What do I need to know before towing a trailer?

Almost every towing problem comes from weight in the wrong place. A trailer that snakes is not badly driven, it is badly loaded, and once it starts at speed it is very hard to stop.

Safety

What you'll need

• The vehicle handbook towing figures
• The towbar plate figures
• The trailer's plated weights
• Extension mirrors (optional)
• A noseweight gauge (optional)

Step by step

1. Check your driving licence entitlement.The rules changed in December 2021 and most car licence holders may now tow up to a 3,500kg combination trailer, but the exact entitlement depends on when you passed and what categories your licence shows. Check the categories on your own licence rather than assuming.
2. Find the car's maximum towing mass.In the handbook and on the vehicle plate, usually given separately for braked and unbraked trailers. Exceeding it is both unsafe and an offence.
3. Find the towbar's limits.The towbar has its own plate with a maximum towing mass and a maximum noseweight. Where the car and the towbar disagree, the lower figure governs.
4. Weigh the trailer loaded, not empty.The plated weight of the trailer is one figure; what matters is the actual laden weight. A public weighbridge is the reliable answer if you are anywhere near a limit.
5. Load the heaviest items low and just ahead of the axle.This is the single most important thing in towing. It puts a modest downward force on the towball, which is what keeps the outfit stable.
6. Never load heavy items behind the axle.Weight behind the axle lifts the towball, unloads the car's rear wheels and is the classic cause of snaking at speed. It is the dangerous mistake.
7. Check the noseweight.A noseweight gauge, or a bathroom scale and a length of timber, measured at the coupling height. It must be within both the towbar's and the car's limits, and typically it is a substantial figure rather than a token one.
8. Secure everything in the trailer.Ratchet straps to fixed points, not bungees. Anything that can shift during braking changes the balance mid-journey.
9. Fit extension mirrors.You must have an adequate view down both sides of the trailer. If the trailer is wider than the car, extension mirrors are a legal requirement as well as a practical one.
10. Check the coupling, breakaway cable and lights.Coupling fully engaged and locked, jockey wheel raised and stowed, breakaway cable attached to a proper anchorage rather than looped over the ball, and all lights working with someone watching.
11. Know the speed limits for towing.In the UK, 50 miles per hour on single carriageways and 60 on dual carriageways and motorways, and you may not use the outside lane of a motorway with three or more lanes.
12. Drive differently.Much longer braking distances, wider turns because the trailer cuts the corner, and far more care in crosswinds and when overtaken by lorries. Practise reversing in an empty car park before you need to do it at a campsite.

Tips

• Take a towing course if you tow anything substantial. Even where no test is required, a day of instruction transforms confidence with reversing and manoeuvring.
• If the trailer starts to snake, ease off the accelerator smoothly and hold the wheel straight — do not brake hard and do not steer against it.
• Check the tyres on the trailer. They often have plenty of tread and are years old, and old trailer tyres fail regularly.

Common mistakes

• Loading weight behind the trailer axle — It lifts the towball, lightens the towing car's rear wheels and produces snaking at speed, which is the most dangerous towing failure and very hard to recover from.
• Assuming the licence rules from memory — Entitlement depends on when you passed your test and what your licence categories say. It is a five-minute check on your own licence and it decides whether you are legal.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask