EU declares war on caravans with plan for MoT-style tests

tjay said:
Not before time !! seeing the state of some of them on the road, obviously been stored for months, roofs and side covered in green, lights not working properly.
Grossly overloaded and pulled by cars that are too small, Police should pull more of the buggers over and get them off the road.
btw[HI] what happens if one broke loose from a car and was not insured[/HI],if the car druver had told their car insurer !!
Who would you/could you claim from ??
We have to be taxed,mot's and insured then so should they too !!
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All trailers are covered for third party damage on the towcars insurance....WHILE ON TOW.
that cover will extend to a detachment so any damage to other property will be covered
 
Volusia said:
It's ok concerning themselves about local garages carrying out MOT's on vehicles but how often have you thought, when you take a vehicle in, that its a licence for them to print money. Far better a government test centre which carries out no repairs only points out what needs sorting out. Likewise, human nature being what it is, of the many thousands of caravans on British roads how many owners would carry out a voluntary testing of their van, especially when the novelty wears off?
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Main reason why i would never use Halfords etc or any garage offering a discounted test to the general public....i get a trade discount anyway.
they MAY go out of their way to find a fail fault which elsewhere may be a borderline pass and allow you to decide when to repair.

they dont discount tests as a favour to drivers....they discount in the hope of getting the repair work in the event of a fail.
 
The UK ran a consultation paper on this towards the end of last year. as an ex-caravanner of 30 years (I did say EX I have seen the light!) I agree with the idea. the only issue is that one of enforcement. Car MOT can be enforced through the increasing number of cameras but the caravan will not be displaying a number and its no good using that of the towing vehicle as it would be easy to argue you don't have that van - most are stored away from home.
 
mpdcymru said:
The UK ran a consultation paper on this towards the end of last year. as an ex-caravanner of 30 years (I did say EX I have seen the light!) I agree with the idea. the only issue is that one of enforcement. Car MOT can be enforced through the increasing number of cameras but the caravan will not be displaying a number and its no good using that of the towing vehicle as it would be easy to argue you don't have that van - most are stored away from home.
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I agree it is a good idea. It is annoying trying to buy a 2nd hand trailer, as the brakes have inevitably not worked since 1998 and are so encrusted in rust they can't even be fixed...

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Not before time it might get some of the sheds of the road
 
I was a tent camper for many years when I was young (and could put up with discomfort etc!!) then an ardent caravanner for 30 years before I changed to become a "motorhomer" I serviced my van or had it serviced every year as did all my caravanning friends, in fact the vast, vast majority of caravanners do so too!. Apart from sites which allowed permanent van pitches and where you do tend to see some old shabby vans I did not notice any more "unserviceable, & dangerous" caravans on the road than any other type of vehicle - motorhomes included. I am disappointed by the predominately "anti caravanner" attitude by quite a number of fellow funsters on this thread who seem to believe that because it is not law to have a caravan MOT tested every year then no one bothers to ensure their van is roadworthy!:cry: A question for those of you who feel like this - if you were not required by law to have your motorhome MOT tested would you then not bother to have it serviced and checked for road worthiness? Of course you would have it serviced law or no law - the same applies to caravanners - they are nice people too you know!! :)
 
Teuchter said:
That may be HB but I have just read it for the first time today so stuck my " ten penneth" in :)
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your "ten penneth" of opinion is just as valid as any other poster on here and equally valued? Like you, many of us on the forum have holidayed in tin tents, but a growing number are virgin novices to motorhoming in retirement. the experiences of those not used to modern touring caravans does seem tainted by negative press opinions spread by the likes of top gear etc
like you, i have many years experience in caravans and can honestly say there seems to be a type of caravanner, who just hitch up and tow for a few weeks per year, then put the van back on the drive till next time its used. I still buy and sell caravans occasionally and have seen some seriously neglected vans over the years. everything from dodgy towing electrics through to sagging suspension and seized brakes and the sellers are oblivious to the danger that involves
to me, it makes sense to maintain all trailers including caravans regularly and see nothing wrong with a legal roadworthy test yearly. some however feel that they only travel a few miles per year, so its money wasted.
in other EU states, there is a roadworthiness test imposed either annually or biannually on anything with wheels that travel public highways. its about time we did the same. not to raise money for the mot/maintenance trades but to ensure road safety. much the same as now requiring an extra driving test for those wishing to tow trailers/caravans

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Writing new laws will not solve this problem! Legislation already exists in various forms requiring vehicles and trailers to be roadworthy and not overloaded! It is the policing and penalties for those breaking the law that are deficient. Existing law breakers or those who don't care less will not take any notice of any new legislation. There should be more compulsory seizing and destruction of unroadworthy vehicles and trailers as part of the penalty!

What is interesting is that Motorhomes have a plated gross train weight but I don't think that that applies to cars and trailers. It is not law for example that a trailer should not exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle which might be a worthwhile addition. Cars are always described as being able to tow ridiculous and unrealistic weights but not safely! A safe limit, promoted by the caravan clubs is that the trailer should not exceed 85% of the unladen weight of the tow vehicle which is what I used to try to stick to.
 
I have the approved caravan engineer coming on Thursday to check my tugger , hes down to do a full service on it,brakes,gas electrics, I do it every year . If legislation comes in to have your caravan "MOT,d" then that's fine by me , I have two tow cars, a merc estate and a pajero , the merc is legal to tow my van, but I much prefer the safe feeling of dragging 1100 kgs behind 2500 kgs , i spent all day today going over my pajero and ill book it in for an MOT , ive towed just about everything with that pajero.
I would also like to see all boat trailers subjected to some sort of a check , boat trailers regularly have their axles dipped into water , when this is sea water, it rots the bearings and seizes the brake cables very quickly ,unless you do regular maintenance on it an IMHO they are much more supceptible to failing than a caravan.
trailers are not difficult to service , its not rocket science but people leave it year after year without putting as much as a finger tip of grease on their bearings
Tyres are also over looked on trailers a lot of people just do not check them
 
Abacist said:
Writing new laws will not solve this problem! Legislation already exists in various forms requiring vehicles and trailers to be roadworthy and not overloaded! It is the policing and penalties for those breaking the law that are deficient. Existing law breakers or those who don't care less will not take any notice of any new legislation. There should be more compulsory seizing and destruction of unroadworthy vehicles and trailers as part of the penalty!

What is interesting is that Motorhomes have a plated gross train weight but I don't think that that applies to cars and trailers. It is not law for example that a trailer should not exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle which might be a worthwhile addition. Cars are always described as being able to tow ridiculous and unrealistic weights but not safely! A safe limit, promoted by the caravan clubs is that the trailer should not exceed 85% of the unladen weight of the tow vehicle which is what I used to try to stick to.
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becarefull if an artic unit isnt over 3050kg unladen its a motorcar. if over its a heavy m,car.
artics pull anything up to 4-5 times the unladen weight of the tow vehicle.
changing laws isnt easy.
thats why its a mess already.
it does seem that laws have been made by people not switched on to vehicles .
bet 80% on here dont know the differance between a fifth wheeler and an artic.
 
Abacist said:
What is interesting is that Motorhomes have a plated gross train weight but I don't think that that applies to cars and trailers. It is not law for example that a trailer should not exceed the unladen weight of the tow vehicle which might be a worthwhile addition. Cars are always described as being able to tow ridiculous and unrealistic weights but not safely! A safe limit, promoted by the caravan clubs is that the trailer should not exceed 85% of the unladen weight of the tow vehicle which is what I used to try to stick to.
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The car chassis plate layout is exactly the same as a motorhome.
Line 1= Maximum gross weight MGW
Line2= Maximum train weight MTW
Line 3 =maximum weight axle 1
Line 4= Maximum weight axle 2.
Everything ,that is allowed to tow , has a mtw shown.
Many smaller cars do not have an MTWas they are too light to tow, & additionally they do not have manufacturers securing points for a tow bar , nor can one be legally attached.
 
laird of Dunstan said:
I have the approved caravan engineer coming on Thursday to check my tugger , hes down to do a full service on it,brakes,gas electrics, I do it every year . If legislation comes in to have your caravan "MOT,d" then that's fine by me , I have two tow cars, a merc estate and a pajero , the merc is legal to tow my van, but I much prefer the safe feeling of dragging 1100 kgs behind 2500 kgs , i spent all day today going over my pajero and ill book it in for an MOT , ive towed just about everything with that pajero.
I would also like to see all boat trailers subjected to some sort of a check , boat trailers regularly have their axles dipped into water , when this is sea water, it rots the bearings and seizes the brake cables very quickly ,unless you do regular maintenance on it an IMHO they are much more supceptible to failing than a caravan.
trailers are not difficult to service , its not rocket science but people leave it year after year without putting as much as a finger tip of grease on their bearings
Tyres are also over looked on trailers a lot of people just do not check them
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just out of interest if he comes to you how does he check the brakes?

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Well I bow to those far more knowledgeable than I. Clearly if the law is such an ass then it needs revision and perhaps accounts for why the police take so little action. I can also agree that Discovery's are not fit to tow safely on motorways and dual carriageways due to their range of suspension movement which exacerbates any snake which may be induced by the passing bow waves of juggernauts in quick succession. Clearly an arctic cab unit is designed to cope with towing its designed loaded trailer on a daily and commercial basis. This should not be comparable to a passenger vehicle's towing ability IMHO and if the law says it is then it is a nonsense!
 
The solution is to vote UKIP at the next election. If like me your fedup with europe keep telling us what we can and cant do. Brussells keep coming up with all these laws and it seems to me the UK are the only silly buggers who obay them.
 
trevtherev said:
The solution is to vote UKIP at the next election. If like me your fedup with europe keep telling us what we can and cant do. Brussells keep coming up with all these laws and it seems to me the UK are the only silly buggers who obay them.
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Usual UKIP level of accuracy I see :D
Moves to introduce such tests were thrown out by the EU in March last year.
 
I took the tugger out on Saturday ,afore mentioned caravan mechanic did not turn up to check it ,so I did my own checks on the brakes greased up all the nipples , checked lights etc ,had a good root around Under the chassis, borrowed the company's gas leak detecting gadgets , the only problem was the toilet cassette, the thing gave up the ghost .
Object of the weekend was to sort out the tugger and introduce Kesriel to camping ,she was most impressed by the caravan.
Next stop Wales

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trevtherev said:
The solution is to vote UKIP at the next election. If like me your fedup with europe keep telling us what we can and cant do. Brussells keep coming up with all these laws and it seems to me the UK are the only silly buggers who obay them.
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Spanish legislation already requires that ALL trailers have a 'log book' detailing everything about it.length width, height, braked/unbraked, weight , tyre size/diameter, etc. Once OVER 750kgs this then has added its own registration number in red & starting with the letter R.
All trailers, which includes caravans , over 750kgs have to be registered & dispaly both their own red trailer plate & the plate of the vehicle towing. Additionally they have t pay road tax & have seperate insurance + an mot.
Trailer/caravans over 750 kgs have to be notified to your vehicle insurer as they are not automatically covered by car insurance.

Theonlysue said:
Having spoken to some Spanish campers as to why they park so close to their friends, their answer was, why wouldn't you???
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Bit like being first on the beach & then they come along a plonk themselves right next to you.:LOL:
 
pappajohn said:
Main reason why i would never use Halfords etc or any garage offering a discounted test to the general public....i get a trade discount anyway.
they MAY go out of their way to find a fail fault which elsewhere may be a borderline pass and allow you to decide when to repair.

they dont discount tests as a favour to drivers....they discount in the hope of getting the repair work in the event of a fail.
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AND they make sure that it Fails. My Godson worked for Halfords for several years and the local manager was known to tell the mechanics on the quiet to "look for faults", Very few went out without at least having (some) new bulbs fitted, (and Charged for).

Pete
 
Papajohn said, All trailers are covered for third party damage on the towcars insurance....WHILE ON TOW.
that cover will extend to a detachment so any damage to other property will be covered.

Only if you have advised your insurance company first !! likewise you must also tell them of any "modifications" to the vehicle too !! for instance the tow bar , alloy wheels, upgraded stereo ect
Their "get out" phrase in event of accident/incident is "failure to disclose"
 
About bloddy time.
A rather funny thing happened to me near Caterham. Going along a twisty country road and ran over the back of a caravan. Really munched it. Went past a field and there was presumably the owner scratching his head. Went over to him and told him about the rear end caper and he said that he only used it as a chuck wagon for his crew. No number plate or lights and the roof and walls were wobbling about in the breeze. If there had been a fridge inside or similar it could of made a right mess of my landrover. He thought it was a joke. I thought it was a demolition derby, but maybe these rules will stop this - or not.:D

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About bloody time.
A rather funny thing happened to me near Caterham. Going along a twisty country road and ran over the back of a caravan. Really munched it. Went past a field and there was presumably the owner scratching his head. Went over to him and told him about the rear end caper and he said that he only used it as a chuck wagon for his crew. No number plate or lights and the roof and walls were wobbling about in the breeze. If there had been a fridge inside or similar it could of made a right mess of my landrover. He thought it was a joke. I thought it was a demolition derby, but maybe these rules will stop this - or not.:D
 
I've juts bough a caravan and would always have it serviced every year, I think caravans are potentially more dangerous the MOHOs as they stand around a lot more. When we had our PVC I always drove it at least every 2 weeks and normally every week. Mechanical things don't like sitting around doing nothing. So an MOT for caravans is a good idea. But I wonder what the travelling community will do about it, most don't MOT their vans.
 
If these old threads keep reappearing we will soon be discussing whether the guy with a red flag walking in front of our vehicles is a 'bit' outdated - or not .......

:cheers:
 
keithchesterfield2 said:
If these old threads keep reappearing we will soon be discussing whether the guy with a red flag walking in front of our vehicles is a 'bit' outdated - or not .......

:cheers:
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And you thought it was only old films that keep getting recycled

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