TOWBARS
Towbars, sometimes called towing brackets, are now covered by law. Until 1 August 1998 there were no specific legal restrictions, although British Standards for towbars were in force.
If you fit a towbar to any car registered after that date, it must meet certain minimum requirements as specified by Type Approval Regulations. Among other things, the bar will have marked on it the approval standard (EU 94/20) and the maximum download, or noseweight, that it can accept. It must fit to all the towcar manufacturer’s approved mounting points and must not obscure the towing vehicle’s number plate.
Also since 1 August 1998, car manufacturers have had to confirm that their vehicle is suitable for towing, and give the towing and noseweight limits for their models. The rules are not retrospective for older cars, but it is strongly recommended to fit only type-approved, or at least British Standard-approved, towing brackets to any vehicle.

BREAKAWAY CABLES
Any breakaway cable fitted must be used when the vehicle is on the road, and it has to be attached so that it will work as it is designed to. Using a proper ‘pig-tail’ mounting on the towbar is best, but if you don’t have one you may loop the cable once round the towball. This is not itself illegal.

TOWING MIRRORS
The law on towing mirrors is a little hazy. The law requires the driver to have an “adequate” view to the rear and down the sides of the caravan, but does not define “adequate”. So do you need extension mirrors or not? Not if your towing vehicle’s mirrors are large enough and can be adjusted to see down past the sides of the caravan. But most cars will need extension mirrors to satisfy the law.
If you do fit extension mirrors, remember that it is an offence if they project more than 200mm from the side of the vehicle or trailer, whichever is the wider. This means that when driving solo, they must not project more than 200mm from the edge of the towcar – hence most will need to be removed after pitching if you are going to take the car off the site.

TYRES
Tyres on caravans must comply with the same laws as tyres on cars. They must be suitable for the purpose (which includes inflation pressures correct for the load being carried and the speed at which they could be used), be free of cuts and other defects, and have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm over at least three-quarters of the width of the tyre and around the entire circumference. There is no requirement for a caravan, or a car, to have a spare wheel, but if it is used, it must comply with the same regulations.

MOTs AND VEHICLE CONDITION
You must have a current MOT for your towcar at all times, but the list of things to be checked does not include any fitted towing equipment, and as yet there are no MOTs for caravans or trailers themselves. The EU is rumoured to want to bring trailer MOTs in line with those of some other countries, but even if agreement were to be reached, it would probably be years away.
The UK position is that there is no evidence that touring caravans are a road-safety risk in their own right. Official government figures show that caravans are involved in only 0.07 percent of all reported accidents (that’s just seven in 10,000), and that this figure has fallen 30 percent over the last 10 years. It is, however, the law that all vehicles, including trailers, must be kept in road-worthy condition at all times, and the police can ban seriously defective vehicles from continuing on their journey.
For lesser offences you can be given an official notification that requires you to repair the defect within a fixed period and present the vehicle for inspection. This could include unsuitable tyres, or malfunctioning brakes or lights. On the whole, the police will issue a gentle warning rather than take official action, especially if it appears that the defect has occurred during the current journey, but they can – and do – throw the book at some of the more flagrant offenders.

INSURANCE
All vehicles being driven or towed on the road must be covered by insurance. Most insurers will cover the essential legal requirements (third-party risks) when towing for no extra charge, which shows how safe insurers think caravanning is. This basic cover, however, will not cover the cost of damage to or theft of the caravan or its contents, for which you should get specialist insurance, but this is not a legal requirement.
Do remember to check the position with your car insurer, and to be on the safe side always inform your insurer that you will be towing when asking for a quote. Then check this is covered in the small print.

ON THE ROAD
Cars towing caravans or any other trailer must not exceed 60mph on a motorway or dual carriageway, and 50mph everywhere else outside built-up areas.
If in doubt, check the table on this page. Caravans cannot be towed in the outside lane of a dual carriageway of three or more lanes. There are some exceptions due to road works, wide loads, and so on, but basically if you are caravanning in the outside lane it is an easy nick for the boys in blue.

KERBWEIGHT
There are two different definitions of the kerbweight. According to the UK Construction and Use Regulations 1986, kerbweight is the "weight of the vehicle as it leaves the manufacturer with full fuel, adequate lubricants and water, standard tools and equipment but no driver, occupants or load". According to EU Directive 95/48, it is "the weight of the vehicle as it leaves the manufacturer, with fuel tank 90 percent full, all necessary fluids for normal operation, a nominal driver weight of 68kg and 7kg of luggage". By and large, this means that EU kerbweights are around 70kg more than UK figures. Most new cars will use the EU definition.

UNLADEN WEIGHT
Unladen weight is not the same as the kerbweight, which you will normally find in the car handbook. Unladen weight is the car's weight minus any fuel, water and tools, and driver. This figure is a hard figure to come by in documentation.
In practice, for a medium-sized car, the unladen weight will probably be about 130kg less than the published kerbweight for most cars.
The effect of this on, say, a Ford Mondeo 2.0-litre diesel hatchback with a kerbweight of 1423kg means that the post-1997 car driver with a Category B licence can only legally tow a caravan of just under 1300kg maximum weight with this car, because the maximum allowable weight of the caravan may not exceed 100 percent of the unladen weight of the car.
Enforcement authorities on a roadside check may well not be able to determine the correct figures for your combination, so it may help you stay in their good books if you can prove to them that you are driving legally. You may want to use a weighbridge to get accurate kerbweight figures for your vehicle, but having your driving licence with you is a also good idea, as is a note in the car handbook showing the relevant figures.