Towing A Car

[Keefyboy]

We're thinking of towing a car behind a motorhome, but we 're now wondering if it's such a good idea as we see so few cars being towed on the road.

Our concern is that quite a number of campsites are out of town and if we wanted to visit places locally it would mean taking the motorhome which seems a bit impractical.

Another thing is, towing the car wouldn't be a problem, but I can see that problems may arise when reversing.

 

[mike mcglynn]

We used to tow a little Fiat seicento behind our 2.8 Ducato and the only time we had a problem was with an awkward old geezer who refused to reverse on a single track road even though we had right of way ,I pointed out the signage with a large arrow and a small arrow and told him what it meant but it took a while for him to accede he only had to reverse about five yards into a side street .

 

[Rapphil]

Thanks just asking as I didn’t know if they needed Motorhome when fitting, already have 7 pin on van.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

Thanks just asking as I didn’t know if they needed Motorhome when fitting, already have 7 pin on van.

If you do go there for fitting, there is a nice little 5CL site nearby

 

[A S R]

Buy a proper car trailer and put the car on that. Simple to reverse, easier to tow and legal if you go abroad too.

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[pandas]

we towed a VW up, great car but make sure its the manual version. As the car is narrower than the mhome it will go wherever you go without hassle. Reversing is an issue so you will have to un hitch. A frame has legal issues abroad. never had a trailer but have seen plenty of them on campsites - personally would seem like too much of a faff for us. I would suggest an A frame with electronic braking plus we never saw the need for a wheel hitch version and they look heavy.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

I’ve had an A frame with a jockey wheel. Yes it easier to hitch but quite heavy. The lighter ones take a bit of experience to align with the tow ball, but you soon get the hang of it, and it is much lighter

I have considered a trailer. Yes thatwould be easier to reverse, but you have the faff of loading, unloading and securing, and need to get the weight distribution right. In my case, we have nowhere to store a trailer. “Under the car” I hear you say, but the car is also used as a runabout.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

If the A frame is legal in UK, ( and not all are) it is legal to use in any EU country under the laws surrounding Vienna treaty
PROVIDED
vehicle is UK registered and driver is a uk resident on holiday

 

[Rapphil]

Interesting! Please do you know what is it makes them legal or not in this country ?

 

[Cheshirecat57]

The towed car is treated as a trailer and the “trailer” has to comply with ALL the elements of trailer law
There are 10 or so regulations that must be met
Braking efficiency in particular but also legislation surrounding servo brakes ( if fitted- which nearly every car has) must work....this is where many a-frames fail the law.

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[TinaLes]

I a sat here with baited breath waiting for someone to raise the legalities of using an A frame & tow car abroad, as I like most, have read that they are not allowed in Spain, and some funsters have been pulled in France by the Gendarmes, and told their A frame Rig is illegal, and if lucky told not to bring it back into France or worse case scenario told that they had to unhitch and drive them separately.
So can someone please clarify this position as its confusing to say the least for all that maybe wish to consider a toad travelling abroad.
Do the French/Spanish Police know the difference between A Frames in that they work differently depending on type etc?
I dont think I would take the risk of buying a whole new rig, then taking over the channel to find that "in their eyes" it was illegal, and knowing them....get a fine.
Thanks for any clarification, there have been many threads on this subject, and thus far the consensus has always been they cannot be used in France or Spain.
Les

 

[tonyidle]

If the A frame is legal in UK, ( and not all are) it is legal to use in any EU country under the laws surrounding Vienna treaty
PROVIDED
vehicle is UK registered and driver is a uk resident on holiday

It isn't enshrined in law in the UK. VOSA advice is readily available and they regard it as a trailer until proven otherwise by a Court. A towed car in a number of EU countries is not seen as a trailer and the countries concerned do not allow towing a car anywhere other than the minimum distance to remove it to safety. A small number of A frame users have been fined. This is a popcorn subject and has been done to death.

 

[emjaiuk]

AFAIK, A frames are not illegal in the UK, which is totally different from being legal. Hence the problem with applying European laws. Spain has always had a specific law which forbids any vehicle from toeing another, unless the towing vehicle is a dedicated recovery vehicle.
Having said that we towed to Spain for over 20 years with no problems whatsoever, although I understand that Spanish police are perhaps enforcing their existing law more often these days.

We had one of the earliest Car-a-Tow A frames Alan Bee made, and have been happy with it over the years, but I am now finding it very heavy to manage and am thinking of changing to LNB, which as far as I can tell follows trailer legislation (on braking) more closely than some other systems.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

To be fair and open, whether or not the French allow or don't allow A-frames will 100% never affect me

 

[TonyEmm]

When you reverse with an A frame the car will go in the same direction as the motorhome unlike a trailer

TBH, I don’t fully understand your comment. The video doesn’t help either... it shows it being set up, nothing else! EXCEPT... at 1min 31sec and 2min 31sec, he has made a classic error.

A breakaway cable is fitted in case of an emergency separation. It’s there to apply the parking brake however, if they were to separate, the car wouldn’t blindly follow the MoHo, it would go walkabout... The last few inches of the breakaway cable should be through a guide so it can pull in a straight line, regardless. Set up as it is, the breakaway cable will just part, after it’s bent the bottom of the handbrake! It will be totally ineffective. Worse, the guide is clearly visible but unused, except to feed the electric cable through. It’s the holes in the skid.....

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[Peter and Julie]

We’ve considered this but decided in the end that we don’t need to. What we do, is have electric cycles. This works really well for us abroad and for some places here. If we decide we really could do with a car, I drive the car to wherever we’re going. This made economic sense to us. We don’t always need a car and when we do, we have one paid for, taxed and insured.

Mrs QFour

We found the dogs don't like to pedal that much with bikes! Seriously though, even though we have a tow car we rarely use it. Found it cheaper to hire for a couple of days here and there on this trip...Ferry costs plus added fuel costs outweighed the benefit.

 

[TonyEmm]

7 pin electrics is no longer enough. Since Oct 2012 it has been a requirement to have an operational reversing light too. That should be no8 pin (pink wire) on a 13 pin arrangement.

 

[TonyEmm]

If the A frame is legal in UK, ( and not all are) it is legal to use in any EU country under the laws surrounding Vienna treaty
PROVIDED
vehicle is UK registered and driver is a uk resident on holiday

That is a common misconception. No other country has to accept A-frame towed vehicles simply because they are tolerated in the U.K.

There have been posts on this forum (and others) already about U.K. registered vehicles/drivers being stopped, fined and in at least one case I’m aware of, being forced to buy a car transporter to continue his trip....

 

[Speve]

7 pin electrics is no longer enough. Since Oct 2012 it has been a requirement to have an operational reversing light too. That should be no8 pin (pink wire) on a 13 pin arrangement.

Please can you point me to a link verifying?this as I’ve been towing since 2012 and never had reversing light and never been told to get one.

Trailer Lighting Requirements | NTTA

Trailer Maintenance - Trailer Lights & Regulations

www.ntta.co.uk

 

[TonyEmm]

Please can you point me to a link verifying?this as I’ve been towing since 2012 and never had reversing light and never been told to get one.

It’s in the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 and amendments...https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/contents/.However, there is a good graphic here also...

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[Two on Tour]

The law states that ANY trailer including caravans that exceed 750 kg need to have a fully functioning trailer reverse light. This is specified in Section 6.4 of regulation 48 approval of vehicles with regard to the installation of lighting and light signalling devices.

In addition, trailers over 750 kg which exceed 6 metres in length are required to have 2 fully functioning trailer reverse lights. For those under 6 metres, 1 reverse light will suffice.

For a long time the 12N 7 Pin has been the most common connector for towing commercial trailers, but it doesn’t include the reverse light function.

VEHICLES OVER 750 KG​

If your vehicle does fall into the over 750 kg category you will need the connector to be a 13 pin, which has the following advantages

• Includes Reversing Light Function

 

[TonyEmm]

The law states that ANY trailer including caravans that exceed 750 kg need to have a fully functioning trailer reverse light. This is specified in Section 6.4 of regulation 48 approval of vehicles with regard to the installation of lighting and light signalling devices.

In addition, trailers over 750 kg which exceed 6 metres in length are required to have 2 fully functioning trailer reverse lights. For those under 6 metres, 1 reverse light will suffice.

For a long time the 12N 7 Pin has been the most common connector for towing commercial trailers, but it doesn’t include the reverse light function.

VEHICLES OVER 750 KG​

If your vehicle does fall into the over 750 kg category you will need the connector to be a 13 pin, which has the following advantages

• Includes Reversing Light Function

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:42011X1206(03)

. I would add that while a reversing light is optional on a cat01 trailer, if it has optional brakes fitted, then it has to conform to the regs for a cat02 trailer.

 

[bobandjanie]

We had a car a tow a frame in 2007 - 2009 it was fine until the cable jammed and boiled the brake fluid and could have caught fire, you might want to read this thread that was posted on fun.

Smart Car catches fire

Armitages A Frame - Smart Car Fire - Locksmiths Bad Luck Strikes again. After the Brownhills are Downhills saga I hoped for a quiet life, Mandy is now in remission and we are trying to make the most of our motorhome that Brownhills supplied to us with the very best after service possible. Last...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

We did take ours to France, but they were and are illegal in Spain, where at that time spent lots of time, so we changed to a smart car and trailer, I preferred that, they are legal everywhere you can reverse the car stays cleaner and no wear and tear .
I knew we had this photo just had to dig it out.

Road Runners toad when he arrived at I think was Geo birthday meet at billing aquadrome in November 2008, there is still a lot of members on fun that were there.

I think the electronic ones are safer but more expensive , the choice is yours and depending on where you want to use it. Bob.