Highway Trailer SKD 2260

With an unladen weight of 1,640 kg, payload comes to 3,773 kg, almost 70 per cent of the gross weight, a high ratio of payload to unladen weight for the class. At 5.10 m long, 2.13 m wide and with a 3.82 m wheelbase, the trailer is comparatively compact. The build year of 1943 recorded in the register makes it one of the older vehicles in a stock made up mostly of far younger trailers, and any surviving example of that age has necessarily passed through decades of periodic roadworthiness inspection.

Towing it as a combination requires driving licence category BE or C1E in the EU, depending on the combined train weight. The compact dimensions combined with a comparatively high payload fit a use for dense, heavy loads on a short deck rather than bulky general cargo, the kind of load a small trailer of this era was built to carry.

On a used trailer this old, what matters most is the condition of the frame and side members for corrosion and earlier repair welds, the function of the brake system and its lines, the condition of the axle bearings, and the lighting and wiring, which on a vehicle of this age has often been renewed. Tyres and rims should also be checked against the permitted load rating for the current gross weight, and the drawbar eye and coupling checked for wear from decades of use.