Trailer choice advice

[Stuart Giles]

Now to more legality.  Theoretically home made trailers are increasingly difficult to make legal.  Especially if you tow abroad. Trailers should have a vin plate, just like cars and, I believe, be made by a registered fabricator.


On the other hand there are many home made jobs out there that seem to be used with impunity but I wouldn't like to argue the toss with an insurance company with one! Check out the DVLA web site for confirmation on all I have said above.

Perfectly legal to run a home made trailer as long as it complies to construction and use regulations; which are largely common sense requirements. I can't see how an insurance company could wriggle out of a claim on a trailer that complies with the regulations no matter who built it. Mandatory testing for IVA  came in in 2012  for trailers IIRC -it applies to trailers built after that date, the IVA requirement is not retrospective.

Nobody seems to know how VOSA would be aware of when a home made  trailer was actually built; I haven't seen anything saying that modifications to an existing trailer carried out after 2012 would trigger an IVA requirement.

I have built a couple of car trailers. For transporting a car I would want a four wheel trailer, if you have a trailer tyre disintegrate at motorway speeds on a 2 wheel trailer with a car on top, the result can be quite dramatic.  On a four wheel trailer you really shouldn't need all three lanes when a tyre lets go.

It's not a great shot, but this is my current car trailer, It took three days to build for my home made modern racer, but it has also carried my Sevens without any problems. The axles and suspension on this are the rears from 2 written off Mk3 Escort vans, the trailer is braked on all 4 wheels (there is a C & U requirement for all wheels to be braked on any "braked" trailer) 

This trailer has been abroad through France and Italy without incident (or any problems from Gendarmes, Carabinieri etc.) But I have heard that the German authorities want to see a TUV or such data plate on trailers that travel on their Autobahns.