Trailers and towing a golf buggy on the road

Sizing a trailer around the machine you own

Start with the buggy rather than the trailer. Measure the overall length with the roof fitted, the width across the widest point, which is often the rear wheels or a bag rack rather than the body, and the height to the top of the roof. Then add the room the ramps take when stowed, because a bed that fits the machine exactly leaves nowhere to put them. Two-seat, four-seat and utility bodies differ enough that a trailer sized from a friend's machine will disappoint you.

Width is the quiet problem. Many general purpose trailers have wheel arches intruding into the bed, and a buggy that fits between the arches at floor level may foul them higher up. Check the usable width between the arches and the internal width above them as two separate figures. A flat bed with the wheels underneath, or a wider plant trailer, removes the question altogether and is usually the easier answer.

Height only becomes a question where you are considering something enclosed, because the roof generally has to come off the machine to get it inside. That is not difficult, though it does mean fixings to keep track of and, on some machines, wiring running up a support that has to be disconnected. Decide before you buy the trailer, since a buggy that travels with its roof on needs a different answer from one that does not.

Bed types and what each one solves

An open flat-bed or plant trailer is the common answer. It loads easily, it is simple to strap to, and it does not care about weather in the way an enclosed one does. A tilt bed or beavertail solves the loading problem outright by bringing the deck down to meet the ground, which is worth a great deal on a low machine with a long span between its axles.

A box trailer buys security and weather protection and costs you height, weight and access. The roof or canopy usually has to come off the buggy to fit, which means refitting it at the other end and being careful with the fixings and any wiring running up the supports. For a machine that travels often, or one left overnight at events, that trade is frequently worth making. For a single move, it rarely is.

Ramps and the loading gradient

The fault that catches people is breakover rather than power. A buggy sits low, with a long wheelbase and little clearance under the floor pan. Put it on short, steep ramps and it grounds on the deck edge halfway up, front wheels on the bed and rear wheels still on the ramp, with the drive wheels light and the machine going nowhere. Longer ramps, or a tilt bed, reduce the angle and the problem disappears.

Load on level ground wherever you can. A trailer standing on a slope steepens or flattens the ramp angle depending which way it points, and a buggy that climbs the ramps easily in a yard can refuse them on a verge. Check the ramps are located and pinned rather than simply resting, and that they are rated for the load in front of them rather than for a mower.

Nobody stands behind or beside a machine going up. Where it has to be pulled rather than driven, a winch operated from clear of the load is the way to do it, with the free-wheel lever engaged only for as long as the pull takes. A buggy that slips off a ramp goes sideways quickly and there is nothing to hold on to. Keep bystanders away, and keep the ramps clean, because wet grass on a steel ramp behaves like ice.

Weights, plates and the licence question

Three weights decide whether a combination is legal and none of them should be a guess. The trailer has its own plated maximum. The towing vehicle has a maximum towing mass and a maximum train weight, shown on its plate or in its handbook. The load is the buggy as it stands, including the battery pack, which is a large share of what you are lifting and is never included in a bare body figure.

Do not take a machine's weight from a specification sheet or a forum post. Weigh the loaded trailer at a public weighbridge if you can and keep the ticket, since it answers the question once rather than every time. Nose weight is the other figure that gets forgotten: where the buggy sits along the bed changes it, and a machine loaded too far back produces a combination that snakes at speed.

What your licence allows you to tow depends on the categories it shows and on when you passed your test, and the rules have changed within the working lives of most drivers. DVLA holds the answer for your particular licence. Ask them, or read their current guidance, rather than relying on what somebody at the club remembers. The same caution applies to any rule quoted confidently from years ago, since it may have been correct at the time.

Securing the machine properly

A buggy is strapped down through its structure. The chassis rails, the tie points where the maker provides them, and the wheels are what will take the load. The roof, the roof supports, the canopy, the steering wheel, the bag rack and the seat frames are not, and a strap tensioned over a roof will bend supports long before it holds anything during a heavy stop.

Four straps pulling in opposing directions is the working minimum, so the machine cannot move forward, back or sideways. Wheel straps that pass over the tyre and pull down into the bed are effective and kind to the vehicle, since they load the wheel rather than the bodywork. Chock the wheels as well, and check every strap again after the first few miles, because loads settle and slack appears where there was none in the yard.

• Attach to the chassis or the maker's tie points, never the roof, canopy, steering wheel or seat frames.
• Use four straps pulling in opposing directions so the machine cannot shift in any direction.
• Wheel straps over the tyres load the wheels rather than the body and are worth having.
• Chock the wheels, and check the straps again after the first few miles of the journey.
• Remove the roof and strap it separately where it is not designed to stay put at speed.

The state to leave the buggy in

The most common towing problem with an electric buggy is a machine left in free wheel. Loaded that way it has no transmission braking, it rolls against the straps at every roundabout, and the straps work loose as it does. Put the lever back into drive as soon as the machine is on the bed, then check it, since some are stiff and it is easy to believe it has gone home when it has not quite.

Then take everything else out of play. Key removed, controller and any master switch off, an isolator opened where one is fitted, charger stowed inside the towing vehicle rather than loose on the bed, and anything unsecured taken off the machine. Loose items on a trailer become somebody else's problem at speed, and a sand bottle on a dual carriageway is not a small matter.

• Free-wheel lever back into drive, checked rather than assumed.
• Key out, controller off, and any isolator or master switch opened.
• Parking brake applied, with the wheels chocked as well as strapped.
• Charger, keys, bottles, bag straps and floor mats stowed in the towing vehicle.

Lights, boards and the rest of the legal kit

A trailer needs working lights and it needs a plate showing the registration of the vehicle towing it, not of the buggy, which has no registration of its own for use off the road. Check the lights with somebody standing behind before you set off. A board that worked last summer often does not, because the plug corrodes quietly while the board lives in a shed between jobs.

Tyres are the other thing that fails on a trailer nobody uses much. They perish standing still, cracking around the sidewall while the tread looks barely touched, and an aged tyre will let go under load on a warm day. Check the breakaway cable or secondary coupling, the jockey wheel, the coupling head and the lock as well, and mark anything projecting beyond the body of the trailer.

• Lights tested with the board plugged in rather than assumed to work from last time.
• A plate on the board showing the registration of the towing vehicle.
• Trailer tyres inspected for perishing and age as well as tread.
• Breakaway cable or secondary coupling attached to the towing vehicle, not looped over the ball itself.

When to have the machine moved instead

Towing yourself makes sense for a short move you repeat, where you already own a suitable vehicle and have somewhere to keep a trailer. It makes much less sense for one long journey. A professional move puts the machine on a vehicle designed for it, with an operator used to loading low vehicles on awkward ground and insured for what is on the deck. What moves the cost is distance, access at both ends, and whether the buggy can be driven on and off under its own power.

Check the insurance either way. Your motor policy covers the act of towing, and it may or may not cover the load on the trailer. The buggy's own policy may include transit or exclude it entirely. Those are two separate answers and both come from your broker in writing. Ask before the machine leaves the ground, because a buggy that comes off a trailer is expensive in more ways than one.

Common questions

What size trailer do I need for a golf buggy?

Measure your own machine rather than working from a model name. You need the overall length with the roof on, the widest point, which is often the rear wheels, and enough bed left over for the ramps once stowed. Then check the usable width between the wheel arches, since a bed that fits at floor level can still be too narrow higher up where the body is widest.

Can I tow a golf buggy on an ordinary car licence?

It depends on the weights involved and on what your licence shows, which in turn depends on when you passed your test. Towing entitlement has changed over the years, so the only reliable source is DVLA and their current guidance for your licence. Work out the real weights first, including the battery pack, then check the entitlement against them rather than the other way round.

Do I put the buggy in free wheel to load it?

Only where it is being pulled or pushed rather than driven, and only for as long as that takes. Once it is on the bed, put the lever back into drive and check that it has properly engaged. A machine left in free wheel rolls against its straps every time you brake or corner, and it works them loose over the course of a journey.

Where do I attach the straps on a golf buggy?

To the chassis, to any tie points the maker provides, or over the tyres using wheel straps. Not to the roof, the roof supports, the canopy, the steering wheel or the seat frames, none of which were designed to hold a machine against a heavy stop. Four straps pulling in opposing directions, with the wheels chocked, is the arrangement to aim for.

Does the trailer need a number plate?

The trailer displays the registration of the vehicle towing it, usually on the board that carries the lights. The buggy contributes nothing here, because a machine used off the road has no registration of its own. Test the lights with the board plugged in before setting off, since the connections corrode while a board sits in a shed between uses.

Is it better to trailer a buggy myself or pay for transport?

For a short move you repeat often, and where you already own the vehicle and the trailer, doing it yourself is straightforward. For a single long journey the sums usually go the other way once you count fuel, hire, your time and the risk of loading a low machine on unfamiliar ground. Distance, access at both ends and whether it can be driven on and off are what move the figure.