Have YOU been stopped using YOUR A Frame

[pappajohn]

Correct.

Yes, Stopped, booked, taken to Court and fined, Dover 1999.
But pro-A frame lobby tend to be more fanatical than reformed smokers so I would rather not get into the politics. oh:

Mmmm....the only person in britain that holds the answer to the most discussed topic ever (excluding gassingoh and he does a runner.....never to be heard of again...probably oh:

 

[scotjimland]

Mmmm....the only person in britain that holds the answer to the most discussed topic ever (excluding gassingoh and he does a runner.....never to be heard of again...probably oh:

hopefully ..

 

[moandick]

Correct.

Yes, Stopped, booked, taken to Court and fined, Dover 1999.
But pro-A frame lobby tend to be more fanatical than reformed smokers so I would rather not get into the politics. oh:

Oh, come on Sail sussex

Nobody is asking you to get into any politics or debate or anything other than a very simple statement of:

"How, When, Where and what was the charge?"

We don't need to know your name, age, religion or anything else - just the facts of what you have already hinted at?

Or maybe - there was a certain amount of imagination involved in your first post?

Shame - you could have been soooo helpful to the rest of us.

 

[scotjimland]

his only other post was about safe towing with a link to a smart trailer company in Sussex ..

trader ?

 

[theresa]

waiting at portsmouth for the ferry yesterday saw loads of vans with cars on A frames . we left ours home as was worried about being stoped . the news that people are being fined and told to unhook dose not seem to be putting people off ,:Blush:

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[Braunston]

Hi, theresa

Hope you enjoy yourselves, but I think from the response its very hard to find anyone directly who has been stopped and fined, it always seems to be secondhand information, which is a real pity as I am sure these people pass the information on in good faith, but i do wish people would stop doing it especially on these very controversial subjects as a report that is unsubstanciated is probably worse as it can't be discussed with any degree of fact as its only hear say.

waiting at portsmouth for the ferry yesterday saw loads of vans with cars on A frames . we left ours home as was worried about being stoped . the news that people are being fined and told to unhook dose not seem to be putting people off ,:Blush:

 

[theresa]

may be it is about time some one from one of the clubs went to the goverment and obtained a clear ruleing , then we would no how we stand . one man we talked to at the port said he was stoped but produced a statement which said the rig was legal written in 3 languages which the police read , they then let him go on his way .

 

[Braunston]

Hi, theresa

"PeteH" mentioned the same thing earlier in this thread and "moandick" has given a link to the documents/statement, albeit there is a suggestion that the law in Spain may of changed since the documents/statement was written.

It would be very helpful if one of our Spanish members could update us on the subject of the possible law change as it doesn't appear anyone has been actually fined on the basis of it ?

may be it is about time some one from one of the clubs went to the goverment and obtained a clear ruleing , then we would no how we stand . one man we talked to at the port said he was stoped but produced a statement which said the rig was legal written in 3 languages which the police read , they then let him go on his way .

 

[scotjimland]

may be it is about time some one from one of the clubs went to the government and obtained a clear ruling , then we would no how we stand .

That would be good, but until the 'A' frame is made legal in this country there is no chance of any ruling and quite frankly we are on shaky ground abroad where anything not legal is automatically illegal, unlike the UK where things are legal until the law says otherwise or we can satisfy the law using the current 'Construction and Use Regs./trailers' which is what we base their legality on now.

hope that made sense.

Jim

 

[PeteH]

A Frames in Spain

Hi
Braunston Quoted from an eariler post;

"""PeteH" mentioned the same thing earlier in this thread and "moandick" has given a link to the documents/statement, albeit there is a suggestion that the law in Spain may of changed since the documents/statement was written.

It would be very helpful if one of our Spanish members could update us on the subject of the possible law change as it doesn't appear anyone has been actually fined on the basis of it ?""

I have heard of no one actually being Fined. but an increasing number are alleged to have been stopped, The information about a NEWLY updated spanish law, came from a Guardia civil officer, who stopped US. BUT no definitive information. It is however becoming evident that the Police are taking a much greater interest in MotorHomers. An increasing number of wildcampers are reportedly being "Moved on" far more frequently than in the past. eg; We where out at Mazarron a few days back, talking to two Motorhomers on the beach front when the LOCAL police turned up and moved them on, this was in the middle of the day.

It all smacks of, perhaps, the "plod" being instructed to take a harder line, if that is true then a lot of folk will NOT go to Spain again rather that being forced onto sites.???. so the net effect will be a loss to the Spanish economy. I myself if forced to put my vehicle on a trailer will probably go to Portugal next year,instead.

Pete

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[Reallyretired]

How do you get to Portugal without going through Spain though ? oh:

 

[pappajohn]

Ferry maybe !!!!!

 

[pappajohn]

may be it is about time some one from one of the clubs went to the goverment and obtained a clear ruleing.

good idea and bad idea Theresa,

if pushed to decide, the powers that be would rule against it due to the autoreverse brake issue.

as it is there is no precedent that anyone knows of, except SAILSUSSEX and he seems reluctant to divulge any info (wonder why), so we get away with it as accepted.

id sooner the status quo than push for the defining answer.:thumb:

 

[geoff1947]

A frames

currently in Spain so will try to find someone towing and ask the questions Hopefully will get back to you all in few weeks time!:thumb:

 

[Reallyretired]

good idea and bad idea Theresa,

if pushed to decide, the powers that be would rule against it due to the autoreverse brake issue.

as it is there is no precedent that anyone knows of, except SAILSUSSEX and he seems reluctant to divulge any info (wonder why), so we get away with it as accepted.

id sooner the status quo than push for the defining answer.:thumb:

Many years ago I had a trailer caravan that had a solenoid operated brake overide on the hitch that was activated by the reversing light connection on the 7 pin plug. I beleive this was the improvement on the manual reversing lever that was on the even earlier caravans.
The reversing problem should be easily overcome if needed though not really very useful as any short trailer behind a long vehicle with a long overhang is practically impossible to reverse anyway.

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[pappajohn]

The reversing problem should be easily overcome if needed

can feel another one of "those" threads coming on again

auto reverse braking regs state NO manual, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic intervention allowed.oh:thats why auto reverse was developed....totally automatic.

i remember the old manual throwover lever but ive never seen an electric selonoid one before.

 

[olley]

The reversing problem should be easily overcome if needed though not really very useful as any short trailer behind a long vehicle with a long overhang is practically impossible to reverse anyway.

Sounds like an RV with a trailer, not impossible to reverse, far from it, just needs a bit of practice and take it slow.

Olley

 

[theresa]

we at bonterra park in spain and loads of smart cars on A frames. no one has had any probs on the way down . only two on trailers . all the rest on A frames . we will bring ours next year . the people we spoke to say they have been bringing their cars on A frames for years and have never been stopped . the question seems to be if the system has brakes or not . :Blush:

 

[Braunston]

Hi,

Can you point me to the regulation that states this as i would be really interested in reading the actual regulation, as I have been looking and can't find it,

Thanks

auto reverse braking regs state NO manual, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic intervention allowed.oh:thats why auto reverse was developed....totally automatic.

 

[lookback]

Just returned 2 days ago after towing my A frame through France, Spain and Portugal. Was passed, and passed numerous traffic police with no problems at all. This is my third year of towing in these countries. In addition to placing the motorhome registration number and triangles on the back of the tow car I adapted the red striped warning sign (used when conveying bicycles) to fit inside the rear window of the tow car and the pieces left over I "blue tacked" to the rear side windows. This informs the continental drivers that the car is being towed and that the motorhome plus car is an abnormal length.
Ian

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[tony645]

hi, newbie on here just adding my tuppence.
I was pulled over in Germany on the autobarn around 8 years ago whilst pulling a vauxhall astra behind my landcruiser on an A FRAME, obviously there was no weight problem as the lc is 3 tons, the problem is the distance between the axles of the vehicle being towed,they told me if its more than a metre you need a class4 drawbar trailer license orsomething like that, they made me follow them to the local police station and made me leave the car in their compound whilst i hired a trailer to continue my journey back to uk. I got the impression the policeman was new and had read all the rules, no fine or anything and i`ve seen thousands of people using A FRAMES since.
Just a thought, i`ve been reading a thread on here about speed restriction stickers being reintroduced if so i also assume towed vehicles need the same stickers as the tow barge when being towed

 

[johnsandywhite]

:Cool: I Towed our KIA Picanto through France & Spain with no problems. Was seen by many Police both Local & Guardia through villages and motorways. Stopped in a village for 2 days to visit Catalan friends and the Orba Valley for 3 days plus 36 hours at the beach. Although it raised lot's of interest, no interest was shown by the Police. :thumb:

 

[kenspain]

I dont know if this will help. I have just phoned the friendly policeman in our town here in Spain and he thinks that you can,t tow with an A frame here but he is not the Guarda Just local but will try and find out. He thinks that the Guarda dont know for sure them selfs and make a lot of things up as they go,

 

[pappajohn]

I dont know if this will help. I have just phoned the friendly policeman in our town here in Spain and he thinks that you can,t tow with an A frame here but he is not the Guarda Just local but will try and find out. He thinks that the Guarda dont know for sure them selfs and make a lot of things up as they go,

you dont say, Ken.

 

[lebesset]

one thing is clear ...the position is NOT clear !
personally I understand a toad behind a big yank if that is what you want ..but I laugh to see small euro motorhomes with one .... having had both a motorhome AND a double axle tabbert with a 4WD [ at the same time! ]I know what I found to be the best thing to use for long term , and it certainly wasn't the motorhome !

sorry , off topic .....about 20 years ago followed a toad outfit on an autoroute in france ...when he was pulled in by the gendarmerie and told to take the toad off as it was illegal [ I stopped to help in case he had language difficulties ]
fortunately his wife could drive the car ..they said they would drive down the road for an hour and put it back on ...no doubt they did

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