Trailer MOTs: test classes, axles and price

A trailer is tested in its own right

The single most useful thing to understand about trailer testing is that a trailer is a vehicle as far as annual testing is concerned. It has its own test, its own class, its own fee and its own record. Putting an artic through as an outfit is two tests happening on the same visit, not one test covering both halves.

That has a practical consequence people miss until it bites. A unit can pass while the trailer behind it fails, or the reverse, and the two results are separate. Whichever one failed is the one that has to be put right and re-presented.

The price follows the axle count

Trailer test fees are set by axle count and by nothing else. A single-axle trailer, a twin-axle trailer and a tri-axle or four-axle trailer are three different classes and three different figures. There is no separate premium for a curtainsider over a flat, or for a tipping trailer over a box — the axles decide it.

A retest is charged separately again, and the trailer rate is its own figure — not the same as the rate charged on a vehicle retest or on a PSV. If the trailer is the half of the outfit that failed, the trailer rate is the one that matters to you, and it is a good deal less than presenting it for a full test a second time.

If you run several trailers to one or two units, that pricing is worth planning around. It is usually the trailers, not the units, that make an annual testing budget bigger than an operator expected.

Your trailer needs an identity of its own

Because the trailer is tested in its own right, it has to be identifiable in its own right. Its identification number must be present and readable so the test is recorded against that specific trailer rather than the unit that towed it in, and the paperwork you bring has to agree with what is on the trailer.

This is a genuinely common reason for a wasted journey, and it is entirely avoidable. Check before the date that the number is there, that it is legible under dirt and paint, and that the plate has not been lost to corrosion or a body repair. If something does not match, ring us before you set off and we will tell you whether it is a problem you can solve on the day.

It does not have to arrive behind its usual unit

A trailer can be brought in on whatever unit is free. It does not need the tractor it normally runs with, and there is no requirement for the unit pulling it to be tested on the same visit — bring the trailer alone if that is what suits the week.

It works the other way too. If a unit and its trailer are both due, present them together and you have one journey and one lot of driver time instead of two. For an operator running trailers out of a yard some distance away, batching them into a morning is usually the cheapest way to get the year done.

Loading, brakes and the defects that recur

Trailer brakes are the reason most trailers fail, and an empty trailer on rollers does not produce a meaningful measurement. Where weight is needed, we can load it here — charged on top of the test — rather than leaving you to source ballast, secure it and haul it in. That is nearly always cheaper than arranging it yourself, and it removes the risk of arriving with a load that is not suitable.

The rest of the recurring list will not surprise anybody who runs trailers: lighting and susie connections, corroded or chafed air lines, brake adjustment, spring and hanger condition, air bags, king pin and landing leg wear, tyres including the inners, and load-securing equipment — straps, buckles, ratchets, curtain condition, anchorage points and rear door catches.

Everything on that list can be found in your own yard with a lamp and half an hour. If you would rather we looked, book a pre-test inspection and the fitters who would do the repair are the ones doing the checking. Call 01527 870400 with the axle count and we will price the test and the slot together.