What can I tow?

Towing is the bread and butter of any trucker! HGVs take essential goods, fashion, electronics, and more across the UK, Europe, and beyond every day to keep the shops full.

But what can you tow?

Well that depends on what you drive. The experts at HGV Training Network reveal – so, read on to see what your towing potential includes!

Towing essentials

Towing is so heavily controlled because of the inherent risk associated with adding extra weight and length to your vehicle.

If not handled correctly, an unbalanced load or reckless driving can lead to a loss of control, accidents, serious injury, or even road deaths. This is because:

• Improper weight distribution can cause dangerous swaying or fishtailing
• Extra weight means longer stopping distances
• Reduced speeds, which can make merging or overtaking riskier
• Limited visibility
• Difficult manoeuvres

For this reason, it’s essential you stick within the confines of what is permitted and take extra care.

You also need to know the weight of both the vehicle and trailer. This is known as the maximum authorised mass (MAM).

*If your office job just isn’t it anymore, HGV training from HGV Training Network can get your road ready and raring to go! Apply today to get started!also refer to heavy-duty, larger vehicles, such as HGVs, used to relocate mass goods for businesses, similar to the UK.

Towing for car drivers

If you got your Cat B (car) licence before 1 January 1997, you can drive a car and trailer with a 8,250kg MAM. You can also drive a minibus with a trailer over 750g MAM.

If you got your licence after 1 January 1997, you can tow a smaller trailer with a 3,500kg MAM.

Lorry and HGV drivers – towing to-knows

As you’ll have guessed, lorry and HGV drivers are qualified to tow a lot more weight!

If you are training for a C1 licence, you can already drive a rigid vehicle with a weight of 3.5-7.5 tonnes. You can also add a trailer or up to 750kg MAM, with a total combined weight of 8.25 tonnes.

If you have, or are studying for a C+ E licence, you can drive a vehicle weighing 7.5 to 44 tonnes with detachable trailers. These trailers can be a over 750kg.

For those working towards a Cat C licence, you can drive a vehicle weighing over 7.5 tonnes with a rigid base, if it does not exceed 32 tonnes. You can also tow a trailer up to 750kg.  

*With a whole world out there, if you are ready to leave the 9-5 or night shifts behind, HGVTN can help. With thousands of happy and qualified professional drivers passing annually, why not register your interest to find out more?  

Drive with confidence with the help of HGV Training Network

While not something to be taken lightly, with the correct training, anyone can drive the very largest vehicles on the road – with or without a trailer.

So, whether you need to learn for a career change, or want to help out a charity or organisation, learn how to tow while handling very large vehicles confidently and competently.

Find your nearest training location and sign up or email us at contact@hgvtrainingnetwork.com, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.