Towing with a telehandler

GreaseMonkey

Member
Location
Norfolk
Our farm manager recently went to a health and safety day, and one of the things that came up is the use of a telehandler to tow trailers etc on the road. Seeing as I don’t have the ‘e’ part on my driving license, and telehandler don’t come under the tractor umbrella, I’m not able to tow with the telehandler. Is it just the normal trailer test (B+E I believe it is) I need to take?
 

Two Tone

Member
Mixed Farmer
Depends on what type of transmission the telehandler has for towing. A nd the size of the load.
Anything with a Hydro type gearbox would be asking for trouble.
Torque Converter type would be far better.
Best of all will be those with Torque converter and a Torque lock system that will not allow it to slip.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
A friend who used to buy straw off me had 3 points and a big telling off for pulling a brand new 26ft trailer behind a brand new manitou. The copper said it was classed as a crane and not a tractor so it wasn’t legal for towing. He didn’t say anything about the no straps over the straw (n)

I’m 99% sure you can’t tow a articulated trailer behind a telehandler as it’s a double pivot, although you won’t beat it for reversing!
 

Matt L

Member
Trade
Location
Suffolk
There used to be a loophole that having the tow hitch on the front meant that it wasn’t classed as a mobile crane. Not sure if it still applies or not.
 

Hesston4860s

Member
Location
Nr Lincoln
A friend who used to buy straw off me had 3 points and a big telling off for pulling a brand new 26ft trailer behind a brand new manitou. The copper said it was classed as a crane and not a tractor so it wasn’t legal for towing. He didn’t say anything about the no straps over the straw (n)

I’m 99% sure you can’t tow a articulated trailer behind a telehandler as it’s a double pivot, although you won’t beat it for reversing!

If his manitou is taxed as agricultural machine I’d have challenged plod on that !.
 
A friend who used to buy straw off me had 3 points and a big telling off for pulling a brand new 26ft trailer behind a brand new manitou. The copper said it was classed as a crane and not a tractor so it wasn’t legal for towing. He didn’t say anything about the no straps over the straw (n)

I’m 99% sure you can’t tow a articulated trailer behind a telehandler as it’s a double pivot, although you won’t beat it for reversing!

I would have told the copper where to go. A telehandler isn't a crane. It's as simple as that. Register it as an agricultural machine and tax it as such.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
No one in their right mind would pull a 14 tonne dump trailer about with a telehandler, but a bale trailer with a few bales of haylage on isn't going to kill it.

18 haylage bales could easily be up to 10t (+ the trailer weight) though.

I only ever tow bales in with my hydrostatic Merlo, but admittedly only within a 2 mile radius and all reasonably flat. It certainly copes fine with it.
 

Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
Best place for the tele-handler is on the trailer, not in front of it(y)
E7DFA92F-682E-46D5-8997-5CAC7DA69C27.jpeg
 

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