What vehicle to pull livestock trailer?

[bert]

We tow our 14ft trailer with Nissan navara (previously a shogun) and arnt afraid to fill it, 5 big cows at a push or 40 big Suffolk ewes. Steady away and it is absolutely fine. Just don't know what they weigh when we loaded them

 

[GTB]

Sorry to hijack this thread but can anyone with a driving licence drive a tractor and livestock trailer? I know rules are different now for pickup and trailer but not sure about tractor?

Yes you can drive a tractor and trailer on a car license. My sons were driving a 50k tractor with a 25ft trailer long before they did their b+e trailer test, in fact they were legal to drive it at 16 after passing their tractor test.

 

[GTB]

I set off the other week with 3 cows in the jeep and trailer, tractor and trailer set off behind me with 12 cows in the big trailer, 2 miles up the road and he had to wait on me getting the jeep and trailer out of the gateway for him to back in.

You'll not be able to fill your tri axle with cattle behind any 4x4 anyway. 3 bigish sized cows in your trailer will have you pretty much at the limit for most jeeps, despite the fact that your trailer would likely hold most of double that.

Yep same here, we take lambs to an abattoir 45 miles away and the pickup and trailer only gets there ten minutes before the tractor which is carrying three times as many lambs.

 

[mushnt grummmble]

Yes you can drive a tractor and trailer on a car license. My sons were driving a 50k tractor with a 25ft trailer long before they did their b+e trailer test, in fact they were legal to drive it at 16 after passing their tractor test.

doubtfull
at 16 you have weight and width limits on a trailer

 

[Yale]

The Range Rover mark 2 which go up to about an 02 plate can be picked up cheaply.

Next door have two,one treated rough around the fields and it seems to keep going.BMW engine.

Think electrical faults let them down occasionally and the air suspension compressor can go but there is a lot of engineering and metal in them.

Just find a good un.

2002 Land Rover Range Rover HSE

 

[Keepers]

We have an isuzu and a shogun, both can tow 3.5 ton, previously had a landrover 90 and it couldnt tow half the stuff the shogun can tow through wet clay, think its the grunt in the engine and the rear and centre diffs that do it, it goes wherever the landrovers cant in the wet and its really comfy wouldnt go back to landrover now

the farms defender 110 on the 12ft box with 4 cows in has to be frequently pulled out of gateways and up slopes

may be different on farms which are more dry

 

[JP1]

We tow our 14ft trailer with Nissan navara (previously a shogun) and arnt afraid to fill it, 5 big cows at a push or 40 big Suffolk ewes. Steady away and it is absolutely fine. Just don't know what they weigh when we loaded them

There isn't a court in the land that would let you off with that though is there? The NFU legal team might do there best but if you consign stock you would be aware weights. Wrap over the knuckles on a weigh bridge but if there was a maim collision injury ........

 

[bert]

There isn't a court in the land that would let you off with that though is there? The NFU legal team might do there best but if you consign stock you would be aware weights. Wrap over the knuckles on a weigh bridge but if there was a maim collision injury ........

Only do this on private land, just telling the OP what some trucks are capable of, up to them if they go on the public highway or not

 

[JP1]

Only do this on private land, just telling the OP what some trucks are capable of, up to them if they go on the public highway or not

Then you don't have to know what they weighed

 

[roscoe erf]

Bit of a fumble in the goal area but eventually saved

 

[Juggler]

I've an IW 14ft tri-axle, used to tow it with our previous 2003 Disco which did the job fine, the L200 which didnt.... now 2008 Disco 3 which is fantastic, but over the budget...So I'd go for a Disco 2, manual box, as my auto box used to drive me nuts when towing.

 

[gatepost]

Just watch those gross wts as everybody has said often the bigger the trailer the less you get to carry, and check the actual hitch is rated for 3.5t , you'll have to go for something rated for 3.5t or put up with taking one calf at a time.

 

[Henarar]

£1600 trooper don't do a bad job with my 12ft tri GE
but it won't go up hills when its slippery though according to the duck
I can get that over 3.5 ton with store cattle on if I don't watch it I don't really see the point of 14ft unless you are moving sheep with no decks

 

[marshfarmer]

Grand Cherokee 3.5t rated brilliant tow vehicle with my 14ft tri axle, would never go back to manual, ride in comfort for little money, landy never leaves yard now.

 

[GTB]

£1600 trooper don't do a bad job with my 12ft tri GE
but it won't go up hills when its slippery though according to the duck
I can get that over 3.5 ton with store cattle on if I don't watch it I don't really see the point of 14ft unless you are moving sheep with no decks

14ft tri axles are good for 'local' movements and out of office hours jobs.

Seriously though, there's a hell of a lot of 12 and 14 ft boxes around here being towed by all sorts of pickups and I'd say it was safe to assume they'd be way over weight most of the time. Don't know of anyone who's been weighed yet but it's only a matter of time, especially if someone had a major accident.

 

[GTB]

doubtfull
at 16 you have weight and width limits on a trailer

Are you sure? Anyone know for sure?

 

[JP1]

14ft tri axles are good for 'local' movements and out of office hours jobs.

Seriously though, there's a hell of a lot of 12 and 14 ft boxes around here being towed by all sorts of pickups and I'd say it was safe to assume they'd be way over weight most of the time. Don't know of anyone who's been weighed yet but it's only a matter of time, especially if someone had a major accident.

If you follow VOSA watch on FB and the timings for when the wasps are out, I think you soon era;use "Out Of Office Hours" is a thing of the past

 

[GTB]

If you follow VOSA watch on FB and the timings for when the wasps are out, I think you soon era;use "Out Of Office Hours" is a thing of the past

I was being a bit tongue in cheek but I haven't seen much of them around here after 4.30pm. Maybe I've just been lucky so far. As I said it'll only take one big accident to cause a major clamp down.

 

[JP1]

I was being a bit tongue in cheek but I haven't seen much of them around here after 4.30pm. Maybe I've just been lucky so far. As I said it'll only take one big accident to cause a major clamp down.

In the event construction business I was involved with there was always the "do it after 4pm" mentality with the old hands. But the HSE coming in after a tragedy is too late in all respects

VOSA being self-funding now, I see them (rightly) tracking obviously over laden vehicles and spot checks on foreign as well as UK wagons and commercial vehicles at all hours

 

[Henarar]

In the event construction business I was involved with there was always the "do it after 4pm" mentality with the old hands. But the HSE coming in after a tragedy is too late in all respects

VOSA being self-funding now, I see them (rightly) tracking obviously over laden vehicles and spot checks on foreign as well as UK wagons and commercial vehicles at all hours

I nearly bought a 14ft but thought that I could carry more on a 12ft and couldn't overload it so easy, I weigh the cattle now before market and was going to take 7 last time but that would have put it over weight by a fair bit so I didn't
It don't matter if your pulling it with a ten ton tractor it would still be over weight
I use to drive a tipper lorry and they wouldn't let you out the gate if you were over weight