A-Frames / towing dolly and towing law

[rayofleamington]

Hi all,
After researching this, including enlisting a few friends over the last couple of months, it seems very hard to find towing law in one place. Many different sites contain advice and most of it is conflicting.

Anyway - on a site with technical advice from Warwickshire police and links to the relevant legal documents I've found something that helps shed some light on this murky area.


Using an A-frame within the 'trailer' rules: In UK law, the car being towed can be classed as a trailer - nothing more complicated than that. However as the trailer (towed car) will not be using it's brakes, it is classed as an 'unbraked trailer'. The legal limit for weight of an unbraked trailer is 750kg, therefore a complete Minor 1000 is too heavy to tow as a trailer. If you reduce the weight (e.g. removal of engine and gearbox = 641kg) you are below the 750kg limit and you are legal to tow the Minor as a trailer using an A-frame... but the weight must not be above what is plated for your tow vehicle (or 50% of the tow vehicle weight, whichever is lower)
Most tow vehicles (e.g. family saloon) are not rated for over 500kg unbraked trailer so this is your limit. You can go for a bigger tow vehicle (with bigger allowance for unbraked trailer) or reduce the minor's weight even further (reaching 500kg is not likely to be an option in most cases)

Using an A-frame for emergency recovery: In this case it is ONLY for emergency recovery - i.e. to move a vehicle to a safe haven. This would be the nearest town / garage / service station only! under the allowance for emergency recovery the rules are far less restricted, however if you go past the nearest 'safe haven' then you are outside the rules.

In either case the towed vehicle needs a trailer board at the rear to show lights and registration of the towing vehicle.

So with a heavy duty tow vehicle you can legally A-frame a Minor 1000 if the engine and box are removed (or a complete Trabant 601 for that matter ;-) )

Towing dolly
These are like a mini-trailer which lifts up one end of a car and the other end of the car remains on the ground.
The same regulations apply as when using an A-frame. Some dollys have a braking mechanism which of course is much safer (if designed and working correctly). However as this will only brake the dolly wheels and not all the wheels of the trailer (ie not the 2 car wheels running on the road) it can not be classed as a braked trailer and therefore legally no different from using an A-frame.

[Welung666]

Surely if your using a braked towing dolly and the car is firmly attached by straps to the dolly then the towed vehicle becomes 1 with the dolly?

Is this re collecting the trabby Ray?

[rayofleamington]

Surely if your using a braked towing dolly and the car is firmly attached by straps to the dolly then the towed vehicle becomes 1 with the dolly?

Yes it does, however if the dolly is braked, it will not brake the other 2 wheels of the car, therefore the 'car+dolly' doesn't meet the rules for a braked trailer (all wheels must be braked).

[Welung666]

Stoopid EU rules

I'm with Luxemburg

[minor_hickup]

Surely if your using a braked towing dolly and the car is firmly attached by straps to the dolly then the towed vehicle becomes 1 with the dolly?

Apparently not unless two of the road wheels are removed from the ground.

[Multiphonikks]

So does this mean I could technically transport Hebe as a trailer? She has four wheels--- but not a lot else!

[moggyminor16]

why do thay do this as you can get a trailer over 2 ton and under 5 ton that is unbraked

[rayofleamington]

So does this mean I could technically transport Hebe as a trailer? She has four wheels--- but not a lot else!

Without doors, windows, engine, gearbox etc... you are likely to be under the 500kg. Many saloon cars are allowed to tow a 500kg unbraked trailer.

However as she is a bit rusty you would need to ensure all suspension points were solid otherwise it wouldn't be a roadworthy trailer.

[lowedb]

Good info.

Thanks, Ray

[matchlessg3l]

I have towed my Minor Convertible around Devon and Cornwall last summer and this year to the National Rally and then for three weeks in France. I used a braked A Frame, the same type as sold by Car-Tow. The brakes must work on all four wheels. This is done by the caravan type hitch on the tow frame and on the overrun when the towing vehicle brakes, it applies the brakes to the towed vehicle by means of a cable which is attached to the brake pedal. There is also a handbrake on the A Frame which also operates all four brakes. I also have a seperate trailer board on the back of the minor. I tow mine behind my Motorhome and have never had any problems. The legal side was given in one of the last couple of issues of Practical Motorhome, the outcome was that it is legal and as such because it is legal here then it is also legal within the EU. In the case of anything under 750kg then an unbrakes A Frame is OK. The use of the recovery frames as used by the AA and towing dollies is not.
I would have likes to have put a photo of the car behind the motorhome but couldn't figure out how to do it![/list]

[Gareth]

Details of the Car-A-Tow can be found here

Probably only useful if you want to tow your Minor behind another vehicle regularly, as the car does need a few modifications welding / bolting into place.

Interesting idea, though. Not sure how happy I'd be having the Minor running unchecked behind a motorhome though (I took to pondering that a while at the NEC caravan show yesterday...)

[rayofleamington]

Hi Matchless,
Thanks for the info - I was wondering if there was a braked A-frame available as I'd not found any details when searching. The closest I'd got was a comment from an organisation working with police here "not aware of a braked A-frame that meets the requirements"
The problem is that with latest design rules, the trailer brakes from the hitch have to be leading shoe only to meet as manual reversing locks are no longer allowed (although depending when the trailer was made they can be allowed if they precede the rules). A mechanism that works on the vehicle brakes will 'probably' not meet the latest rules but to class car brakes as unsatisfactory - I doubt any traffic police would really delve into the pedantry of which direction your brakes shoes are pointing!!

An interesting tip - it's nice to know thanks
(useful info always helps to wash away the misinformation from people who say things like "A-frames are not legal" )

[matchlessg3l]

If anyone is interested in using an A frame for a Minor, I can provide photos of the brackets that I made. There is no actual welding to the car. I utilised the front bumper mountings. On E Bay in the motorhome parts section someone is offering drawings on how to make your own braked A Frame. I got mine off E Bay for £200 vitually new, the guy had paid over £900 for it. I have done quite a considerable mileage with mine behind the motorhome and it means once we are on site, the convertible especially in good weather, comes into its own for site seeing, and we can leave the motorhome behind on site. Whilst we where in France with it this year, it generated quite a lot of interest with the French and Dutch people on the campsites we visited. They are not allowed to do it, but I think they would like to. As to the towing of the car you don't feel anything and it follows behind beautifully, it self steers well, I have watched through my mirrors on the bends. Also the trailer laws do not say that you have to be able to reverse it. Quoted from the October issue of Practical Motorhome.

[wanderinstar]

I would be VERY wary about using front bumper mountings to attach an A-Frame to a Minor. I tried towing my car a couple of times when it broke down and it pulled the mounts out. Alright they were probably rusty to start with, But even when new they are only welded into the sheet metal of the inner wing. Not very strong to be towing a car behind for miles on end.

[rayofleamington]

So - unless using something really heavy to do the towing - AND sorting out the brakes problem - it IS not legal!

?????
Actually, compliance with the law is what defines whether it is legal or not. Hearsay posted as fact is what causes all the confusion.

Using a motorhome has nothing to do with it. The 750kg maximum limit for unbraked trailers applies to all tow vehicles. If your A-frame activates the towed vehicle brakes, then you are classed as a braked trailer and it is possible to tow the likes of a Minor with your average family saloon (typically 1000 to 1300kg towing limit - please check your own car's details if you are thinking of this)

This is a major advantage compared to using an auto trailer as the additional weight of the trailer causes problems unless you've got access to a large tow vehicle. Even if your tow vehicle is allowed to tow a huge weight of braked trailer, reducing the weight has many advantages.

[matchlessg3l]

Perhaps I should elaborate further on how the towing attachment is fitted to the Minor. I did NOT solely rely on the two bumper mounting brackets, there are also two very strong brackets that are fixed to the chassis. Last year I gave it a thorough test down in Cornwall where the car was towed up and down some very steep inclines without any problems. I am a 'belt and braces' person who likes anything I make, to be more than fit for the purpose. In some cases over engineered. When the car is attached to the towing vehicle, it then becomes a trailer and because it is over 750kg it has to have brakes on all four wheels. This is done by cable which operates the brake pedal when the caravan type hitch is operated when the towing vehicle brakes. Towing the car this way is far better than having it on a trailer with all the inherent problems of extra weight and possible swaying if the trailer is not loaded correctly, plus the hassle of loading it. The A Frame folds up and stores in the boot of the minor.

[rayofleamington]

Hi again Matchless,
If you have a digital camera I'd like to see your set-up. This is only for nosyness, but if you don't mind them being posted online it could be useful for quite a few people.
I'll send u my email by PM in case you can send pictures.
Ray.

[andyreeder]

Hi I too have done this research and found exactly the same as you Ray but what has not been mentioned is if any of the wheels of the car being towed are in contact with the road the car has got to have a valid tax disc and insurance. The tow car does not cover this.
The only way to tow an untaxed and uninsured car is to put it onto a trailer so none of the wheel are in contact with the road.

[Greengrass]

If you use an A frame or dolly the law states the car you are towing must be taxed and moted to beat this law you must use a proper trailer so all 4 wheels are off the ground be warned iv told you

[bmcecosse]

Crikey - three and a half year echo!