Towing a car

First of all you need to know what you are allowed to tow. To the best of my knowledge it is 2000kg but have a look at the Elddis weight plate on the motorhome to be absolutely sure. It will tell you what the gross train weight is. Subtract its permissible gross vehicle weight and that will give you the maximum towload. I am assuming that you have a driving licence that allows you to tow in the first place.

The next question that needs to be asked is how do you intend to tow the car, by A-frame or on a trailer? If A-frame then you will virtually be limiting yourself to towing within the UK only as A-frames are tolerated in the UK, but you can run into difficulty with them on the Continent where they are, strictly speaking, illegal. However, a max. towload of 2000kg should allow you to go either way, A-frame or trailer.

If you intend to use an A frame and it being “tolerated” in the UK can I take Lutz reply one stage further. The advice (and that’s what it is advice) from the Department for Transport is:

“.......... it is clear that we believe the use of A-frames to tow cars behind other vehicles is legal provided the braking and lighting requirements are met. However, while this is our understanding of the regulations, it is only the courts which can reach a definitive interpretation of the law.”

All it needs is for you to come across a Roads Policing Officer or DVSA Vehicle Examiner who wants to show an interest.

The full article is here.

I tow a Fiat 500 on an A-frame behind my 130bhp Bolero with no problems. I have a "Tow bars to Tow cars" A-frame with electronic braking on the car which I find easier to use than my previous over run system. The company also sells cars already converted.
Lutz is correct, don't A-frame abroard as you may be stopped and fined.
Putting a car on a trailer comes with a different set of problems and, for me, is not viable. The most serious one being the overloading of the rear axle and a large lump of payload used up.
I have been towing for around 20 years and never had any problems with any of the cars that I have towed. The current car has probably been towed about 15000 miles.

Been towing with an A-Frame in the UK for 16 years now without any problems whatsoever. I had a Car-A-Tow frame for 14 of the years, its a bit on the heavy side but very reliable. Changed to an electronic frame from Towbars-2-Tow Cars 2 years ago. Its lighter and altogether a much neater and better solution but a bit more expensive. They also sell cars already fitted out. I would never have a trailer, too much trouble.

peedee

yep we have towed with an a-frame for many years its a brilliant way of towing.we now have a roadmaster frame by LNB from Bristol which electronically brakes the car ,it works in conjunction with the servo .when you brake in the motorhome a red light comes on the dashboard to tell you the the brakes on the car are also working.brilliant piece of kit.and it only weighs 9kg so you can hook it up alone in 3/4 minutes.

Brian & Jo

What sort of costs are A frames and the car mods ?

rgds

Hi 

Sorry this is slightly off topic and more out of curiosity but just wondering what advantage does a motorhome and tow car have? Is it just preferred or are there benefits to the combination compared to a car and caravan?

Towing a car with motorhome omitts any benefit I can see with a motorhome plus a lot more cost compared to caravan and caravan.

Cheers

It’s better to tow a small vehicle/trailer with a large one rather than the other way around. Stability is vastly better and the performance of the larger towing vehicle will hardly be affected.

People will always have their own personal reasons for doing it, of which, the above is only one. 

As for cost, I don’t think you’ll find there’s much in it if you compare a decent sized tow car plus caravan with a MH plus small car and trailer/A-frame.

You get the best of both forms of vanning. Chose to tour with only the motorhome or stay on one site like a caravan owner.

Cost of having an A-Frame fitted £1000/1300.

peedee

.

All a matter of how someone approaches their hobby.

Personaly I feel safer driving a 3.5 ton motor home pulling a trailer, than I did having a Discovery of 1.75 tons pulling a tandem axle caravan weighing a ton plus.

cost is relative to what people can, or want to, spend.  

loading a mhome is a lot easier, than a caravan. Unfortunately some caravaners make no effort to check the nosewight or axle load which could affect handling and safety.

Likewise, loading a car onto trailer is easy once the stops have been setup on the trailer to provide the correct balance.

i am not a fan of A frames, for a number of reasons, but for some just coupling up and driving off is easy option.

Motor homes can be used for days out, where upon a caravan generally has to be sited. 

Having a small car which is easy to park when visiting areas, has its advantages over having a larger car.  

For some reason insuring a Motorhome, is not much more than insuring a caravan.

rgds