UK Legislation on Towing a Trailer with Earthmoving Equipment

The innovative JCB Hydradig is proving to be the global answer to the modern work site.

Customers are finding it particularly useful to be able to tow attachments on site and within coned-off areas on a highway, and to tow independently-operated equipment such as a generator or lighting tower.

The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) has confirmed, though, that the use of any earthmoving equipment to tow a trailer on the UK highway is not permitted, even if it is only used to transport attachments.

This is because a trailer carrying attachments cannot be defined as ‘Engineering Plant’, despite a generally held acceptance within the industry that it is.

JCB plans to lobby for a change to this legislation, particularly as it is considered legal to tow a trailer with attachments behind a car or van but not behind a 11.5 tonne wheeled excavator which itself is speed limited.

In addition, JCB is doing everything possible to find an alternative solution which allows customers to carry attachments with their machines, making urban working even more convenient and efficient.