Bridgette Baker: Trailer test success will open doors

After watching shocking reversing skills in the local abattoir queue, you might think it’s unfair that those who passed their driving test before 1997 don’t have to take a trailer test, while us younger people need to get a licence to tow trailers.

I was thanking my lucky stars that I had got my trailer licence in January 2020 before the first lockdown hit, as I got to leave the house and fine-tune my towing skills on the quiet roads – whether that was collecting pigs and calves I had bought, or helping friends and family with jobs necessitating a trailer.

Having a towing license as a farmworker is very valuable – it’s great for your CV, allows you to do more jobs and helps with the farm’s efficiency.

About the author

Bridgette Baker

Somerset young farmer Bridgette Baker hails from a mixed beef and arable farm near Yeovil, and studies agriculture at the Royal Agricultural University. An enthusiastic member of her local Young Farmers Club, Bridgette keeps her own Oxford Sandy and Black pigs and works her family’s farm rearing calves.

Read more articles by Bridgette Baker

I did two days of training – with the test in the afternoon of day two – with a friend from YFC, as our local instructor had a discount deal on groups of two. It cost me a total of £395.

The instructor must have thought he had his work cut out with us, as he remarked at one point he thought he deserved a whisky when he got home!

Getting the training and doing the test can be expensive, but I recently noticed when I registered to be an NFU Student & Young Farmer member (which is free) that you can save 10% on trailer training as a member, so it’s well worth looking into that.

See also: Bridgette Baker: Uni is a not-to-be-missed opportunity

Practical experience

Learn the theory and try to get as much practical experience behind the wheel before you attend the training to make it more effective.

I have access to my dad’s Land Rover Discovery 1 TDi and Bateson cattle trailer (weapon set-up, I know), so the month before the training and test I practised the reverse manoeuvre until it was muscle memory.

I then put on the dreaded L-plates to go towing on the road with Dad whenever possible. 

The tests are usually held in large towns, so driving a normal car around your test area is good preparation, as some people fail on simple driving skills because they’re not familiar with busy, urban roads.

So, enjoy learning to tow, and embrace the praise when you reverse for a bin lorry in a country lane or line up first time at the abattoir in front of everyone.