towing with recovery A frame

[Steve L]

I may have to tow a car from Barrow in Furness back to Leominster, some 200 miles. Now the car on it's own would be within the tow capacity of my current car, but if I put it onto a trailer, I would be 300Kgs overloaded. Looking at the info on car recovery A frames. It looks like I could tow using one of these so long as I keep to no more than 40Mph on single lane roads and 50Mph on dual carriageways and motorways.
To be quite honest I wouldn't like to tow much faster as the A frame method doesn't provide braking for the towed car.
Also to qualify as a recovery car, I assume i would have to display a flashing beacon on the tow car and a lighting board on the towed vehicle.

Any advice from a recovery driver would be most helpfull.

Atb Steve L.

 

[Bannedtom]

My comments on what you are attempting is simple, apart from it being extremely dangerous to tow an unmanned car without any form of braking and apart from it probably being illegal with or without a flashing light I think that it is extremely foolish to even contemplate. Let me know your times and route so that I can keep away. I would be very surprised if you manage to travel that distance without injuring someone or being stopped by the police.

 

[Lutz]

If the car weighs more than 750kg, which presumably is the case, then, except for emergency recovery purposes, it would have to be fitted with a means of operating the brakes on the overrun.

 

[Steve L]

I can understand the comments here which I do share as well. For years I have towed vehicles that have broken down with tow ropes and tow bars, I have also used towing dolly's too. The dolly is the only one to have brakes of the over run type.

The reason I asked the question was to hopefully get input from someone who uses the universal type towing A frame that simply fits via ratchet straps and chains to the lower wishbones of the towed car. These frames have no facility for operation of the towed car brakes, which to me is unacceptable. There appears to be no legislation in place to govern what these frames tow and who/what tows with them. You can find A frames of upto 2600Kgs capacity on Ebay for under £150.

The next issue would be the legality of towing an untaxed car with either of these attatchments. Bcause as I see it both methods entail atleast two wheels in contact with the highway, thus I would suggest the vehicle does require a valid road fund license.

To be honest the A frame is not that different to the fixed bar method seen on a lot of motor homes.

Atb Steve L.

 

[Bannedtom]

Hi Steve
The basic difference between the A frame braked system and what you are attempting is just that,"Braked".I have towed a Smart cart for 100's of miles using that method with a fixed framed using the cars brakes and lighting system to operate the car and it works a treat and legally. An un-braked frame is effectively an unbraked trailer which is limited to 750kgs.
I know that you fully understand all of this both legally and from a safety point so I don't know why you are questioning your own logic?
Perhaps you was hoping for someone to tell you that towing an unbraked vehicle at possiby 1.5 tonnes with a loose frame attatchment was okay? Personally Iwould pay someone to transport the vehicle correctly on a trailer regardless of cost.

 

[Sproket]

Steve
An A-frame attachment to a motor car can be used legally, but it is a device which is to be used to recover broken down vehicles to a place of safety.
I have one ! & i have used it for towing the wifes disco home when we had a problem with it...( the power steering pump failed on the motorway )
But from what i know they must only be used in emergency and not for regular towing and the vehicle being pulled must be 100% legal and road worthy.

 

[Lutz]

If an A-frame is applied then the car effectively becomes a trailer and must therefore comply with all Construction and Use Regulations that a trailer has to fulfil (except emergency recovery of a broken down vehicle, of course).

 

[markemall]

Steve, there is always more than one way to skin a cat as they say, the device you speake of is only supposed to be used in the event of a brakedown, however what we do is to remove the rotor arm so as if checked the car would not start, although not once in all the years has anyone stopped and checked to see if we where indeed towing a "casualty ."
You do not need flashing lights whilst towing, the only time I use them while towing is if I have an extremly large motor in tow such as not so long ago I had to tow a 26ft motor home through the middle of the narrow streets of Stamford.In fact it annoys me that some recvery trucks put the beacons on while towing on the main roads an it devalues the beacons for the true meaning ie a hazard at the side of a road.
I cannot remember the number of times that I have had to move quickly when I hear the rumble stripe as some idiot has not seen the 24ft recovery truck with its beacons on at the side of the motorway, wanders on to the hard shoulder. There was talk of allowing recovery trucks to use a megenta coloured beacon so as joe public would be more aware of out presence.

 

[Steve L]

The reason why I was asking the question was to get the latest info from current A frame users. Simply making the vehicle un startable does bring the "recovery" regulations into play, and as there is no distance limit to how far one can tow with an A frame, it is concievable to tow as I've suggested.

I would be very interested in how one uses the towed car's brake system can be adapted to be operated either remotely from the tow car or on an over run coupling?

I already have a proper orange beacon for my car as I have to go onto building sites where all vehicles have to comply. Personally, I would use the beacon as a means of notifying others that something un-usual was going on.
I did see a Meganne sceenic towing an Astra estate on the M5 Monday and the oufit was stable under way, but I do have grave reservations about only one vehicle having brakes. This particular driver was towing at nearer 60Mph rather than the 50Mph limit for recovery A frames.

Atb Steve L.

 

[CheapnCheerful]

There is a distance limit - an A frame is for recovery purposes to the nearest safe place - ie if you are on the motorway it will be to the next services only at best. You are then supposed to transfer the vehicle to a proper trailer or recovery truck.

 

[Steve L]

If that's the case CC, how come you see dozens of these frames being used weekly at car auctions? Also I would of thought there would of been a trade regulation to prevent general public use. For example only car dealerships with trade plate registration. There are hundreds of what I call private traders who don't have trade plates and frequently allow prospective buyer's to drive untaxed cars on test drives.

The only reason that I'm considering an A frame is that, the car I purchase is unlikely to have road tax on it and although, I can insure it easily via a temporary insurance website, taxing it without all the paperwork is a rediculas case.

Being a fulltime caravanner, I had trouble taxing my car at the post office, because there was a different postal address on my insurance certificate to the log book for the car. Despite the car showing on a PNC check with VOSA as being mot'd and insured. I ended up going 30 miles to Worcester to the vehicle licensing office to get a tax disc. They just trusted the computer records and didn't even ask for my documents other than the log book.

Atb Steve L.

 

[Parksy]

The only reason that I'm considering an A frame is that, the car I purchase is unlikely to have road tax on it and although, I can insure it easily via a temporary insurance website, taxing it without all the paperwork is a rediculas case.

Steve, save yourself a lot of worry and the potential to gather points on your licence and a fine.
It's easy to tax a vehicle online now as long as it has a valid MOT certificate and it's insured. You don't need any paperwork at all.

Being a fulltime caravanner, I had trouble taxing my car at the post office, because there was a different postal address on my insurance certificate to the log book for the car. Despite the car showing on a PNC check with VOSA as being mot'd and insured. I ended up going 30 miles to Worcester to the vehicle licensing office to get a tax disc. They just trusted the computer records and didn't even ask for my documents other than the log book.

All that you need to tax your vehicle online is the 11 digit number from the vehicle registration document (logbook in old money) and the car registration number which you can get by phone from the seller.
The tax disk arrives within 5 days.

http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/
I've just bought a car from Bury near Manchester and after waiting for a few days to make sure that I could legally drive it (tax & insurance) I collected it on Wednesday.
My insurer confirmed my address to establish where the vehicle would be kept overnight but there was no other requirement for an address or paperwork.

 

[Steve L]

Crisis averted Parksy.
Got my Rover 75 from Southampton lastnight. It had 12 Mths MOT and 2 Wks tax, so I went online with her ladyship's I phone and temp covered it for £20.

I'm still intregued though as to how "joe public" I could obtain for just over £100 on tinternet, a towing A frame obviously for temporary use as the only means of attatchment is via chain & ratchet straps to the suspension wishbones of a car and tow it assumedly quite legally with a car at 50 Mph on motorways and dual carriageways, and 40 Mph on other roads apparently quite legally as long as the towed car won't start & also apparently as the car is towed by an attatched drawbar frame, it doesn't require road tax or MOT. Also it doesn't matter that the brakes can't be used either.

I took the liberty of talking not only to the local fuzz, but to a local car auctioneer company who both said that technically nothing was wrong.

Nowt so quere as good old out of touch english law I guess!!

Atb Steve L.