

Thanks,
Ant

[MartG]

I had a look on a few sites and a single axle transporter generally has a gross weight of 1300kg, and 285kg of that seems to be the trailer itself.

My single axle one has a gross wt. of 1500kg, of which 300kg is the trailer leaving a load capacity of 1200kg, which leaves a bit of a margin with my stripped trackday mk1 ( approx 1000kg ). I use a 3.2V6 Frontera to drag it around.

[Bender Unit]

Funny enough I am looking into this at the moment as I want to take my AE86 off the road and just tow it to track days.

You need to check out the regulations on what you can tow – if you got your license after 1 Jan 97 then you are slightly limited to what you can drive and tow compared to if you had passed before that date.

To be honest the guidelines are very ambiguous and it seems people don’t really know or understand which just creates even more problems.

If you passed after 1 jan 97 the way I understand it is:

You can drive a vehicle upto 3.5 tonnes towing a trailer of 750kgs

or

A tow car + trailer with a combined train weight of no more than 3.5 tonnes, and the trailer weighing no more than the unladen weight of the tow car.


If you need to tow outside of the above restrictions then you will need to take an extra test to allow you to pull a larger weight.


I have also checked out trailer weights – the Ifor Williams site is good for listing weights - 500kgs is what to expect for a modern twin axle car trailer, single axle is around 400kgs. I suspect the Brian James trailers will be similar in terms of weight. Be aware that if you buy second hand and its not a main stream brand the trailer may weigh a lot more – which might upset the towing weights etc.

They recommend you don’t tow anything more than 85% the weight of the tow car – but can go above if needed, however safer and more controllable if you don’t.

I am looking at an old W124 E Class 280 estate – >1700kgs – yanking around 1400 (car + trailer) so pretty much spot on with the towing ratios. The Merc will yank the load without any bother, dosnt need to be diesel / 4x4 to do it properly a lot of big engine estates will tow without issue. Others to consider are cars like the 5 series estate, A6 estate etc. Make sure you have something with some weight as in certain conditions the trailer can end up steering the car.

Mr2 weighing 1250kgs, 500kgs trailer – would mean you would want something around 2T to be safe, which also means you will have a train weight of 3.75 tonnes – and then be over the maximum allowed weighting for your license.

[cantfindausername]

Good info. I'll dig out my license tonight and have a looksee whats on there. I passed in Nov 97, so may well be restricted. Looks like the car could be dieting still!

[Steve Horrocks]

Agree, the new age/towing regs are a bloomin nightmare!! Sooo easy to find you're not covered if anything is wrong. My dad has offered me his 3.9V8 Discovery which would obviously laugh at towing an MR2 but put me comfortably over the weight alowancies. Anyone know how/where/price of doing these extra licenses?

[cantfindausername]

i'll have a look while i'm work tomorrow

[Bender Unit]

lessons are around £500 with the test included. On its on the test is around £92 - however it seems to be if you dont do the test exactly as they teach in the lessons then you fail.

The restrictions on what you can / cant tow are confusing. Having worked it out I would just scrape through with the E class and my AE86 - anything heavier on the trailer would cause problems.

[cantfindausername]

How do you work out from your license what you can tow? I've still got the old paper license held together with sticky tape.

[cartledge_uk]

How do you work out from your license what you can tow? I've still got the old paper license held together with sticky tape.

What else can you drive on your license? can you drive all the busses etc?

What date did you pass?

[cantfindausername]

Dunno, Cat B and E or something. Didn't really take much notice when I looked at it afte I couldnt figure it out.

I passed in Nov 97.

[cartledge_uk]

Dunno, Cat B and E or something. Didn't really take much notice when I looked at it afte I couldnt figure it out.

I passed in Nov 97.

Your like me then, missed out by months!

You can tow. but you are very restricted by weights

To start, the Maximum alowed mass of your tow car and trailer cannot exceed 3500kg (max loads should be stated on v5 and trailer documents).

Combinations of vehicles in Category B and a trailer, where maximum allowed mass of the combination does not exceed 3500 kg and the maximum allowed mass of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle.

for example: A vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a maximum allowed mass of 2 tonnes coupled with a trailer with a maximum allowed mass of 1.25 tonnes could be driven by the holder of a category B entitlement


There was also something I read somewhere (cant find it at moment) that the trailer/car combo had to be less than 3500kg, but the trailer had to be less than 70% the weight of the car, but until this is conformed don't try this.

[Quigonjay]

just for comparison, i passed in 93 and here is what i can drive
B, BE, C1, C1E, D1, D1E, f, k, i, n, p

[cartledge_uk]

just for comparison, i passed in 93 and here is what i can drive
B, BE, C1, C1E, D1, D1E, f, k, i, n, p

Yea, but your old