Legalities of towing with an A frame
Discussion
Hi all, I'm after a bit of advice on towing. Not sure if this is the correct part to put this in but if it's not I'm sure the mods will move it.
I am trying to find out if I can tow a car using an 'A frame' with out having to go through the B+E licence. I have no issue of doing this but it will not be as soon as I would want to tow, also an A frame would take up a lot less space than a trailer.
I have the 'B' category on my licence as i passed my test prior to 2013 but this will not let me have a trailer over 750kg, I do have experience with tractor trailers and reversing parents horse box and estate (as they could not really get the hang of it so asked me!) but no doubt this will help me with a test.
If it makes any difference I am looking at towing a 2005 Ford fiesta st to hill climb and sprint races behind ether a T4 camper or a Mondeo Estate.
Thanks
I am trying to find out if I can tow a car using an 'A frame' with out having to go through the B+E licence. I have no issue of doing this but it will not be as soon as I would want to tow, also an A frame would take up a lot less space than a trailer.
I have the 'B' category on my licence as i passed my test prior to 2013 but this will not let me have a trailer over 750kg, I do have experience with tractor trailers and reversing parents horse box and estate (as they could not really get the hang of it so asked me!) but no doubt this will help me with a test.
If it makes any difference I am looking at towing a 2005 Ford fiesta st to hill climb and sprint races behind ether a T4 camper or a Mondeo Estate.
Thanks
In the eyes of the DOT a car on an A-frame is a trailer so you'll need the appropriate licence
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-frame...
The trailer (ie, Fiesta) will have to have brakes operated by the tow car as it will be > 750 Kg
You'll be better off with a small trailer and the correct licence
Nick Froome
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-frame...
The trailer (ie, Fiesta) will have to have brakes operated by the tow car as it will be > 750 Kg
You'll be better off with a small trailer and the correct licence
Nick Froome
Lets see if this works on a B licence …..
Ford Mondeo GVW 2000kg with a tow limit of 1500kg
Ford Fiesta empty weight 1000kg
Now we need a car transporter trailer which has a max MAM of 1500kg and weighs no more than 500kg empty
Trailer Tek have one which is 400 empty and plated at 1600 but that be down plated to 1500 which means you end up with a trailer able to carry an 1100 load
Set up done
Ford Mondeo GVW 2000kg with a tow limit of 1500kg
Ford Fiesta empty weight 1000kg
Now we need a car transporter trailer which has a max MAM of 1500kg and weighs no more than 500kg empty
Trailer Tek have one which is 400 empty and plated at 1600 but that be down plated to 1500 which means you end up with a trailer able to carry an 1100 load
Set up done
Trailer, with B+E if you need it.
A-frames really are an utter compromise, even before you get to the legality. If you have an off and bend it, you're not A-framing it home. If you blow the gearbox up, you're not A-framing it home. If you're A-framing a pure track car, which isn't (or doesn't look) road-legal, you're going to get police attention at the very least.
A-frames really are an utter compromise, even before you get to the legality. If you have an off and bend it, you're not A-framing it home. If you blow the gearbox up, you're not A-framing it home. If you're A-framing a pure track car, which isn't (or doesn't look) road-legal, you're going to get police attention at the very least.
A frames are illegal in many Euro countries, for good reason in my opinion .
Get your test done and get a trailer .
Do as I used to do , park the racer on the trailer .
My garage was big enough to push the trailer in nose first and then run the car on .
Tip , block the rear of the trailer to stop the front tipping up and wrecking the workbench then punching a hole in the roof as you load the car on .
Get your test done and get a trailer .
Do as I used to do , park the racer on the trailer .
My garage was big enough to push the trailer in nose first and then run the car on .
Tip , block the rear of the trailer to stop the front tipping up and wrecking the workbench then punching a hole in the roof as you load the car on .
Chozza said:
grumpy52 said:
Tip , block the rear of the trailer to stop the front tipping up and wrecking the workbench then punching a hole in the roof as you load the car on .
Ouch... Got any pics?Thankfully most of my "blunders" were pre internet .
God I feel old at the realisation that was over 35 years ago !
I would certainly say trailer if you can, and certainly not worry about the trailer test.
Yet to do mine, and it is faff to get the time off work, but I know quite a few who have done it and in the grand scheme it's not expensive or hard.
Obviously if you can store the trailer under the car that saves space, if putting one on the other often you can fit rear stands.
I've got a (tatty) covered box trailer and when I want garage space the car moves out into the trailer, which is where it lived when I was at uni.
Daniel
Yet to do mine, and it is faff to get the time off work, but I know quite a few who have done it and in the grand scheme it's not expensive or hard.
Obviously if you can store the trailer under the car that saves space, if putting one on the other often you can fit rear stands.
I've got a (tatty) covered box trailer and when I want garage space the car moves out into the trailer, which is where it lived when I was at uni.
Daniel
dhutch said:
I would certainly say trailer if you can, and certainly not worry about the trailer test.
Yet to do mine, and it is faff to get the time off work, but I know quite a few who have done it and in the grand scheme it's not expensive or hard.
And, of course, if you DO find it hard, then it's definitely for the best that you're not tooling about without doing it...Yet to do mine, and it is faff to get the time off work, but I know quite a few who have done it and in the grand scheme it's not expensive or hard.
I've done a little towing with an A-frame as well as a great deal of towing a single axle trailer. The latter is by far the easier method.
The A-frame requires a skills level that takes a time to learn and there is little similarity between it and trailer towing when it comes to reversing. It's great fun to try but that's not, I assume, what you are after. I'd towed various trailers for years and the transition was not smooth.
The A-frame requires a skills level that takes a time to learn and there is little similarity between it and trailer towing when it comes to reversing. It's great fun to try but that's not, I assume, what you are after. I'd towed various trailers for years and the transition was not smooth.
eggchaser1987 said:
I have the 'B' category on my licence as i passed my test prior to 2013 but this will not let me have a trailer over 750kg, I do have experience with tractor trailers and reversing parents horse box and estate (as they could not really get the hang of it so asked me!) but no doubt this will help me with a test.
That’s not the rules though, is it?As someone else has already mentioned, without actually pointing out your error, you can tow more than 750kg without B+E - you’ll be limited by a combined MAM of 3500kg.
syl said:
As someone else has already mentioned, without actually pointing out your error, you can tow more than 750kg without B+E - you’ll be limited by a combined MAM of 3500kg.
This.With the right towcar you can get upto about a 1200kg MAM trailer. Which allows for a car of maybe 800kg with the right trailer.
You can down-plate a trailer to whatever weight you want, just buy a blank plate of eBay, mark it up and stick it on.
Daniel
Interesting. Where have you heard that?
I asked a couple of places, can't remember details as it was a while ago, and was repeated told there wasn't anywhere I could go to get it down plated in terms of a dvla/vosa (now dvsa) type job and just do it myself, make sure the numbers where not more than the tyres said. This included ringing the local police force and being put though to a traffic officer. However, mine is also a diy built affair if not built by me. So that might have played a factor.
At what point do you become the manufacturer? Change of tyres, new floor and adding some tie down points?
Daniel
I asked a couple of places, can't remember details as it was a while ago, and was repeated told there wasn't anywhere I could go to get it down plated in terms of a dvla/vosa (now dvsa) type job and just do it myself, make sure the numbers where not more than the tyres said. This included ringing the local police force and being put though to a traffic officer. However, mine is also a diy built affair if not built by me. So that might have played a factor.
At what point do you become the manufacturer? Change of tyres, new floor and adding some tie down points?
Daniel
Edited by dhutch on Monday 11th June 08:27
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