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Towing a Minor.
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:00 pm
by wanderinstar
On a couple of occasions I have had to tow her home. Fastening towrope to front bumper irons is not a good idea. The front crossmember is distorted due to being used as a jacking point on numerous occasions.
So I got to thinking. Would it be possible to kill two birds with one stone.
Replace front crossmember with a much reinforced one with a towing eye welded into it.
Has anyone else done this?
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:06 pm
by flying
buy your self a A frame dolly....i did and im glad,very usefull bit of kit and you can tow most cars with it
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:41 pm
by wanderinstar
But would that enable you to jack the front end up without damaging front crossmember. Also how much would it cost?
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:44 pm
by flying
yes it does clear it,but it dont jack the front up,depending which type you go for, number plate is a bit close but can be got around , i got mine for £120 but ive seen them up to £250
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:54 am
by wanderinstar
No, your missing the point. The idea of the reinforced crossmember is so that I WOULD be able to jack up front of car, for adjusting brakes and the like. So that I didn't have to jack up boths sides seperatly. Fitting the towing eye would just solve another problem.
Thanks for your idea though.
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 1:26 am
by rayofleamington
i got mine for £120
I paid £120 for mine too, and they can be used for emergency rescue.
However if you are doing anything other than emergency rescue you need to comply with the rules on towing weight (unbraked a-frame classes as an unbraked trailer = 750kg a the most, but 500kg on most saloon cars. The Minor needs to have some serious weight removed to meet this )
If you really wanted to jack up the front of the car in one go, you could make a seperate crossbeam that fits between the chassis legs under the eye bolts, rather than have to modify the car.
I've seen these kind of things used at garages - they are more complicated as you can vary the width to suit any car but allows to lift both front wheels at the same time.
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 9:21 pm
by flying
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 8:35 am
by Onne
Emergencies only Ray?
:D
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:33 pm
by rayofleamington
Emergencies only Ray?
Oi!! you were sworn to secrecy!! I think you've been spilling the beans as I heard mention of 'wrong turns and detours whilst towing a small planet'...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:54 am
by Onne
:D:D