A serious warning for all A frame owners.

[gjh]

Please check the security of the front of your car.
A friend has posted on another forum about his experience of damage caused to his Ford Ka by an A frame. Part of his post reads "Just on quick inspection it appears a part of the "chassis" on the near side has broken allowing the a-frame to twist and pull the front of the car forward. ... Both front wings have popped out & forward by a couple of inches. The car was mot'd last month and is in excellent condition otherwise with absolutely no rust and very low mileage."
A later post on the thread tells of a 5 door hatchback fitted with a new A frame and only a couple of years old - "The whole front end was loose where the Chassis had snapped, luckily it all got noticed before the front of the car was pulled off..".
So, check regularly. Better to be safe than sorry.

Graham

 

[gjh]

If anyone discovers similar problems with their vehicles they can contact the DVSA who will send out report forms to enable them to investigate.

 

[Brum1]

Its no secret that using an A frame places an enormous amount of stress on a trailed car during cornering. Damage as described is hardly surprising.
I have recently changed from using an A frame to a trailer...Much preferred, especially when needing to reverse.

 

[TonyJones]

A wise decision IMHO Alan. And it'll make you legal EVERYWHERE, whereas A-framing is a VERY grey area (except in Spain, where there's nothing grey about it!).
However, there's still a strong "pull" (sorry!) towards A-frames for people who want to save weight and/or home storage space, so the messages about their drawbacks needs regular repeating.

 

[rayjsj]

I have used a 'Car-A-Tow' A-frame on my 2010 Toyota Yaris for the last 2 years, I regularly check the 'Drawbar Frame' which is located under the bodywork at the front of the vehicle, it is VERY substantial, and replaces a very weak crossmember (which I still have in my garage,should I need to swap it back) all of the bolts are secure, and I took the oppurtunity to spray it with white grease, to stop it rusting.
The whole set-up is very stable when towing, and I am able to reverse about 10 metres without any problems.
All in all the Fitting of the A-Frame and it's use have been very satisfactory, I have no intentions of using it abroad, I have however towed it right up to the very North of Scotland without any incidents. The towed miles do not register on the cars mileometer. Also I don't have the Load margin to swap to a trailer (even if I wanted to,which i don't !). Can Recommend It !
Most modern Cars do not have a 'Chassis' as such,to crack. The Structural members are formed as part of the Floorpan pressing, and are structrually very strong.Sounds to me like the A-Frame drawbar wasn't fitted correctly in the first instance. By all means check your installation as recommended, but DON'T be pannicked into not using it unneccessarily. They, (A-Frames) fill a need in motorhoming without adding the storage problems associated with a trailer.