I was reading DeDouchebag's post on RVs.

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 09/18/2014 at 20:33 • Filed to: None

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So I decided to check out what my UK licence allows me to drive. Apparently it's anything 3500kg or under and if I'm towing anything that weighs over 750kg the combined weight of car and trailer also has to be under 3500kg. This bearing in mind how much harder my licence was to get than a US one.

CRider > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/18/2014 at 20:42

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'Murica

HammerheadFistpunch > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/18/2014 at 20:56

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this may help explain things a little better

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/tow-me-down-16…

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/18/2014 at 21:06

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Hah. I'm allowed up to 11793kg of combination (26000lbs) and up to 4535kg of braked trailer (10000lbs), and RVs of any weight.

So as long as I get a gooseneck car trailer with a 1 bed camper unit at the front (bed over the tongue), it can be as heavy as I need, since it would technically be an RV trailer....with a garage and race car in the back...

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > HammerheadFistpunch 09/18/2014 at 21:10

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I like the differences between countries in towing capacities. People with the same car as me tow caravans with it...

I wouldnt enjoy attempting this.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 09/18/2014 at 21:11

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I need to do another licence test for all that stuff.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/18/2014 at 21:19

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Honestly, they should have at least a theory test for all that in the US. Mainly because of the electric brakes.

It wasn't until a few years ago that electric trailer brakes required an external controller (I have one because my pickup is from the mid 90s). Now, they all have built in controllers. I suppose that's a good thing for the Mr. Average in the US, who doesn't understand multi-vehicle mechanics models.

Although that doesn't solve my problem with the trailer manufacturer of my car trailer. Some bonehead thought it was BRILLIANT to route the brake feed and ground 16AWG wireset directly in the path of the axle's vertical motion. And because we have crap roads, you don't notice this smashing of the harness until trying to stop from 70MPH on the slip road, coming off the motorway.

Long story short, I did get it safely stopped with minimal drama, and proceeded to then finish creeping back home at 30MPH. I thought about taking it back to the manufacturer for warranty work, but then I realized that I could fix it faster, and also move the harness to a far better location.

HammerheadFistpunch > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/18/2014 at 21:22

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and now you know why!

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 09/18/2014 at 21:40

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I think a theory would be a good idea. Hell I've seen people who couldn't even plug in the electrics properly and therefore had the leads dragging along the ground and no lights. Towing does have certain technicalities that need to be understood.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/18/2014 at 22:01

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I'm not sure what plugs are used in the UK and elsewhere, but in the US, you typically have two choices for bumper pull trailers. (Gooseneck and fifth wheel on HD Pickups tend to use 7 way blade RV, some use the reverse pin, and some are 7 round pin)

4 flat (for non braked trailers, or trailers with a surge coupler)

And your other typical choice is 7 blade RV.

Sometimes, the tow vehicle supplies +12VDC to the center pin of the 7 way only when the vehicle is in Reverse (Generally used to trigger an electric release of electric over hydraulic brakes), but most of the time, it's a second switched +VBatt circuit to the trailer. (Because the electric brake controller usually has an override for reverse)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 09/18/2014 at 22:25

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I dont know much about trailer electrics all I know is every trailer I've seen here uses these type of plugs.

I assume theyre the 7 round pin.

Cé hé sin > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/19/2014 at 05:48

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You may need to do two. Class C for a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes and then Class C+E if you want to tow anything other than a small trailer with it.

Cé hé sin > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/19/2014 at 05:52

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Yes, these ones:

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Cé hé sin 09/19/2014 at 05:58

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Yeah you're right. I kinda like that being the case, driving a vehicle that large is quite different. Even driving a long wheelbase van was an adjustment for me, anything larger I would've found quite difficult to get used to.