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What Vehicle Can Tow a 22ft Triple Axle Catering Trailer?

by Codrut
(London )

Navy triple axle catering trailer hitched to a 4x4 at a busy UK country show, customers queuing

Navy triple axle catering trailer hitched to a 4x4 at a busy UK country show, customers queuing

Hi my name is Alin and recently i bought a 22ft catering trailer 3 axes .my question is if you can advise me what type of van or 4×4 will be able to tow it?it has an eye ring for towing it...
Thks

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by: MobCater

Alin, a 22ft triple axle trailer is a serious bit of kit, so it is worth getting the towing side right before you hitch it to anything. There are plenty of vehicles that will do the job, but it is the trailer's weight that decides the shortlist, not its length.

First, find out what it actually weighs. Look for the plate on the trailer, usually on the drawbar or inside the door frame, which gives the maximum authorised mass. Then take it to a public weighbridge fully loaded, with gas bottles, water and stock on board. That usually costs somewhere around £10 to £20. A trailer that size with three axles is often plated at or near 3,500kg, and that is the figure you need to be able to tow.

That rules out most ordinary cars and front wheel drive vans. You want something with a 3,500kg braked towing limit, such as a Land Rover Defender or Discovery, a Toyota Hilux, a Ford Ranger, an Isuzu D-Max or a VW Touareg. In vans, rear wheel drive Transits, Mercedes Sprinters and Iveco Dailys can be rated to 3,500kg, but it depends on the exact model and year, so check the handbook and the vehicle's own VIN plate before you buy. Rear or four wheel drive also earns its keep on wet grass at events, where front wheel drive vans just spin.

On licences, since December 2021 anyone with a standard car licence can tow a trailer up to 3,500kg without a separate trailer test, as long as the towing vehicle stays within its own limits. Even so, I would book a few towing lessons. Reversing 22ft of trailer onto a tight festival pitch is a skill of its own.

Length is worth checking too. If your towing vehicle weighs 3,500kg or less, the trailer body can be no longer than 7 metres, not counting the drawbar. 22ft is about 6.7 metres, so you are probably fine, but get the tape measure out.

Then there is the eye ring. Most 4x4s and vans come with a 50mm tow ball, which will not take an eye. You can have a combination ball and pin hitch fitted to the vehicle so it takes both, or have the trailer's coupling changed to a ball type rated for the weight. A good towbar fitter can sort either in a morning.

One last thing from experience. Load it properly, with the heavy kit over the axles and the nose weight within what your towbar allows, which is usually printed on the bracket. A badly loaded trailer is the one that starts snaking on the motorway.

Good luck with it

David

Disclaimer: This is based on my experience in UK mobile catering. Rules and costs can change, so always do your own research and check with the relevant authorities before committing.

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