Home built trailer

Please don't encourage people to do that.

Acting in ignorance is one thing, if you kill someone when your trailer fails and it has a fake year plate you'll be done for a lot more than fraud.

The IVA check is actually FREE if carried out at a suitable place, and if you use the supplier who sold you the bits you used to make it the worst risk is discovering a fault.

Neil

There's some stuff about it In Here, and as regards testing, from what I can gather, there's still no MOT for light trailers.

It seem it's UN documentation, which various countries have enshrined in their own laws and regulations, using their own interpretations and specifics.
I think that includes Canada and US, and can't be bothered to research Australasian rules; EU took on the negotiations etc. on behalf of its member states to ensure harmonisation of regs. within the community to make use, and import/export easier.

Bill

Take your point, however its a fairly unlikely scenario, and considering the amount of old nails been towed around the country made from old car axles and bits of driftwood, that were built prior to the test becoming mandatory it all seems a bit daft. Test is £70 btw, or was last time i looked, and test centres are few and far between, with long lead times.

I don’t know about the rest of the world but here in Australia you can (or could last time i checked ) go on to the website for the RMS ( Australian version of DMV or motoring regulatory authority) and download the Australian design regulations for the construction of trailers which sets out all the design rules right down to the placement of the required reflectors and lights etc. It might be worth checking with your local Authorities to see if they do a similar thing as it makes designing and building a trailer so much simpler !

For the sake of completeness I have emailed the DVSA who administer all things vehicular to ask the current position re a home built trailer, not for resale or hire etc. Just me wanting to cart my mower from A to B etc.

Neil, are you talking about a trailer safety check rather than the kind of IVA process which seems pretty involved and you need to attend one of a handful of centres.

When or if I get a sensible reply I will post here.

You never know if we do actually leave the EU we may be discussing something for nothing.

Oh and I sympathise with anyone who has been affected by untested trailers or vehicles but bear in mind, the MoT is not a guarantee of safety for 12 months, a wheel could fall off on the way home from the test centre. Any number of bits of paper prove nothing in the real world unfortunately.

Plasma

It's not a guarantee, but it does mean that the trailer(car, van whatever) has been inspected by a disinterested party and so have any necessary repairs once they've been made. This is one of many reasons why the MOT exemptions for classic cars is a terrible idea, although not as terrible as some of the repairs that owners do only when forced to. Having such a test would also force some of the maintenance that many trailers have never had - I recovered several that wouldn't have caused their crashes if simple jobs like greasing the wheel bearings or replacing time expired tyres had been carried out. Expensive caravans or car carriers aren't immune to that either.

Hmm! been following this with interest and its got me wondering is this legislation retrospective ? That's to say I have an 8' x 4' home built trailer, built some 30 + years ago using a small modified caravan chassis as the base. I think the rating plate was around 14cwt ???

Should it be tested/approved since it was built before any of this legislation came into force.

It has served me well and carried many tons of material & a few machines, its been re-boarded several times and lighting, sides and strap anchor points etc upgraded. At the moment due for another refurb this winter - its very busy right now !

Comments please ---- John

Legislation is not retrospective. However all trailer must be road legal and it's worth checking the small print on your insurance policy. Some insurers are limiting cover to commercial or approved trailers. A sigificant change (more wheels, different hitch etc) may trigger the need for a IVA.

Robert G8RPI.

It may not apply to many (or any) on here, but I know some who take their heavy loco's to rallies and clubs on the Continent with trailers they have made or bought. The law in Spain, and it may well apply in France, is to register your trailer with it's own number plate and have it tested! The fines now are horrendous, but I still see Brits chancing it.

I would suspect that this will eventually happen in the UK, Brexit or not. I've followed trailers being towed at 70 mph or more on two tiddly thin wheels carrying loads that are probably never weighed! I for one would welcome a standardised test for all vehicles.

Dont get me started, towing a trailer/caravans at 70 mph is ilegal on all roads, 60 mph is the limit on motorways and your not allowed in the third lane either, 60 mph on dual carriageways and 50 mph on single carriageways, they come past me as if I'm parked.

Martin P

Hi, Martin is correct about the speed limits when towing a trailer, unless of course, there is a lower limit on these roads that is in force, be it temporarily or permanent. He is also correct about driving in the right hand lane of a motorway with three or more lanes. The number of people I've seen pulling a trailer who ignore both the speed limits and being in the right hand lane is unbelievable. I built my trailer back in 1986 and gave it a full overhaul in 2010, but it does need a new floor in it again now. You could at one time, buy a basic factory made trailer assembly and build your own body/structure on to it, but I don't know if anyone sells them now. I wouldn't throw my money at the tinny things sold by one or two of the High Street retailers though, better to go to dedicated trailer makers with a good reputation.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 14/08/2019 22:26:46

My experience of shed draggers in North Wales is that they go for mile after mile of winding road at 20mph, then when you get to a straight bit they zoom off into the distance, never give a thought to the long tail back they are causing. I believe that in some states of the USA if you are holding up more than 6 cars you are obliged to pull over at the first opportunity.

Well after much consideration and a bit of common sense I have bought a Brenderup trailer with full certification and chassis number etc.

In the long run it's far safer and legally compliant than going to the effort of building one. I will get it safety checked before loading up.

Price wise it probably matches up with building one so I'm better off financially too.

The DVSA have sent my enquiry on to the relevant department and I will send any reply on in due course.

Thanks to all who responded and provided invaluable help in making my decision.

Regards plasma

Collected the trailer this morning. Really nice piece of kit and more than up to the job.

Plasma

Update from the government re my enquiry. Case closed lol.

Good afternoon Mick.

Many thanks for your recent e-mail which has been passed to the Approvals Technical department in order to reply to your concerns. Firstly, please accept our apologies for the delay in replying, the department is extremely busy at this time.

Any “new” trailer, be it manufactured by a company or self-built, will be required to have an approval before it is first used on a public road. Small trailers however are not as such “registered”.

For trailers manufactured in small numbers or for self-builds, these would usually be approved through Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA). The IVA scheme is administered by ourselves (the DVSA).

Please follow the link below for more information on the IVA Scheme;

**LINK**

The technical requirements that a trailer must meet can be found in the IVA Inspection Manual for Trailers;

**LINK**

For your trailer with a GVW not exceeding 750kg, this would be classed as a Category O1 Trailer.

Once you have completed the build, you must apply for an inspection using the correct application form (IVA1T);

**LINK**

This must be submitted electronically on our Technical Application Submission (TAS) system;

**LINK**

You can find a list of IVA test sites and the Category of vehicles they can accommodate in the interactive map in the link below (best viewed in Chrome or Firefox);

**LINK**

The fee for an IVA inspection on a Category O1 trailer is £70.00.

Once your trailer meets with the requirements, you will be issued with an Individual Approval Certificate (IAC). This will then permit you to use your trailer on a public road.

I hope that you find this information helpful and apologise again for the delay in replying.

Many thanks & best regards,

Steve Bardsley | DVSA Vehicle Approvals Technical Team

Thanks for posting that, Mick

It's very useful to have an easy reference to the [current] facts of the matter.

MichaelG.

+1 Mick,

That will make an interesting read.

Martin P

Hi Plasma, thanks for taking the time to post your reply. Not that I'm planning to build a new trailer anytime soon, but I have downloaded the useful docs in the links, and will therefore, be able to point any friends or relatives in the right direction if any of them should ever ask.

Regards Nick.