Towing with an AFrame or Trailer

The reason why A-frame towing on the Continent is illegal is not a structural one. After all, it would be the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that it isn’t. The issue is actually twofold:

1. The combination of car plus A-frame is effectively a trailer. As such it would have to be type approved as a trailer, but no such combination has ever been put through the type approval process.

2. The car to be towed is modified to enable the A-frame to be attached to its chassis. Such a technical modification would render the existing type approval of the car null and void because the car manufacturer has never tested nor approved the modification.

....2. The car to be towed is modified to enable the A-frame to be attached to its chassis. Such a technical modification would render the existing type approval of the car null and void because the car manufacturer has never tested nor approved the modification.

What about this type of A frame then? The towed car is unmodified as the A frame is a one size fits all. I know that when I mentioned this type of recovery frame in the past, you said you'd never come across one before. They're intended really for recovery of dead/dying vehicles.

They're not quite so simple to fit to the towed car because it involves crawling on the floor to pass the chains over the bottom radius arms. I've got something similar & have towed/recovered a Smart Fortwo some considerable distances with no problem.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154564966896?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=Ja-TDiAiSi-&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=95spRTCkTeW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

That sort of A-frame would be totally out of the question for anything but purely for recovery purposes, even in the UK, because it doesn't provide any braking, let alone any lighting connections.

I shudder to think what damage the chains could do if an A-frame like that isn't anchored properly on the towed vehicle's suspension elements.

Thank you to everyone for your comments etc, a bit to think about.

Brian and Belle

Can you attach a tow-bar to your Mhome ?

Often there are problems with tanks being in the way of the tow-bar frame.

The weight of a tow-bar + the nose-weight of the trailer maybe above 100kg which will affect your payload and rear  axle capacity .

Keep in mind that the additional weight behind the rear axle, increases the axle loading, also has the effect of lifting the front axle, making the steering and front grip lighter, together with transferring that lose of weight onto the rear axle.

Very (very) rough calculation. A tow-bar with nose-weight of 100kg 1 meter behind the rear axle. increases the rear axle load to 120kg and decrease the front axle load by 20kg.

Rgds

We towed a Pug 108 on a trailer behind a coach built for a couple of years. When we downsized to a PVC and motorbike I sold the car trailer for what I had paid for it. If you pay to have a small car converted to be A framed, you are unlikely to get your money back.....

Both systems of towing have some merits.......

We had no issues parking van, car & trailer on club pitches, only once a commercial site cheekily charged extra for the car. Needless to say they never saw my business again....

Evening

I too towed on an over run braked a frame for 10 years and 35000 miles. That was on a ford ka which after 155000 miles went gracefully to the scrappy. Never any corrosion around the strengthened mounts though.

JK

Not sure about tyre scrub jvb. As I said above and also mentioned by peedee, I towed for 35000 miles and never had any tyre issues. I even did a couple of years (skint) on second hand tyres with no bother. Perhaps your friends forgot to unlock the steering in the toad? Normally the car just follows the tow with the front wheels turning to follow the rear wheels of the van.

JK

It’s got to be true then!🤔