Towing on an A Frame dolly

[Devine15]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience using one? Thinking of buying one as I need to tow my MK1 VTS, it's lowered pretty much slammed. Was wondering if I would have any problems because of this.

Any advice appreciated

Cheers

[settaz]

check the law as i think the car has to have insurance or mot or something unless all the wheels are off the floor

[BUMMERS]

Yep, if the wheels are on the road you'll need MOT, tax & insurance.

[Phaeton]

It's worse than that if the car has brakes then they need to be able to be operated by the towing vehicle. But are you talking about an A frame or a dolly they are 2 different things.

[BUMMERS]

It's worse than that if the car has brakes then they need to be able to be operated by the towing vehicle.

That depends on the towing vehicle and what category you have on your licence surely?

[welshpug]

nope, its over 750 kg so must have brakes.

[Phaeton]

That would also be a consideration but I sort of presumed that the OP would already have a license to tow if they were asking a towing question.

It's a very murky grey area, both the dolly & the A frame are supposed to be used for recovery only, which means if being used for it's correct purpose then automatically the vehicle being towed will have MOT, Insurance & VED as it was on the road before the breakdown.

Once it is attached to the tow car it ceases to become a car & becomes a trailer, then different rules apply, one of the rules is that if it is over 750Kgs then it must have brakes & if it has brakes then they must be operated by the towing vehicle. I purposely registered my buggy under 750Kgs to allow it to be towed on an A frame, but that is still technically illegal as it has brakes & as such they have to work.

But back to the original point, our Saxo is dropped 30mm & I tow that on an retail bought A frame to & from the track, without issue. If it is as the OP states 'slammed' then the other way is to construct a purpose built A frame which goes through the bumper bit like they have on a motorhome.

At the end of the day in my opinion they are illegal if being used for transportation rather than recovery, but I have used various A frames & dollys for over 35 years & still do, I've never been stopped by either the Police or VOSA, doing many thousands of miles. I do always make sure that the towing vehicle looks right, it has my number plate on, trailer lights that work correctly, never speed, etc. basically anything not to draw attention to myself & give them an excuse to pull me over & question me. As long as the OP knows there is a risk & is prepared to measure that against his needs then the decision is his.

[Stissy]

That would also be a consideration but I sort of presumed that the OP would already have a license to tow if they were asking a towing question.

It's a very murky grey area, both the dolly & the A frame are supposed to be used for recovery only, which means if being used for it's correct purpose then automatically the vehicle being towed will have MOT, Insurance & VED as it was on the road before the breakdown.

Once it is attached to the tow car it ceases to become a car & becomes a trailer, then different rules apply, one of the rules is that if it is over 750Kgs then it must have brakes & if it has brakes then they must be operated by the towing vehicle. I purposely registered my buggy under 750Kgs to allow it to be towed on an A frame, but that is still technically illegal as it has brakes & as such they have to work.

But back to the original point, our Saxo is dropped 30mm & I tow that on an retail bought A frame to & from the track, without issue. If it is as the OP states 'slammed' then the other way is to construct a purpose built A frame which goes through the bumper bit like they have on a motorhome.

At the end of the day in my opinion they are illegal if being used for transportation rather than recovery, but I have used various A frames & dollys for over 35 years & still do, I've never been stopped by either the Police or VOSA, doing many thousands of miles. I do always make sure that the towing vehicle looks right, it has my number plate on, trailer lights that work correctly, never speed, etc. basically anything not to draw attention to myself & give them an excuse to pull me over & question me. As long as the OP knows there is a risk & is prepared to measure that against his needs then the decision is his.

Sorry to hijack the thread, you seem knowledgeable on this subject. Do you know what is the legality of towing a car with a tow rope?

[Phaeton]

For recovery purposes only, both vehicles to be MOT'd, Insured, have valid VED & the person driving holding an appropriate license.

[Stissy]

For recovery purposes only, both vehicles to be MOT'd, Insured, have valid VED & the person driving holding an appropriate license.

Thanks for the response. Does the appropriate licence include the standard modern driving licence (up to 3.5 tonnes)?

[Phaeton]

Thanks for the response. Does the appropriate licence include the standard modern driving licence (up to 3.5 tonnes)?

If you were towing a Range Rover with another Range Rover, then logically the person in the towing car needs to have a 7.5T license where the one being owed can get away with a 3.5T license, but neither could be driving on a provisional or like my father & I would do when I was about 15 he would tow me :D

[Stissy]

If you were towing a Range Rover with another Range Rover, then logically the person in the towing car needs to have a 7.5T license where the one being owed can get away with a 3.5T license, but neither could be driving on a provisional or like my father & I would do when I was about 15 he would tow me :D

Haha. No we weren’t. We towed a Saxo (insured and MOT’d etc) with a big diesel BMW X5. So combined weight was something like 2.8 tonnes. Cheers for that :y:.

[Phaeton]

Like I said before although strictly illegal unless you were doing something silly, dangerous or drawing attention to yourself then you can do most things, the issue would probably be if you had an accident doing it. Not that I am suggesting anyone break the law, I do feel that as long as you are sensible then you will probably be left alone.