Thread: NZ towing laws and practices are making my head hurt, help!!??

I’m looking to buy a boat someday, it’ll be heavy but not too heavy 5.5-6m Aluminium, hopefully a centre console, lighter.
I see a 1997 Honda Accord that’s constantly launching a 5m boat in and outta Nelson, good on em.
I have a 2.5 Subaru Forester and I want to use it to tow/launch a boat in Nelson or nearby.
The important bit:
I have been looking up the laws for towing and it appears that almost all unbraked trailers will more or less be limited to 750kg, throw in GCWR (gross combined weight rating)…and there ain’t one of those Hilux/Rangers that’s towing a 6.5-7.5m boat legally…no friggin way.
The only option I see as a workaround is this text that comes up “the law requires that every light vehicle and trailer combination must be capable of stopping within a distance of seven metres from a speed of 30km/h”

So this isn’t news to anyone but I’m a know nothing idiot so explain it to me like I’m 5 and maybe I can understand. Remember, no criticism is too harsh!!!

https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/owners/tow...eights/subaru/

A lot of owners just ignore it until they have a "whoopsie" and the first question asked by insurance company is ................................

A lot of people get caught out including the Tasman District Council who a few years ago brought a very nice boat for the harbour master and then found it needs to either be stripped of everything and drained of fuel to be legally towed OR they pay a contractor to tow it!!

If I were you I would be looking for a boat on a braked trailer OR perhaps changing my tow vehicle or both.



I had a 6.6m Southern on alloy braked trailer, and fully loaded, full of fuel it weighted 2200Kgs was towed with Mazda BT50 then Holden Colorado
Weight was obtained by local weigh bridge.

just put brakes on the trailer and job done man can tow 3.5ton with all the normal utes then.

you should see some of the speedway trailers tho 4ton+ isnt that hard to get too especially for a championship meeting

Yep pretty much 750KG is the limit unbraked. Our caravan is loaded 1540KG and I know it is as we weighed it in early Dec but after looking at some Ozzie vans they are too close to the limit for my liking especially the GVM. I reckon a lot of people towing them need to be looking at Class2.

Braked as others have said up to 3500KG depending on tow vehicle and don't forget your open road speed will be 90KMH and not 100KMH as a lot of people seem to drive at.

Also check the rating on the towbar ....they aren't al created equal . And the way they are mounted to unibody vehicles can be dubious at best... Seen so many with broken arse "chassis" from trying to pull too much weight.
Needing to tow a boat seems like a valid excuse to buy something with a real chassis

Originally Posted by scotty

Also check the rating on the towbar ....they aren't al created equal . And the way they are mounted to unibody vehicles can be dubious at best... Seen so many with broken arse "chassis" from trying to pull too much weight.
Needing to tow a boat seems like a valid excuse to buy something with a real chassis

i would have thought you would need a big ass alu boat before that becomes an issue tho

OK, not everything in NZ makes sense. There is a 750kg limit on towing with an unbraked trailer on most (if not all vehicles), BUT the law is not enforced. What this means in the real world is hard to say. Like most things, it's fine until it isn't. That said, have a look around next time you're out and see how many trailers with brakes on small (<6 metre) boats and even boats up to 6.5 metres you see. Few have brakes. The sticking point is insurance, but even that's not clear cut. When mates have had accidents, there haven't been any issues getting a pay out despite towing >750kg with an unbraked trailer. Brakes that get a regular dunking in saltwater do require some dedicated maintenance.

BTW, it just so happens that I trailer a 5.6m centre console with a Forester 2.5L. Boats weighs 850kg bare, probably more like a metric ton with fuel, ice and toys. It's not ideal to be honest, struggles with steep hills, but the boat ramp is only 5 minutes away from my house, so I haven't been in a rush to upgrade, but it's been a bit of a stress on longer journeys. I'm due a new car, so will get something bigger and probably a diesel engine.

Tow bars should come with the weight they are approved to handle, it will be a max weight a downforce weight and usually a Gross Combined Mass for the vehicle they are fitted to.

The downforce is recommended at 10% of towed mass, so a 3500Kg trailer should have 350Kg pushing down on the towball. This comes off the load the tow vehicle can carry so you can't load up the tow vehicle then attach the trailer or you will be overweight somewhere...

The unbraked weight is a NZ road regs rule, aligned with Aussie and it doesn't really matter how the trailer is configured if it's unbraked you are not supposed to drag it over 750Kg (there is a substantial number of tandem trailers without brakes that likely go over 750Kg by themselves without anything on them). As noted, enforcement is haphazard at best and a lot of wof places don't even look at this. I've seen it pulled up once at VTNZ locally, a tandem box trailer without brakes that was 850Kg empty.

Each tow vehicle will have a max towed mass that it can legally pull, although you often need to go back to the manufacturer to confirm this off the chassis number.

Easiest answer especially for boats is to fit brakes, as most boats when full of fuel, gear and fishing rods crack the 750Kg limit. Also, brakes tend to make the ride a lot smoother on the road and this means the hull doesn't get as rough a ride especially with an outboard bouncing on the transom!

I asked local mechanic how do boat trailers without brakes get certified in the first place when they clearly are going to be above 750kg when the boats on them.

His answer was that when they are certified they are are unladen and thus under 750kg therefore no problem. It's only a problem once you put a boat on them!

While most utes have a max tow rating of 3500kg in most cases you will be that close to the GVM limit that you can only take a cut lunch in the passenger seat.

What erks me is no one seems to care about the weight issue but dont' you dare drive down the road without your silly prop flag on! ffs

...and what about all the brand new boat/trailer combos in the dealerships. Nearly all "illegal".

Originally Posted by No.3

Tow bars should come with the weight they are approved to handle, it will be a max weight a downforce weight and usually a Gross Combined Mass for the vehicle they are fitted to.

The downforce is recommended at 10% of towed mass, so a 3500Kg trailer should have 350Kg pushing down on the towball. This comes off the load the tow vehicle can carry so you can't load up the tow vehicle then attach the trailer or you will be overweight somewhere...

The unbraked weight is a NZ road regs rule, aligned with Aussie and it doesn't really matter how the trailer is configured if it's unbraked you are not supposed to drag it over 750Kg (there is a substantial number of tandem trailers without brakes that likely go over 750Kg by themselves without anything on them). As noted, enforcement is haphazard at best and a lot of wof places don't even look at this. I've seen it pulled up once at VTNZ locally, a tandem box trailer without brakes that was 850Kg empty.

Each tow vehicle will have a max towed mass that it can legally pull, although you often need to go back to the manufacturer to confirm this off the chassis number.

Easiest answer especially for boats is to fit brakes, as most boats when full of fuel, gear and fishing rods crack the 750Kg limit. Also, brakes tend to make the ride a lot smoother on the road and this means the hull doesn't get as rough a ride especially with an outboard bouncing on the transom!

When did the unbraked law change to 750kg max? Always was 2000kg when I was in the industry up until 3 years ago. The unbraked & braked weights that are written on towbars are based on the Aussie ADR63 ruling, but it is not legislation in NZ currently. They are there to act as guidelines.



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Originally Posted by Mathias

When did the unbraked law change to 750kg max? Always was 2000kg when I was in the industry up until 3 years ago. The unbraked & braked weights that are written on towbars are based on the Aussie ADR63 ruling, but it is not legislation in NZ currently. They are there to act as guidelines.



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I actually thought it was 2500kg but yes.

There is no law (unless very recently instated) in NZ that limits unbraked to 750 kg......it is 2000kg.

Most vehicle manufacturers recommended unbraked towing rating is 500-750kg.....not a law just a recomendation like oil changes and pad changes

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

I actually thought it was 2500kg but yes.

There is no law (unless very recently instated) in NZ that limits unbraked to 750 kg......it is 2000kg.

Most vehicle manufacturers recommended unbraked towing rating is 500-750kg.....not a law just a recomendation like oil changes and pad changes

Yep true.
Up to 2000kg non braked. 2001-2500kg override indirect braking. 2501-3500kg direct braking (able to be controlled / emergency applied from drives seat) plus a few other requirements.

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Originally Posted by Mathias

When did the unbraked law change to 750kg max?

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I'm not sure it has just 750kg (but I am usually wrong ) is the most often quoted "un-braked max weight" by manufacturers of many vehicles so has become a bit of a "defacto" thing?

Bit more info: https://www.fishing.net.nz/fishing-a...ns-summarised/