def130 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 motorbikes of all types are tested & taxed, pedal bikes have never been tested or taxed in any EU country AFAIK. Wrong..... If I'm not wrong until 1994 all pedal bikes in Portugal had a number plate and to be on the Road they will need insurance, This meaning a pedal bike without a chassis number (Halfords Stile) wasn’t legal to be on the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I don't have any kind of problem with requiring a "MOT" for trailers or caravans: some of the things you see being towed are truly horrid - defective electrics, chassis-rot, cracked tyres and nonexistent brakes are all too commonplace. Thankfully now we also have type-approvals for trailers so the days of home-built monstrosities where someone takes an old MOT-failed Mini subframe and welds a bedstead to it then loads a couple of motorbikes on it and tows at 60MPH are getting fewer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 This is a re-surfacing of the roadworthiness directive which caused a lot of angst on this forum 12 months or so ago. I find it slightly ironic that a measure which caused so much antipathy 12 months ago when it appeared that it might affect modified 4x4 vehicles now seems thoroughly acceptable since the media are focussing on the effect on caravans. We need to remain vigilant that this will not creep back to become a set of proposals which could affect modified vehicles. I do not have time to investigate this further today, but if anyone else comes across any indications that the proposals will affect modified or historic vehicles, please can they post here so that we can keep an eye on them. Nick. Very interesting Nick, just goes to show how much control the media can have over what legislation gets in or not. Hopefully the modified vehicles part has been removed but it does warrant much closer inspection. Personally I think the condition of caravans and trailers should be assessed via spot checks. You are just as likely to have someone use the caravan just before the end of the 'MOT' as to have them do the 'MOT' before using it. Also the thin end of the wedge shouldn't be underestimated, first the MOT then tax. If there are only 200,000 caravans in the country how many MOT stations will set up to test them? As well as the brake test equipment will they need different lifts installed to allow the inspection of the chassis? This could men that you have to travel quite a way to take the caravan for a test/retest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Very interesting Nick, just goes to show how much control the media can have over what legislation gets in or not. Hopefully the modified vehicles part has been removed but it does warrant much closer inspection.Personally I think the condition of caravans and trailers should be assessed via spot checks. You are just as likely to have someone use the caravan just before the end of the 'MOT' as to have them do the 'MOT' before using it. Also the thin end of the wedge shouldn't be underestimated, first the MOT then tax. If there are only 200,000 caravans in the country how many MOT stations will set up to test them? As well as the brake test equipment will they need different lifts installed to allow the inspection of the chassis? This could men that you have to travel quite a way to take the caravan for a test/retest. It would be the caravan service centres that would do the testing, not normal MOT centres I'd have thought. Most caravans (if not all built after a certain date) are registed under CRIS (Caravan Registration & Identification Scheme). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 How many of these caravan service centres are there and where are they located? Would they be able to cope with the extra workload of these MOTs? I should imagine there would be a number of areas with no convenient service centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 All over the place at the various dealerships . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 All over the place at the various dealerships . Please don't make me laugh so hard. Not one caravan dealer knew what the brake balance bar was, One supposed top trailer specialist didn't know either. It was only when I went to Knott the brake manufacturer that I managed to get what I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovernut Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I was only joking about the bikes. Out of interest, I work in a Motorhome and Caravan Dealership and can say that it is very unlikely that we would have the facilities to MOT Caravans. You are normally looking at booking in three or four weeks in advance just to have a fridge looked at or a tap replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Please don't make me laugh so hard.Not one caravan dealer knew what the brake balance bar was, One supposed top trailer specialist didn't know either. It was only when I went to Knott the brake manufacturer that I managed to get what I wanted. You obviously haven't been to any good ones then Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I dont agree with that; Years ago, I saw a trailer disconnect from a car, and hitting a pedestrian on the pavement. there obvously was a problem with the coupling for this to happen. something like this you wont see on a spot check, neither brakes that dont work. It might work for lights and tyres, but there is more to it than that. Personally I think the condition of caravans and trailers should be assessed via spot checks. You are just as likely to have someone use the caravan just before the end of the 'MOT' as to have them do the 'MOT' before using it. Also the thin end of the wedge shouldn't be underestimated, first the MOT then tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Surely if a coupling is in such bad condition as to disconnect like that then it would be obvious enough on a spot check? The MOT wont highlight much more than a spot check, it will be like a car MOT where they aren't allowed to remove/dismantle parts, not allowed to poke rust to hard, have to assume anything they can't see is ok (eg a chassis full of body filler and then undersealed over). I will admit that the braking test would not be possible at the roadside. What would be testable on a caravan? Chassis condition. Lights Brakes Coupling condition. anything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 You obviously haven't been to any good ones then Mike! Look up the caravan dealers in our area, I tried them all. As for the Independent trailer parts supplier. I think Iwent to what is supposed to be the largest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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