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Trailer indicator buzzer


paul mc

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Right, i posted earlier about taking my trailer test. Now i have decided just to go for it and take a couple of lessons before booking the test i now need to sort my car out.

I am happy that the car and trailer combo will be fine as its a Ford Ranger towing an Ifor Williams horse box, but i now realise i need a buzzer or alarm to go off when a trailer is hitched up and the indicators are on. What I have noticed though is that there is a buzzer sounding somewhere near the nearside rear light cluster when the trailer is hitched up and the indicators are on, it is just nowhere near loud enough to be audible from inside the car, you have to be standing beside the rear lights!!! Why would the car be fitted with this stupid buzzer the driver can't hear or am i missing something?

My current plan is to find this buzzer and extend it into the cab before i take my test, but before i do it do I need to?

Thanks, paul

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when i used to fit tow hitchs i had to fit the buzzer(or a light on the dash) but there was no legal requierment for it to work after the driver left. the law may have change since then as that was 6 years ago. and thay may6 want it to work for the test but if it is working but can't be heard from the cab should be ok. but if your going to do something i fit a light on the dash.

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Buzzers are normally fitted to 'pattern' or 'retro-fit' towbar installations to make it easier for the installer. Most manufacturer installed systems will have a warning light in the dash.

Try taking the buzzer out, extending the wires and mounting it somewhere more audible, or take it's details and find another of the same rating, but with a louder output, to put in it's place. You can tidy the whole lot back in behind the light unit once the test is out of the way...

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I think you only need one or the other. I did the B+E about 6 months ago in a Puma 110 and I'm pretty sure they don't have a buzzer.

Few tips my company has learnt the hard way:

- fitting suitable mirrors for the examiner is vital (caravan mirrors)

- test vehicle and trailer must be completely empty (literally nothing in them bar the spare and jack etc)

The examiner can refuse to even get into the vehicle if you don't meet these requirements.

-Make sure your trailer meets the spec, it is quite exacting. We hired one off an instructor as all ours were too big.

-Condition of the trailer is vital too- break away cable in good nick, tyres legal etc etc (they will check)

Jim

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- test vehicle and trailer must be completely empty (literally nothing in them bar the spare and jack etc)

Really....

I went for an assessment a while ago and used a trailer that belonged to the training company. It was a twin axle box trailer and it was loaded with approx. 1 ton of sandbags..... My Disco 2 was really struggling to pull it, it was that heavy!!

Just my experience as I haven't actually done the test yet and am reading all this with interest.

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The buzzer would have been a standard kit of parts to fit in a car or van.

For a temporary solution for the test you could run a length of hose pipe from the buzzer to somewhere inside the cab. You will hear it then!

I have a buzzer in my tow car and when stopped at a red light for a turn and it is red for ages I end up turning the indicator off for a while as it is so annoying and distracting. However, It has caught me and reminded me when I have tried pulling away with the trailer unplugged after messing with it.

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I went for an assessment a while ago and used a trailer that belonged to the training company. It was a twin axle box trailer and it was loaded with approx. 1 ton of sandbags..... My Disco 2 was really struggling to pull it, it was that heavy!!

Just my experience as I haven't actually done the test yet and am reading all this with interest.

My Instructor had another pupil refused a test because the 40ft artic trailer they were using had 5 cones in the back! A cheeky way around it is to lock the trailer and pretend you don't have a key for it.

The test instructors are going to be the most pedantic bankers you've ever dealt with- that's why their driving instructors.

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Really....

I went for an assessment a while ago and used a trailer that belonged to the training company. It was a twin axle box trailer and it was loaded with approx. 1 ton of sandbags..... My Disco 2 was really struggling to pull it, it was that heavy!!

Just my experience as I haven't actually done the test yet and am reading all this with interest.

I haven't heard that the tow vehicle should be empty, although I guess it should be safe, but I know for my test I was told to have an empty trailer. This is also stated on the DVLA website.

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You can get (don't ask me where from) a buzzer/sounder that goes in place of one of the reversing light bulbs, or find your local Maplins (plus mail order) get yourself a 12 dc sounder and connect the positive to the indicaltor bulb and earth the other leg and you've got a buzzer for the test, should only cost pennies.

If it's to loud wrap it in a rag or put a plaster on it or something just to quieten it for your test afterwards, throw it.

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From direct.gov.uk:

Minimum test vehicle requirements for a car and car and trailer test - Category B + E

Car and trailer test vehicles must be:

  • fitted with externally mounted, nearside and offside mirrors for use by the examiner or any person supervising the test

  • an unladen category B vehicle towing a suitably braked, unladen trailer of at least one tonne MAM - the examiner may ask for evidence of the trailer MAM eg the manufacturer's plate

  • fitted with an audible or visual device to indicate correct operation of the trailer indicators

All vehicle combinations must operate on appropriate brakes and utilise a coupling arrangement suitable for the weight.

The cargo compartment of the trailer must consist of a closed box body which is at least as wide and as high as the towing vehicle. The view to the rear should only be possible by use of the external rear-view mirrors of the towing vehicle.

Looks like a buzzer or light is OK?

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