# Safety certificate in Ontario



## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

I recently bought a trailer, it is not new and I took to my mechanic to have it checked over and safetied. My mechanic did some work on the brakes and lights but said it was not neccessary to have it safetied as it is not a commercial vehicle. I was surprised at this and called the Motor Vehicle Licence Office to see if I had to have the trailer safetied before I had the ownership changed to my name and she said it was not neccessary for a privately owned vehicle, only commercial.
Does anyone else know this? Should I have it safetied anyway? In the morning I am going to call our Insurance Company to see what they say.
I talked to a friend tonight and he said both trailer and truck should be safetied every year and to check with the Ministry of Transportation for clarification.
What do other Ontarians do?


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

You don't need to safety all trailers. It depends on 1. whether its commercial or not (for hire) and 2. the weight of the combined trailer and truck.

If its commercial - safety it every year.
If you only use if for yourself, never charge to haul anyone else's horses, and use only a privately owned vehicle to pull it, then it's not commercial and subject to safety only if the truck, trailer or combination has a total gross weight over 4500 kg or 9,900 lbs. 

I safetied one of my trailers once because there was a chance that MDH might pull it with his business truck.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I had my mechanic do the equivalent of a safety, just to be sure the trailer was roadworthy. Turned out one of the bearings needed replacing. The tires are 5 yrs old so they'll need replacing next but I'll wait until next year to do that as it's now parked for the winter.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

NorthernMama said:


> If its commercial - safety it every year.
> If you only use if for yourself, never charge to haul anyone else's horses, and use only a privately owned vehicle to pull it, then it's not commercial and subject to safety only if the truck, trailer or combination has a total gross weight over 4500 kg or 9,900 lbs.


This, pretty much. 

The thing is, anything bigger than an aluminum 2 horse bumper pull being pulled by a small SUV with a few ponies in it... typically exceeds 4500KG, so this is why you'll see that even the typical half ton/2 horse trailer ends up being in the annual inspection category. A half ton and a light bumper pull may JUST slide in under the weight limit if you pack light, have an aluminum (or a lightly loaded steel) trailer, and you aren't carrying drafts.

Here's some rough math.

Typical 1500 (half ton) 2WD series truck = ~5000# at the lightest
Typical 2 horse steel trailer empty = 2500# empty
2 averaged sized horses = 1000# each.
Hay, tack, water, everything else you carry around routinely and never think about but isn't included in the curb weight of the truck...including gas etc etc etc= 1000#

= 10,500LBS. 

Yep, you need a sticker.

If you used the above demo with an aluminum trailer, 2 ponies vs horses, and you pack really light, you MIGHT slide in under the limit, or if you only pull the trailer with 1 horse in it. Even the weight difference between a 2WD or 4WD half ton can be the difference. Basically what I'm saying is that you're on the fine line no matter what and you ultimately need to scale your configuration with your horses and ALL your gear loaded to find out if you are.

If you drive a 2500 series (or larger) truck you need to account for at *least* an extra 1000#. 4WD, even more. Even with a light aluminum 2 horse at that point, with 2 horses onboard, you can be pretty much assured you're firmly in yellow sticker territory. Any 3500 series truck..there's absolutely no way you can get away without it as it's virtually impossible to come in at under 4500KG loaded unless you're pulling a 1 horse load, and even then it would be unlikely to come in under the limit unless it was a very light 1 horse aluminum trailer and a pony in it.

Also, any truck over 4500KG GVWR also needs an annual yellow sticker as well. Typically this is only 3500 series (and dually) trucks, but it's something that a lot of people overlook as well.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

Thanks everyone for your replys and information. It is good to know what is the right (and legal) thing to do. My mechanic said I don't need a safety certificate when he did the work on my trailer but he would give me one if I wanted it so I think I will do that and at least I will have it with me. 
I usually get a trailer checked every year anyway if I am using it that year.

I will take the loaded trailer down to the grain elevators and have it weighed to see how heavy it is and go from there.


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