Towing cars on a dolly or A frame....?

[Snoop]

I've been looking to buy a trailer recently to tow my rally car but then I decided to look at A-frames as storing it is less of a pain then a trailer.

I knew it wasn't legal to use a towing dolly other then for recovery, but I've seen a few people on here use A frames to tow vehicles to events and we've all seen motorhomes towing small cars behind them so thought an A frame would be ok. But I just checked and found this on the National Trailer and Towing Association website for a FAQ about towing a car using an A frame (instead of a trailer):

"An A-frame or dolly can only be used to recover a broken down vehicle to a place of safety. Transporting a car is, therefore, illegal. A-frames may be offered with a braking system that applies the car's brakes. These do not conform to the law as the car then becomes a "braked trailer" and has to conform to European Directives contained within the Construction and Use Regulations. It does not conform to the European Directive 71/320/EEC and amendments regarding braking requirements in any way. The use of this A-frame for transportation is illegal. It is still OK for use to recover a vehicle to a place of safety."

http://www.ntta.co.uk/faq/default.htm

So basically, to conform with the law I must use a trailer... unless I disable the car perhaps? Any thoughts by those that regularly use A-frames?

[dirtydog]

i wouldnt recommend it for any sort of regular long distance incase your pulled up on it. if its your rally car were talking about im sure a copper will twig that you towing to an event?

if you want some EXTENSIVE reading on the topic sign on on www.difflock.com and have a mooch around the Suzuki section.

Hows the car coming on mate? Got a guy who hires off me for his 205 challenge car which looks pretty sweet!

[Hilux]

A-frame

Hi l have had one for close on 15 years and l have no trouble, BUT that depends on what you are towing with and how you drive as "Dirty Dog" says you could come unstuck one day with the police if you are towing your "Rally Car". AS you say they do not take up a lot of space and when using them you are relying on your TOW vehicle,s brakes to stop 2 vehicles. l have towed um-teen SURF,s back from Southampton and other parts of the country. A trailer would be a better option for you incase you damage your rally car the only problem is storing the trailer some where.

[Snoop]

i wouldnt recommend it for any sort of regular long distance incase your pulled up on it. if its your rally car were talking about im sure a copper will twig that you towing to an event?

if you want some EXTENSIVE reading on the topic sign on on www.difflock.com and have a mooch around the Suzuki section.

Hows the car coming on mate? Got a guy who hires off me for his 205 challenge car which looks pretty sweet!

You assume correct m8 You're first comments are exactly what I was thinking - I guess you could get away with it for shorter journeys with a car that's not in your face and maybe that's what others do.

The car is coming on slowly - it's the 205 challenge I'm building it for. The wedding really stopped progress what with time for that, work etc. but I'm determined to get on with it more now so I'm moving it to outside the house so I can work on it anytime These short journeys are a problem though when it's not got an engine hence the trailer research.

[Chillitt]

isn't the best place to store a car trailer under the car? wont take up much space then..

[Snoop]

isn't the best place to store a car trailer under the car? wont take up much space then..

That's seriously what I was thinking if I can get a short enough one and can move the car off it if need to do the sort of work that can't be done on a trailer.

[dirtydog]

Brian James do some cool ones with foldable drawbars and some other smaller ones that fit in a standard garage.
give us a bell if you want more info/ideas m8.

[Snoop]

Cheers Tim, I'm watching a couple on ebay at the moment. I don't want to spend loads as I need the cash for the car! I've been renting them when I need them but it's a pain when like now I need to move the car 4 miles from the mother in laws to mine!!!

[dirtydog]

if you want any advice just drop me the item numbers etc.