Towing with an A Frame

[oblio]

Hi folks

I was speaking with an experienced motorhome owner yesterday and he advised me that technically it was illegal to tow a car on an A Frame in the UK and also very much illegal in France.

Could anyone confirm/deny this and if so point me towards any evidence either way?

Cheers

[R0G]

You can tow using an A frame BUT if whatever you are towing has a GVW or MAM over 750 kgs then it must by law have at least over-run brakes

There is a way to have the towing vehicle braking system connected to the brakes of a vehicle being towed but I think its expensive - I think certain lights are also connected between the two as well which makes sense

Any motor vehicle being towed where any wheels are touching the road must be fully road legal

[EddyP]

You can get a cheap system that uses a heavy duty bowden cable from the hitch to a device that straps to the front seat and brake pedal and just pushes the brake pedal as the A frame over runs.
I had one before and even though it sounds incredibly crude it was actually very effective once you got it setup properly.

[Balmoral]

oblio said:

I was speaking with an experienced motorhome owner yesterday and he advised me that technically it was illegal to tow a car on an A Frame in the UK and also very much illegal in France.

He's wrong on the former, and right on the latter if you're French, but wrong if you're British.

http://www.caratow.com/index.php

Under EU rules it is legal temporarily in other member states as the complete outfit is legal in its home state (the same rules that allow us to drive our cars abroad when they don't comply with all sorts of things in the country you may be in).

I used to tow a Panda behind a Kontiki, it irked the French motorhomers because it was legal for me in their country but illegal for them in their country.

Edited by Balmoral on Wednesday 11th June 19:53

[oblio]

Balmoral said:

oblio said:

I was speaking with an experienced motorhome owner yesterday and he advised me that technically it was illegal to tow a car on an A Frame in the UK and also very much illegal in France.

He's wrong on the former, and right on the latter if you're French, but wrong if you're British.

http://www.caratow.com/index.php

Under EU rules it is legal temporarily in other member states as the complete outfit is legal in its home state (the same rules that allow us to drive our cars abroad when they don't comply with all sorts of things in the country you may be in).

I used to tow a Panda behind a Kontiki, it irked the French motorhomers because it was legal for me in their country but illegal for them in their country.

Edited by Balmoral on Wednesday 11th June 19:53

Thanks all

This site looks liek a good starting place.

I figured that as you see so many folks doing it, I would be amazed if it was illegal tbh

[shovelheadrob]

I believe that there is a requirement for the brakes to reach a certain efficiency although at present there are no known testing facilities to check it, go figure!