Understanding the 7 metre rule for trailers and correcting the UK government website’s inaccuracies
HM-D Trailers pushed the government to update their website to provide better clarity for road users who tow trailers.
One of the things the HM-D founders pride themselves on is providing as much information as possible about trailer usage. What’s right, what’s wrong and how to ensure our trailer customers (whether they buy or rent) are using their trailer in legal and safe manner.
The Gov.uK website
When reading the following website https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/weight-and-width-limits trailer users were provided with misleading information. The web page had been updated or altered to say that the maximum trailer width for any towing vehicle is 2.55 metres. The maximum length for a trailer towed by a vehicle weighing up to 3,500kg is 7 metres (what we call the 7m rule!). This length does not include the A-frame.
The Result Of This Small Discrepancy?
Many confused customers, the towing of trailers both illegally and unsafely, and many websites and retailers giving customers incorrect advice.
So our co-founder Neil Hall-McLean decided to write to the Department for Transport to call them out on the confusion their guidance was causing.
He Supplied The Following Information:
Towing vehicle up to 3500kg GVW
- Length (excluding the coupling and drawbar): 7.0m
- Width maximum: 2.55m
Towing vehicle over 3500kg GVW
- Length (excluding the coupling and drawbar): 12m (min 4 wheels
- Width maximum: 2.55m
- Length of towing vehicle and trailer combined: 18m
- Maximum overhang of load from rear of trailer: 3.05m
The Response From The DfT
A response from the DfT was swift; they put the wheels in motion to immediately amend their website so that it reflected the true information regarding the correct length measurement for trailers and towing vehicle requirements.
This will immediately give customers confidence that they could purchase our A-frame trailers, which can be used for building custom designs such as tiny houses or bespoke caravan-type structures, without having to use tachographs or appropriate licences for towing over 7ms for example.
Our HM-D Trailer
Our trailer is actually 7.2m in length, however, the A-frame is not considered as part of the measurements. So, it’s perfectly legal to tow, if you don’t overload the trailer (the limit is 3.5 tonnes) and it adheres to all the UK standards, and this can be checked with DVLA.
A major win
As a small business who’ve entered the trailer market with high quality trailer products and a desire to give as much information as possible to people looking to purchase trailers this amendment will make a positive impact. A major win from our perspective.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or concerns about towing regulations or would like more information about our trailers. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team! We are always happy to help and provide expert advice to ensure that you can enjoy your trailer with complete peace of mind.
To learn even more about the 7m rule, head on over to our YouTube Channel for an in depth video review!