Towable RIBs?

[Adrian Dickenson]

Can anyone recommend a good, capacious, RIB that can be towed by someone with a standard (Category B?) post 1997 driving licence using a reasonably sized family car / estate?

Our club (like a lot of others if conversations I had at a recent IFC are anything to go by) is having increasing trouble moving our 6m, 1.5 tonne, Humber so we're investigating other options for feasibility.

Diver capacity and ball-park (cricket-pitch) ideas of the new or second hand cost would be helpful too if you have any information to hand.

Cheers,

Adrian.

[sjc]

Sorry - haven't actually answered your question...

Surely it would be cheaper to take the additional test to get the extra towing weight ?

According to: http://www.autow.co.uk/smmt/trailer_restrictions/driving_licence.aspx you can only tow 750kg (gross) on a post '97 license, not sure if you can get a useful rib to fit that catagory.

Don't forget about relay-cover too... recently found out my old RAC policy did not cover recovery of the RIB/trailer!

Cheers,

Steve

[ash82]

According to: http://www.autow.co.uk/smmt/trailer_restrictions/driving_licence.aspx you can only tow 750kg (gross) on a post '97 license, not sure if you can get a useful rib to fit that catagory.

not quite true. you can also tow a trailer of any weight SO LONG AS the total max train weight is less than 3.5t, and the max weight of the trailer is less than the kerb weight of the vehicle

[Edward]

not quite true. you can also tow a trailer of any weight SO LONG AS the total max train weight is less than 3.5t, and the max weight of the trailer is less than the kerb weight of the vehicle
HI,

Its all here (http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/aguideontowingsmalltrailers.pdf) on page 2.

Edward

[sjc]

it's too complicated - found this:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/forms/~/media/pdf/leaflets/INF30.ashx

I think to answer the original question you're going to struggle to find a 'club size' rib that meets the restrictions to drivers with post 97 licenses.

[bythesea]

OK, the official line from the govt

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_4022564

[bythesea]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073



Here you go...clear as mud


Category B: Vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes MAM and with up to eight passenger seats
Category B vehicles may be coupled with a trailer up to 750kgs MAM (allowing a combined weight up to 4.25 tonnes MAM) or a trailer over 750kgs MAM provided the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, and the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM.
For example:
a vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a MAM of 2 tonnes coupled with a trailer with a MAM of 1.25 tonnes could be driven by the holder of a category B entitlement. This is because the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and also the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle
Whereas
the same vehicle with an unladen weight of 1.25 tonnes and a MAM of 2 tonnes when coupled with a trailer with a MAM of 1.5 tonnes would fall within category B+E. This is because although the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer is within the 3.5 tonnes MAM limit, the MAM of the trailer is more than the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle
Vehicle manufacturers normally recommend a maximum weight of trailer appropriate to their vehicle. Details can usually be found in the vehicle's handbook or obtained from car dealerships. The size of the trailer recommended for an average family car with an unladen weight of around 1 tonne would be well within the new category B threshold.

[JimmE]

I've just been through all this in my club as we currently only have two members who have the vehicle/licence to tow the RIB.

I have a large diesel estate which is perfectly capable of towing the boat, but passed my test in 2004 so have the restrictions already outlined above. Lots of research and some phonecalls to the DVLA/DSA and it came down to this:

The boat and trailer we have weigh about 8-900KG. With my vehicle, this would be permitted based on ACTUAL weight. However, the weighting of the trailer (and I have this in writing unfortunately) is based on the Maximum Permitted Load Weight of the trailer (Gross weight) as specified on the manufacturers plate fitted to the trailer, rather than the actual weight of the load on the trailer at that time. Our trailer is rated for 1500Kg so despite the weight actually being less than that, if I towed it on the road with my car and my licence I'd be breaking the law. However, and this is what really annoyed me - if I had a 4x4 such as a Shogun or a Defender, the relative ratio of vehicle:trailer weights would mean I'd be fine.:eek:

Anyhow, I bit the bullet and took the B+E test last month, so now I'm fine. Suffices to say that with clubs having more and more members passing tests since 1997, more clubs will need members to pass the test. Incidentally, the "trailer" parts of the test were not the hard parts (though I use small trailers on a regular basis) - it's the fact that it's a full on driving test again so you've got to be back at "Test Standard". I can thoroughly recommend doing a couple of hours "revision" with a B+E or even a normal driving instructor to iron out any "wrinkles" which may have developed in your driving techniques over the years.

[JimmE]

Apologies, I also did not answer your question.

Unfortunately I do think that you'll be hard pushed to find something which will meet your criteria. Though depending on the authorised weight capacity of your trailer, you may be OK with a bigger boat if you can use a heavier car such as a 4x4.

Our boat is smaller than yours - a 5.8m tornado with an aluminium trailer. Anything much smaller and you'll struggle to get a decent number of divers on it comfortably.

Incidentally, the justification given for the weight being based on the PERMISSABLE load weight of the trailer rather than the CURRENT weight of the load was explained around a box trailer rather than a boat trailer. For example, based on the rule I couldn't even have towed the boat trailer empty without doing the test, as the weight on the plate is still 1500kg. Sounds crazy, as it's visually obvious that a boat trailer is unladen and weighing only it's own weight. However, a box trailer/horse box etc has a plate weight specified also, but it's much harder to tell whether or not it's fully laden or empty. (You have to look inside!). We had to ask them for a definition of "Trailer Weight" etc as specified in their documents already linked above for them to confirm this.

[Adrian Dickenson]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

We've got a pretty good idea of the towing regulations and, yes, we're looking to get some more people through the test.

I probably should have called this thread 'Magic RIB' as I knew we would be on to a looser as far as getting something comparable to our 6m beauty was concerned.

I was just wondering if any of you were using, or had dived from, anything that might fit our 'estate car' criteria and if you had any comments on the usable space, stability etc.). Obviously some members of our club have, but it's been a while...

Thanks again.

Adrian.