Tow Legal - Tow Safe

Catering Trailers

Two recurring problems with catering trailers are excessive nose-weight and inadequate tow vehicles.

Virtually all catering trailers carry Calor gas cylinders on the drawbar, forward of the front bulkhead - there is no other logical place to carry them. If the trailer is designed and engineered on the assumption that two full gas cylinders will be carried, then there will be inadequate nose weight on the trip home after the event, when the cylinders will be virtually empty; conversely, designed for effective nose-weight with empty cylinders and it will be excessive with full ones. An effective design compromise is difficult to achieve, but is necessary to ensure stability when towing.

For further information and to discuss a solution to your problem please contact Steve Hanley, Technical Consultant to TTAS.

Technical Consultant contact details.

The majority of catering trailers are towed by Transit type vehicles. Although this type of vehicle may have a Gross Weight of 3,500 kg, they only have a towing capacity of 2,000 kg, often with an allowable nose-weight of only 50 kg. Catering trailers are invariably heavy, by virtue of all the fixed (catering) equipment mounted within them.

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