Things to bear in mind:

• You’ll need a full car licence to tow, with those who passed their test prior to the 1st January 1997 able to tow a larger weight
• Check your insurance policy before towing to ensure you’re covered in case of an accident
• You must not exceed the gross train weight (weight of the fully-loaded car plus fully-loaded trailer)
• With a car or van up to 3,500kg you can tow up to 750kg
• To tow or trailer over 750kg the combined weight of the car/van plus trailer must not exceed 3,500kg
• The maximum trailer width for any towing vehicle is 2.55m
• The maximum length for a trailer being towed is 7m, this is based on the vehicle weighing up to 3,500kg - small trucks are around 2,000kg
• Don’t forget there’s a 60mph limit for all towing vehicles!

So, that’s the boring bit over. Now to take the wheel…

First of all make sure the jockey wheel – the one holding up the front of the trailer – is at its highest once the trailer is hitched to the car. If you don’t do this, you could end up with the trailer pulling the back of the car up if you go over a dip in the road… cue bent trailer!

Preferably, start off with the trailer in-line with the car. If you want to turn to the right with the trailer, first of all turn the steering wheel to the left. As soon as it begins to turn, straighten the wheel and then turn to the right. Slowly turn the wheel to each side to keep the trailer moving generally in the direction you want it to go. If the trailer starts to look as it it’s going to end up at 90degrees to the car, STOP before you catch the back corner of your car… hello dents in your bumper!

NB. I find using the door mirrors easier than turning and looking back because the mirrors give you the opposite view to looking over your shoulder - it shows the trailer going the correct way. Does that make sense?

The longer the trailer, the harder it is to steer in the right direction. So if for instance, you are towing a Wayfarer dinghy - nearly 16ft long or 4.83m - with a Ford Fiesta - just over 4m long - the trailer will appear to take a lot longer to turn than something much shorter like a box trailer. The longer it takes to turn, the harder it is to correct the direction if things start to go awry, but you can always straighten up, go back to the beginning and start again.

The rule is, take it steady and correct the direction as soon as it starts to go wrong. If you have an audience, ignore them… It’s likely they have never tried or if they have, they have cocked it up too and are familiar with the frustrations or perhaps joys of towing!

You’re all set - happy towing.