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ORLDBOATWORLDBOATWORLD
Letters
to the
editor
BRAKING ODDITIES
I enjoy my monthly fix of Boating NZ,
but continue to be disappointed with the marine
industry’s position on brakes for trailer boats.
After a flurry of letters from myself and others a
year or so ago, and a great article on safe towing,
which I believe recommended
following vehicle manufacture’s guidance,
things seemed to have slipped back to the NZ
status quo of ‘she’ll be right’.
Your article on the Sotalia in November once
again reports a 1,300kg rig, make that 1600kg
fully loaded, has no need for a braked trailer. And
then finishes to say it is within the towing abilities
of most medium-sized SUVs or wagons.
I cannot seem to find a single light vehicle that is
rated to tow more than 1,000kg unbraked. Typical
unbraked limit is 750kg for medium and large
including most of the popular utes. Your advice is
once again confusing to new boaties and those
moving up, and I remain unconvinced that it
would be a safe tow rig.
So I challenge you to find out what size
vehicle can safely stop that rig in the wet in 7m
from 30kph, let alone be stable in emergency
braking on the open road.
So please either prove me wrong, or start
promoting safer towing practice in line with
today’s expectations on vehicle safety.
Regards, Mike Mead
Agreed – your comments are spot on.
Boat towing legislation is something of a
minefield in New Zealand – and it’s hard get a
clear answer from boat/trailer/vehicle/towbar
manufacturers, not to mention the
insurance industry.
I remember chatting to a trailer industry expert
some years ago. He was on the NZTA committee
charged with streamlining the towing legislation- and he admitted to being flummoxed by it all.
What hope have we of understanding it?
The Aussies have a better grasp of it – with their
compulsory trailer brake legislation. I’ve always
found this difference odd – the two countries are
usually well-aligned with their standards.
The best I can offer is a commitment to a feature
about trailer legislation in a future issue.
The main problem is finding a writer with
sufficient hair – because he/she won’t have
much left after researching it!
Editor
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