Trailer heading for France

[Argos69]

Hi folks,

I spend a lot of my time these days in France and have just acquired a trailer in the UK.

The trailer is an unbaked 750Kg Lider (bought in Blackburn and still cheaper than buying in France, where its actually made!)
Anyway....

1. Licencing

Everything I've read in France suggests that a trailer over 500Kg needs to be registered and have a Carte Gris or equivalent from the country it's travelled from.
The UK Govt website won't allow you to register a trailer of 750Kg or under and says clearly that it's unnecessary in France.
If it was going to be towed by a French car, I'd just register it in France, as I have a certificate of conformity, but as it's towed by a UK car, I can't put a French numberplate on only the trailer.... Any thoughts?

2. Capacity

Online independent info suggests my Berlingo has an unbraked towing capacity of 735Kg but the manual says it's 600Kg! In simple terms, does that mean that I'm committing a "sin" attaching a 750kg trailer, whether or not its loaded to 600kg?...... Any thoughts?

Before you wonder why I bought the 750Kg trailer, it was originally bought to be towed by our C5 Tourer, which is a 2.2l diesel with none of the limitations or vague capacities. It just pulls it!

As ever, opinions and advice are most welcome - thanks!

[cliffy]

It may be that the same rules apply as for towing a caravan. The recommended maximum weight for this is 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle, and there is a recommended nose weight. I tow a two berth Bailey Pursuit II caravan with a max weight of just over 1000kg, using a nose weight of 55 to 60kg. I consulted car/caravan weight matching sites to check things through, so I'd be tempted to google the subject...The issue may be whether the rules for France differ from those for the UK....I can't answer that one I'm afraid. Good luck

[cancunia]

You could ask the AA & RAC.
If you have a UK registered car to tow it, I'd guess that a UK number plate on the trailer will work ok. Are you driving on UK insurance? If so, make sure you have agreed the trailer with your insurance co & that you are covered abroad. If you have a UK receipt for the trailer, you could also take that with you as proof of being 100% British registered.
Do caravans registered in France have different number plates that the cars that tow them? If so, I'd guess again that as UK caravans don't have separate registration and they are taken to France that the same rules apply to trailers.

As far as weights are concerned, so long as you're within the allowed towing weight overall, the trailer capacity should not be an issue.

[oilyrag]

I'd suggest that the 750kg weight is simply the maximum physical load recommended by the manufacturer that the trailer can carry.
The all-up weight of the trailer plus load will relate to the gross weight that either can be used on an unbraked trailer (in the relevant country) or the maximum load that is recommended for the tow vehicle.
The trailer should have a plate that tells you the trailer weight and max load.
If you aren't sure of the trailer weight take it to your local weigh-bridge or council tip and get it weighed.