Driving Licence
Some of you may not be aware that anyone who has obtained their full UK Car Driving Licence from 1 January 1997 will not automatically be able to tow any Caravan unless they have obtained further categories on their Licence. Drivers will be required to take additional tests in order to have the category E added to their licence. They should still be able to drive lighter vehicles with smaller Caravans. See below for an explanation of the category B restrictions.
Where the same type of Licence was obtained before 1 January 1997 the driver should have the additional category E added to their licence which will allow them to tow a Caravan. At the same time the Licence will also usually have the categories C1 and E which will allow larger vehicles and trailers to be towed.
The categories on the Driving Licence will be governed by the towing vehicle and Caravan Maximum Authorized Mass (MAM) as well as the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.
Unladen Mass
The Unladen Mass of a vehicle is usually the vehicles weight without any loads in it excluding driver, water and fuel. This can also sometimes be known as the kerb weight.
Maximum Authorized Mass (MAM)
This is also known as the gross weight or the permissible maximum weight. It is the maximum weight of the vehicle including the maximum load of the vehicle that may be used on the road. This should be shown on a plate located on the vehicle.
Train Weight
A Train Weight is the total of the MAM and the total weight of the trailer or Caravan that is being towed behind the vehicle.
Category B
This is the standard for a full UK car driving licence. Where the holder is allowed to drive a motor vehicle with a MAM not greater than 3500KG and not more than eight passenger seats. A trailer / Caravan may also be towed as long as the combined Vehicle MAM and trailer MAM does not exceed 3500KG and the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle. A trailer / Caravan that has a MAM of up to 750KG may also be coupled up to a vehicle with a MAM up to 3500KG giving a combined MAM of 4250KG.
A maximum 85% ratio between the trailer / Caravan MAM and the vehicles unladen mass is highly recommended.
Category B + E
This category will have been standard on the UK car licence prior to 1997, where it is not usually on a licence after this time. A category B + E has all of the same restrictions as a category B except that the towing vehicle that has a MAM up to 3500KG is allowed to tow a trailer / Caravan with a MAM greater than 750KG.
For example where the vehicle has a MAM of 2750KG and an unladed weight of 1500KG a Caravan that has a MAM of 1250KG can still be towed. The combined MAM will be 4000KG.
A maximum 85% ratio between the trailer / Caravan MAM and the vehicles unladen mass is highly recommended. In the example above the Caravan will be under the recommended 85%.
Category C1 + E
Drivers who passed their car test prior to 1997 will also have a C1 + E category on their licence. The restrictions are exactly the same as with the category B + E except that the maximum vehicle MAM is 7500KG. A maximum combined MAM is also set to 8250KG. Where the category was obtained from 1 January 1997 the maximum combined MAM is 12000KG.
A maximum 85% ratio between the trailer / Caravan MAM and the vehicles unladen mass is highly recommended.
WARNING!
If you are unsure about what you are legally allowed to drive / tow then please seek professional advice. The current limits can be found on the Directgov web site.