Towing a trailer rather than a caravan?
I have been towing a trailer for 9 years with our mobile go karting party business so towing our 1st caravan last year was not as daunting as it might have been.
However after all this time I have just discovered on another forum that as my van and trailer which is approx 3 metres have a combined gross weight of > 3500 KGB my van should have a tacho and I could be fined and issued with a prohibition notice if stopped
by the police or VOSA! The concensus on the forum was similar to mine ie news to me.....
i maybe exempt if I do not travel more than 50km from my home base and carry my own equipment which is the case as we only operate at local sports centres. The onus would be on me to prove my innocence in court though.
As we only run this as a part time business I could be faced with fines unless I fit a tacho to my peugeot expert van (which is tiny compared to a motorhome ) at a cost of £1000 plus. Even the fact that a towbar is fitted to the van can lead to being stopped
and fined.
i do have to travel to Buckinghamshire with the karts in a couple of weeks for their annual inspection and now will have to make two journeys with the van due to the distance involved.
I appreciate the purpose of tachos in business but wonder when towing a caravan which is 3 times larger and presumably at least as potentially dangerous as my trailer will come under the VOSA spotlight and income
stream?