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Advice on Trailers - Bike and normal Remorque types


BillN_33
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I have read through what I can on this (very good) Forum

Can one of you guys confirm or correct my GENERAL assumptions

Towing in France

To use a Trailer, (Bike or small remorque), in France with a French registered car it has to be under the 500 kgs pay load otherwise you are into carte grise territory

Do you need to inform your French insurance company if you tow a trailer of the 500 kgs variety.........?

Driving from the UK to France with a UK Registered Car and Trailer

All Trailers are OK - nothing special needed?

But if you bring an over 500 kg Trailer from the UK and want to use it with a French Registered vehicle you are into carte grise territory,

AND,  unless THAT make of Trailer has been imported into France you wont get a CofC so it will NOT be possible to register it in France, (and therefore use it).

Do you need to inform your UK Insurance company if you tow a Trailer in the UK and abroad with a UK registered vehicle.

Have any of you guys towed Bikes down from the UK - I would tow two.......up to 250 kgs each.....older BMW airheads and maybe a K1

Any advice on Trailers recomendations, (makes), and Towing 1,000 kms and plus..anyone use the collapsible BikeLug or MotoLug type?

Cheers

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Towing with a French registered car:

A trailer under 500kg does not require a carte grise.  It must display the towing car's registration number.

A trailer over 500kg must have a carte grise and display it's own registration number.

All trailers intended for use on the road must be type approved, ie have a relevent type approval certificate, even though they may not require registration.

All trailers need to be insured.  In general, insurers will cover an <500kg trailer under your car's policy.  Larger trailers usually require cover under a separate policy.

Towing with a UK registered car:

The trailer carries the towing car's number unless it's pulling a French trailer with it's own number. 

I have a Cardno M2 motorcycle trailer (foldaway model with ramp and winch) that they normally supply to the recovery services for one-man use -  I was unable to load half a ton of Honda Pan onto a trailer by myself...[:(]

We toured all over Europe with it hooked on the back of our camping car.  Other than trying to reverse a small trailer behind a 7 metre van, we had no troubles at all.

 

 

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Just a couple of additional points:

[quote user="BillN_33"]it has to be under the 500 kgs pay load[/quote]That's 500kg gross, not payload, and it's not impossible to register an imported trailer, just a bit more complicated. Essentially if you can get certificates for the axles, brakes, and hitch then armed with lots of photos you can submit a dossier to the DRIRE who will advise what, if any, modifications you need to make. When you have completed them you can submit it for inspection and if they are satisfied they will issue a certificate with which you can then register it.

Beware though, annecdotally how much or how little help and cooperation you get from the nice people at the DRIRE can depend on nothing more than if they like colour of your of your shirt !

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True the Carno was expensive, but a) it is built like the Tirpitz and b) it easily knocks down into its component parts so I could stash it away in the back of my garage.

Simple enough to roll the Pan's front wheel into the carrier, strap the wheel, then winch the bike up the tilting bed until the weight drops the front of the bed down into it's locking mechanism. There was simply no way I could have manually rolled the heavy Pan up a conventional trailer ramp.

An alternative was one of the Dutch flat bed bike trailers with pneumatic raise/lower function where you lowered the bed down to ground level, rode the bike onto it, then used an on board compressor to raise the bed to travelling height and adjust the suspension, but they were more expensive and their complexity put me off somewhat.

 

 

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[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

I have a Cardno M2 motorcycle trailer (foldaway model with ramp and winch) that they normally supply to the recovery services for one-man use -  I was unable to load half a ton of Honda Pan onto a trailer by myself...[:(]

We toured all over Europe with it hooked on the back of our camping car.  Other than trying to reverse a small trailer behind a 7 metre van, we had no troubles at all.

[/quote]

Payload half a ton plus the weight of the trailer. So naturally you will have followed your own advice to the letter and have matriculated the trailer in France n'est-ce pas? [6]

Editted. You have good taste in trailers even for someone who drives a 7 metre gin palace! [:)]

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Bought a motolug single trailer this year and used to take Sprint ST down to Charente (and back). Fits together easy once you're familiar with it. It was a bit difficult to get onto trailer on my own but managed it. Only thing when tying the bike down the bellypan of the ST was very close to trailer so needed a bit of sponge just as a bit of protection. Trailered at highspeed no problem and now is neatly out of sight. Only thing is you cannot tow the trailer without a load - you would have to collapse and put in back of car.
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  • 6 months later...
Hi, I am interested in buying a Cardno M2 myself to tow a 650 V Strom I have just purchased. I would like to know how your trailer has been holding together so to speak. I have a bunch of questions to ask, can you drop me a line via email so we can make contact.

If anyone has new experiences of collapsable motorcycle trailers - recommendations or horror stories I would be glad to hear them.

Many thanks: [email protected]

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I haven't used the Cardo M2 since we arrived in France but as I said, it's designed for use by commercial recovery firms and this is reflected in its build quality.  The only problem I encountered was when I left the UK and had to drive through heavy snow in Kent.  The road salt has affected the finish on some of the lighter parts of the trailer such as the tie-down ratchets, but other than that (and a layer of dust and few cobwebs) it'll clean up like new.

As far as the company are concerned, Cardno were spot on.  I spoke with the MD on the telephone about my requirements and he gave me all the details and assured me the trailer would be suitable.  They send it by parcel courier to my local depot and it came in three large cardboard boxes.  When the depot rang me to say it had arrived, I drove round there in the camper and put the trailer together inside the loading dock with the parcels guy reading out the assembly instructions.  No tools required.

As far as towing is concerned, it's rock solid.  A very high quality piece of kit giving total piece of mind.

If you have any questions, you can send me a private message by clicking the PM button at the bottom of this post.

 

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mmmmm

               True the Carno was expensive, but a) it is built like the Tirpitz and b) it easily knocks down into its component parts so I could stash it away in the back of my garage.

          Tirpitz ..... sunk by the RAF with one bomb ......sister ship  Bizmark...also sunk ...good  recomendation  bit like saying built like the Titanic oooooops

                           Dave

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