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Topic: Importing a camping trailer from AUS

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Trngia

14/2/2017 at 8:58am
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Thanks for all the replies everyone. Will need to decide what to do now. I have a Discovery 3 so legal up to 3.5 tonnes here, think the uk is the same and most of the competition in commercial pick ups are around 3 tonne towing. Ball weight I think I can have up to 250kg here. We were planning on a commercial vehicle in the uk so that sounds like it might be the best option and change the oz hitch to something more uk friendly.

Grampian91

14/2/2017 at 6:57pm
Location: Midlands
Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram

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Are electric brakes legal in the UK?

Anyone got any info whats legal and what restrictions they have?

Trngia

14/2/2017 at 10:19pm
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Looks like they are legal as long as the electric braking controller is on the trailer so can't have it in the tow vehicle like in Australia which seems a bit crazy. The controller allows you to manually control the strength of the brakes and also a manual override to apply the brakes if necessary. Most of the time you set it and let it do its thing but when going down a steep incline you may want to add a boost so can set the sensitivity higher on the move etc. Looks like a few modifications will need to be done when and if I bring the trailer in as it seems to be getting harder. Anyone know any good caravan/trailer companies around the Newcastle area that could do the modifications?

freeatlast

17/2/2017 at 4:39pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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You could try Hedley's in Durham. They are pretty good.

Trngia

28/2/2017 at 4:48am
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Tried a few companies now but it looks like nobody does conversions so far. Any suggestions of anywhere that might would be great. After further research I think I need the following

1. Electric brakes are legal as long as the controller is in the trailer and not on the vehicle so that's not too bad.
2. Hitch could change for a 50mm ball hitch and al-ko do a decent off road version.
3. Breakaway cable - this is a bit more dubious. You can get an electronic brakeaway that effectively pulls a switch that applies the electric brakes. Can't work out if this is okay or it needs to be mechanical all the way through.

Rich.

LlaniDavis

28/2/2017 at 2:46pm
Location: Llanidloes Powys
Outfit: Skoda Yeti SEL4x4 +Bailey Ranger 460-4

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You are required to have a braking system that operates automatically to bring a trailer to a stop if it breaks away from the tow vehicle. On an European van this works by having a cable that pulls the brake on before the cable breaks. How that could work with your electronic system is the problem and probably why it is not used here.

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