Dangerous

[MikeP]

See page 114 of the January CC magazine. There is a picture of a car (Astra or Vectra hatch?) towing a small purpose-built motorbike trailer - the sort that cups the wheels and holds the bike 90ß to the car with straps to keep it upright. So far, so good.

But - at the rear of the motorbike trailer is a towball, with a Bessacar Cameo 420 GLE attached. (Max weight 1,100 kg I think). Whilst the back of a car is a stable mounting point for a towbar because the rear wheels won't move sideways, the presence of two pivoting links would surely allow oscillation.

Does anyone have any idea how unsafe this would be? At what speed would problems start to occur? Sorry I can't scan and post the pic, but it's pretty grainy already - probably taken on a mobile phone.

 

[STEPHEN_374226156]

If you read the article re the picture it starts by saying this is totally illegal so therefore its not worth disscusion

 

[MikeP]

And who are you to say whether or not it is worth discussion Stephen?

If you feel that it's not worth discussion, then don't reply. Just sit back and see how many people respond (if at all). I'm honestly not fussed. But I do take offence when a total stranger tells me that a new posting, about a caravan, about something unusual, on a caravan forum, should not be discussed.

 

[Lutz]

It is illegal so there really isn't an issue here. But even if it weren't illegal, the speed at which such an outfit would become unstable is so low that it would be a total hindrance on the road.

 

[STEPHEN_374226156]

Well said lutz it would be impossible to have a sensible discussion about this as it is highly unlikely this 0utfit would make it to the highway but i suppose it would be more suited to chit chat(that deals with jokes and trivia) than this forum

 

[Alan Partridge]

Immediate thoughts are -

- what happens under braking? especially as the bike trailer is possibly unbraked.

- it would be useful for a comedy reversing competition.

John.

 

[MikeP]

"It would be impossible to have a sensible discussion about this as it is highly unlikely this 0utfit would make it to the highway ..."

The picture of the outfit - with towbar on the motorbike trailer and blade stabilisers - suggests that the double trailer combination is in use. That is very worrying. If it is being used just as a motor mover, then why the stabilisers? Anyway, the caption says that it was pictured on a site. I know that someone on this forum uses a Renault 5 as a motormover - no problem with that at all. But the pic appears to present an outfit which has been and will be used on the public highway.

"... but i suppose it would be more suited to chit chat (that deals with jokes and trivia) than this forum"

It could be argued that many threads should be in chit chat. But thinking about this subject ... chit chat is for non-caravan issues (no), jokes (no), trivia (no) and gossip (no). Towing driving and safety is the right place for this thread. If no-one wants to add to it, then fine.

 

[Lutz]

The fact that an outfit like that may have been seen on a public road still doesn't mean that one should take it seriously enough to discuss it. It was obviously done either as a joke or in blatant disregard of the law and intelligence that one might just as well ignore it.

 

[PaulCopaul]

The fact that an outfit like that may have been seen on a public road still doesn't mean that one should take it seriously enough to discuss it. It was obviously done either as a joke or in blatant disregard of the law and intelligence that one might just as well ignore it.

bah humbug we all get the same mag let Mike p have his say what harm can it do

 

[BrianStAlbans]

Whether this set up is illegal or not is not worth discussing as it obviously is. What is worth discussing is if it would actually work, as the picture was taken on a site it would suggest that it does. The picture does not show if the trailer actually pivots on the tow bar and I think there is a suggestion of some sort of stabilizer system being used which reminds me of trailers I saw as a child being used in Europe where the trailer didn't pivot but the single wheel on the trailer moved from side to side on cornering, maybe Lutz can remember these as well.

This set up would be more like an extension to the car and in theory is ok to attach a trailer to. The issue of gross train weight etc are of cause another issue.

As an example to this please look at the links I gave on another thread which I think may show that this set up is feasible.

http://www.exn.ca/video/?video=exn20040414-towbike.asx
http://www.ama-cycle.org/features/2003/towbike.asp
http://www.practicalcaravan.com/newforums/fm_messages.asp?FO=13&FM=303005
Brian (",)

 

[JeremyClarksson]

This subject is obviously worth discussion, illegal outfit or not - for a start it has made people think about the forces involved.

Even with really good caravan brakes I can not imagine anything happening under heavy braking except the caravan hitch trying to run in front of the car hitch and the bike trailer ending up side on or under the van.

I think the picture is a wind up.

 

[seth1]

hi there,but if it was possible the coupling was moved from behind the bike trailer to above the axle on the bike trailer,still with the van in tow would it then be unsafe an illegal?

 

[Lutz]

I take it you are thinking of combining the bike trailer/caravan like a two axle HGV trailer? Unless I'm mistaken, one may legally only tow a single axle or close-coupled twin axle trailer with a passenger car, but not one with a "steerable" front axle.

 

[Phil_5115351]

Hi

I have seen something similar (whether it is legal or not is another issue) on an american RV site. A large pickup with a fifth wheel on the back pulling a speedboat on a trailer.