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[Entwood]

Advised towing weights can be easily found in the owners handbook.

but who reads that? 

If it goes against your "manliness" to actually "RTFI"... then you could always try the VIN plate .. drivers door pillar or engine bay.. both give all the information you need to be legal ....

Don't you mean R T F  M? 

I already knew where to find the info .... the VIN isn't the plate with the weights on 

M= Manual
I= Instructions

Both mean the same IMHO ... 

VIN plate lists 4 weights.

Gross vehicle weight = max weight of the vehicle, sometimes called the MAM .. maximum allowable mass
Gross train weight = max combined weight of both vehicle and trailer
max front axle weight
max rear axle weight

If you subtract line 1 from line 2 it gives you the maximum weight of any trailer you wish to tow ....

seeemples ... 

If you don't believe me and want further "evidence" .....  https://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/maximum-towing-weight/


line 3 ...

"The actual, exact and only towing capacity figure that should be used for your vehicle is that which is stamped on the Vehicle Identification Number Plate, VIN Plate."

[Doctor Gollum]

Fixed draw bar twin/triple axles are a piece of piss to reverse...

The worst is either a fixed draw bar short single axle ( like these), or my personal nemesis, an articulated ten metre self steering single axle (like these) 

[Broomies Mate]

I'll play the other side of the coin here......

I am unlucky enough to have missed the deadline of Jan 1997.  I do not have 'Grandfather' rights on my license.

Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a minibus with more than 7 passengers (7+1driver)?
Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a 7.5tonner?

(Both of those questions with the addition of "Without extra tuition")

I can hire a SLWB Sprinter or Daily, or a Luton Van.  I can drive a Tipper or Flatbed.  Size isn't really the issue, as EVERY vehicle mentioned is available in over 3.5T.

A minibus with 8 Seats (total) and a large luggage area is identical to a minibus with 15 Seats and a small luggage area.

Devils Advocate!  The DVLA should have revoked all of the extra classes on every license (where a suitable test hadn't already been completed). 

[Andy B]

Advised towing weights can be easily found in the owners handbook.

but who reads that? 

If it goes against your "manliness" to actually "RTFI"... then you could always try the VIN plate .. drivers door pillar or engine bay.. both give all the information you need to be legal ....

Don't you mean R T F  M? 

I already knew where to find the info .... the VIN isn't the plate with the weights on 

M= Manual
I= Instructions

Both mean the same IMHO ... 

VIN plate lists 4 weights.

Gross vehicle weight = max weight of the vehicle, sometimes called the MAM .. maximum allowable mass
Gross train weight = max combined weight of both vehicle and trailer
max front axle weight
max rear axle weight

If you subtract line 1 from line 2 it gives you the maximum weight of any trailer you wish to tow ....

seeemples ... 

If you don't believe me and want further "evidence" .....  https://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/maximum-towing-weight/


line 3 ...

"The actual, exact and only towing capacity figure that should be used for your vehicle is that which is stamped on the Vehicle Identification Number Plate, VIN Plate."

Nige .... you're quoting the numbers I've already quoted above.

[Doctor Gollum]

I'll play the other side of the coin here......

I am unlucky enough to have missed the deadline of Jan 1997.  I do not have 'Grandfather' rights on my license.

Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a minibus with more than 8 passengers (8+1driver)?
Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a 7.5tonner?

(Both of those questions with the addition of "Without extra tuition")

I can hire a SLWB Sprinter or Daily, or a Luton Van.  I can drive a Tipper or Flatbed.  Size isn't really the issue, as EVERY vehicle mentioned is available in over 3.5T, although not without an operators licence 

A minibus with 9 Seats (total) and a large luggage area is identical to a minibus with 15 Seats and zero luggage area.

Devils Advocate!  The DVLA should have revoked all of the extra classes on every license (where a suitable test hadn't already been completed).

Corrected. They had to draw the line somewhere, and the date the legislation was passed is as good a date as any... 

I should add, that inspite of being able to drive C1/D1 on my car licence, I made a point of doing C and C+E. Also have a provisional D licence and may scratch that itch one day, although I have no particular need to deal with noisy freight, so the C+E and DCPC covers most eventualities and I have D1 if needed

[Andy B]

I'll play the other side of the coin here......

I am unlucky enough to have missed the deadline of Jan 1997.  I do not have 'Grandfather' rights on my license.

Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a minibus with more than 7 passengers (7+1driver)?
Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a 7.5tonner?

(Both of those questions with the addition of "Without extra tuition")

I can hire a SLWB Sprinter or Daily, or a Luton Van.  I can drive a Tipper or Flatbed.  Size isn't really the issue, as EVERY vehicle mentioned is available in over 3.5T.

A minibus with 8 Seats (total) and a large luggage area is identical to a minibus with 15 Seats and a small luggage area.

Devils Advocate!  The DVLA should have revoked all of the extra classes on every license (where a suitable test hadn't already been completed).

Life's sh1t sometimes ..... 

[Doctor Gollum]

 

There's that...

[Andy B]

No idea what flavour of trailer it is, but it has a fixed axle towards the back & a swivel axle towards the front ..... but 40+ years ago I used to be a dab hand at reversing one behind a tractor! 

[Entwood]

I'll play the other side of the coin here......

I am unlucky enough to have missed the deadline of Jan 1997.  I do not have 'Grandfather' rights on my license.

Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a minibus with more than 7 passengers (7+1driver)?
Why should somebody older than me be permitted to drive a 7.5tonner?

(Both of those questions with the addition of "Without extra tuition")

I can hire a SLWB Sprinter or Daily, or a Luton Van.  I can drive a Tipper or Flatbed.  Size isn't really the issue, as EVERY vehicle mentioned is available in over 3.5T.

A minibus with 8 Seats (total) and a large luggage area is identical to a minibus with 15 Seats and a small luggage area.

Devils Advocate!  The DVLA should have revoked all of the extra classes on every license (where a suitable test hadn't already been completed).

I'm guessing but there is probably some legal reason based on when tests were introduced/changed, that prevents retrospective actions ......  my late aunt who , IMHO, should never, ever, have driven anything ... never passed any test, but had a licence to do most anything .. she started (note I don't say "learned") during the war (and may have been competent .. who knows ?) and had licences for everything up to and including artics and tracked vehicles ... but she was lethal !!...  when her husband died we found she had not driven for 35 years .. but had religiously renewed the licence every year ... so was totally legal and lethal .... lukily I had, under my uncles directions, sold their car !!!  or she would have tried to drive it .......   

[Doctor Gollum]

No idea what flavour of trailer it is, but it has a fixed axle towards the back & a swivel axle towards the front ..... but 40+ years ago I used to be a dab hand at reversing one behind a tractor! 

Articulated drawbar

Harder to reverse due to the double pivot, but tow nicely and much more forgiving to load

[Andy B]

No idea what flavour of trailer it is, but it has a fixed axle towards the back & a swivel axle towards the front ..... but 40+ years ago I used to be a dab hand at reversing one behind a tractor! 

Articulated drawbar

Harder to reverse due to the double pivot, but tow nicely and much more forgiving to load

Made a little easier though when you're sat up higher in the tractor seat & can see what's happening! 

[Viral_Jim]

Fixed draw bar twin/triple axles are a piece of piss to reverse...

The worst is either a fixed draw bar short single axle ( like these), or my personal nemesis, an articulated ten metre self steering single axle (like these) 

I have no issue with controlling them once they're hooked up, I grew up on a farm so learned to drive most things with wheels, including learning to reverse nonsense trailers like this one that articulate in two places. .

However, I've always either been able to see the three point linkage by turning around, or, when hooking up to a car, dragging the trailer the last 6" to hook up. Pure laziness when you get right down to it.

[Doctor Gollum]

Probably helps that tractors tend to be relatively short and pretty manoeuvrable. Even that long ago

Also often overlooked that you can always pull forward to correct any kinks

[Viral_Jim]

Articulated drawbar

Ahh, not a nonsense trailer then, or any of the other things I used to call it when trying to learn how it (mis)behaved.

[Doctor Gollum]

Articulated drawbar

Ahh, not a nonsense trailer then, or any of the other things I used to call it when trying to learn how it (mis)behaved.

Your linky is more of a cobbled together assembly of a drawbar dolly (probably once a perfectly good truck in its own right, hence the slightly odd relative position of the various bits) and a single axle fifth wheel/articulated trailer