HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"L 56/8
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
28.2.2013
DIRECTIVES
COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2013/8/EU
of 26 February 2013
amending, for the purpose of adapting its technical provisions, Directive 2009/144/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council on certain components and characteristics of wheeled
agricultural or forestry tractors
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Article 1
Union,
Annex IV to Directive 2009/144/EC is amended in accordance
Having regard to Directive 2003/37/EC of the European
with the Annex to this Directive.
Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on type-
approval of agricultural or forestry tractors, their trailers and
Article 2
interchangeable towed machinery, together with their systems,
1. Member
States
shall
adopt
and
publish,
by
1
April
2014
components and separate technical units and repealing Directive
at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions
74/150/EEC ( 1 ), and in particular point (b) of Article 19(1)
necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith
thereof,
communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.
Whereas:
When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
(1) Annex
IV
to
Directive
2009/144/EC
of
the
European
Parliament and of the Council (
reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member

2 ) sets out general
provisions and requirements for mechanical couplings
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
between tractor and towed vehicle and vertical load on
the coupling point.
2. Member
States
shall
communicate
to
the
Commission
the
text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in
(2) In
recent
years,
new
kinds
of
couplings
have
been
put the field covered by this Directive.
into use in the Union and are currently nationally
approved on the basis of ISO standards. These are
Article 3
namely no-swivel clevis couplings (ISO 6489-5:2011),
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
ball type couplings (ISO 24347:2005) and pin type
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
couplings (ISO 6489-4:2004).
European Union.
(3) In
order
to
take
account
of
the
current
market
situation,
Article 4
to minimise possible safety and economic impacts and to
allow those couplings to be EC type-approved, it is
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
necessary to include the couplings concerned and the
relevant ISO standards in Directive 2009/144/EC.
Done at Brussels, 26 February 2013.
(4) Directive
2009/144/EC
should
therefore
be
amended
accordingly.
For the Commission
(5) The
measures
provided
for
in
this
Directive
are
in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee estab
The President
lished in Article 20(1) of Directive 2003/37/EC,
José Manuel BARROSO
( 1 ) OJ L 171, 9.7.2003, p. 1.
( 2 ) OJ L 27, 30.1.2010, p. 33.

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EN
28.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
56/9
ANNEX
Annex IV to Directive 2009/144/EC is amended as follows:
(1) point 1.1 is replaced by the following:
‘ “1.1. Mechanical coupling between tractor and towed vehicle” means the components installed on the tractor and
on the towed vehicle in order to provide the mechanical coupling between those vehicles.
Only mechanical coupling components for tractors are covered in this Directive.
Among the various types of mechanical coupling components for tractors a basic distinction is made
between:
— clevis type (see Figures 1 and 2 of Appendix 1),
— no-swivel clevis couplings (see Figure 1d of Appendix 1),
— towing hook (see Figure 1 – “Hitch-hook dimensions” in ISO 6489-1:2001),
— tractor drawbar (see Figure 3 of Appendix 1),
— ball type (see Figure 4 of Appendix 1),
— pin (piton) type (see Figure 5 of Appendix 1).’;
(2) point 2.7 is replaced by the following:
‘2.7. The jaw must permit the drawbar rings to swivel axially at least 90° to the right or left around the longitudinal
axis of the coupling with a fixed braking momentum of between 30 and 150 Nm.
The towing hook, no-swivel clevis coupling, ball type coupling and pin type coupling must allow the drawbar
ring to swivel axially at least 20° to the right or left around the longitudinal axis of the coupling.’;
(3) point 3.1 is replaced by the following:
‘3.1. Dimensions
The dimensions of the mechanical coupling components on the tractor must comply with Appendix 1, Figures
1 to 5 and Table 1.’;
(4) point 3.3.1 is replaced by the following:
‘3.3.1. The maximum static vertical load is laid down by the manufacturer. However, it must not exceed 3 000 kg,
except for the ball type coupling, where the maximum value shall not exceed 4 000 kg.’;
(5) in 3.4.1, the following sentence is added:
‘Masses m t , m lt , m a and m la are expressed in kg.’;
(6) point 4.2 is replaced by the following:
‘4.2. For each type of mechanical coupling component the application must be accompanied by the following
documents and particulars:
— scale drawings of the coupling device (three copies). These drawings must in particular show the required
dimensions in detail as well as the measurements for mounting the device,
— a short technical description of the coupling device specifying the type of construction and the material
used,
— a statement of the value of D as referred to in Appendix 2 for the dynamic test or the value of T (towable
mass in tonnes), corresponding to 1,5 times the technically permissible maximum laden trailer mass, as
referred to in Appendix 3 for the static test, and also the vertical maximum load on the coupling point S
(expressed in kg),
— one or more sample devices as required by the technical service.’;

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L 56/10
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
28.2.2013
(7) points 5.1.3 and 5.1.4 are replaced by the following:
‘5.1.3. where the strength is checked in accordance with Appendix 2 (dynamic test):
permissible value of D (kN),
static vertical load value of S (kg);
5.1.4. where the strength is checked in accordance with Appendix 3 (static test):
towable mass T (tonnes), and vertical load on the coupling point S (kg).’;
(8) point 6 is replaced by the following:
‘6. INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE
All mechanical couplings must be accompanied by the manufacturer’s instructions for use. These instructions
must include the EC component type-approved number and also the values of D (kN) or T (tonnes) depending
on which test was performed on the coupling.’;
(9) Appendix 1 is amended as follows:
(a) the following Figure 1d and Table 1 are inserted after Figure 1c:
‘Figure 1d
No-swivel clevis coupling (corresponding to ISO 6489-5:2011)
Table 1
Shapes and dimensions of trailer or implement clevis couplings
Dimension
Vertical load
D value
mm
S
D
Shape
kg
kN
D
a
b
± 0,5
min.
min.
≤ 1 000
≤ 35
w 18 50 40
≤ 2 000
≤ 90
x 28 70 55
≤ 3 000
≤ 120
y 43 100 80
≤ 3 000
≤ 120
z 50 110 95’

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EN
28.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
56/11
(b) the following Figures 4 and 5 are added:
‘Figure 4
Ball type coupling (corresponding to ISO 24347:2005)

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L 56/12
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
28.2.2013
Figure 5
Pin type coupling (corresponding to ISO 6489-4:2004)
’

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EN
28.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
56/13
(10) Appendix 2 is amended as follows:
(a) in point 2 the fifth and sixth paragraphs are replaced by the following:
‘The vertical force components at right angles to the track are expressed by the static vertical load S (kg).
The technically permissible masses M T and M R are given by the manufacturer in tonnes.’;
(b) point 3.2 is replaced by the following:
‘3.2. Test forces
The test force consists in geometrical terms of the horizontal and vertical test components as follows:

F p
2 F 2v
F h

where:
F h = ± 0,6 D (kN) in the case of alternating force,
or
F h = 1,0 D (kN) in the case of rising force (traction or pressure),
F v = g 1,5 S/1 000 (value expressed in kN)
S = static drawbar load (load on the track, expressed in kg).’;
(11) in Appendix 3 point 1.5 is replaced by the following:
‘1.5. The test referred to in point 1.4.2 must be preceded by a test in which an initial load of three times the
maximum permissible vertical force (in daN, equal to g S/10) recommended by the manufacturer is applied in
a gradually increasing manner, starting from an initial load of 500 daN, to the reference centre of the coupling
device.
During the test, deformation of the coupling device must not exceed 10 % of the maximum elastic
deformation occurring.
The check is carried out after removing the vertical force (in daN, equal to g S/10) and returning to the initial
load of 500 daN.’;
(12) in Appendix 4 the following example is added:
‘Example of an EC type-approval mark

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L 56/14
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
28.2.2013
The coupling bearing the EC component type-approval mark shown above is a device for which EC component
type-approval was granted in Germany (e1) under the number 38-363 and on which a static strength test (S) was
performed.’;
(13) Appendix 5 is amended as follows:
(a) the title is replaced by the following:
‘NOTIFICATION CONCERNING THE GRANTING, REFUSAL, WITHDRAWAL OR EXTENSION OF EC
COMPONENT TYPE-APPROVAL WITH REGARD TO THE STRENGTH AND DIMENSIONS AND
VERTICAL LOAD ON THE COUPLING POINT OF A TYPE OF COUPLING DEVICE (CLEVIS TYPE,
NO-SWIVEL CLEVIS COUPLINGS, TOWING HOOK, TRACTOR DRAWBAR, BALL TYPE AND PIN
TYPE.)’;
(b) point 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Type of coupling device (clevis type, no-swivel clevis couplings, towing hook, tractor drawbar, ball type, pin
type) ( 2 )’;
(c) points 5.1 and 5.2 are replaced by the following:
‘5.1. Dynamic test:
value of D:
......................................................................................................................................................................................... (kN)
vertical load on the coupling point (S):
.......................................................................................................................................................................................... (kg)
5.2. Static test:
towable mass T:
................................................................................................................................................................................... (tonnes)
vertical load on the coupling point (S):
......................................................................................................................................................................................... (kg)’;
(14) in Appendix 7, point 9 is replaced by the following:
‘9. Permissible static vertical load on the coupling point:
..................................................................................................................................................................................................... (kg)’

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