towing a kit car

[anonymous-user]

After breaking down recently I thought I'd make sure I could tow my Fury home if necessary.

I've got one of these stretchy tow ropes and a towing eye for our normal car:

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equi...

Problem is I'm not sure how to tow from the front of the Fury - the chassis rails are not that thick so I don't want to bolt through one of the motorsport type towing eyes, ideally I want to wrap something around eg the lower chassis front rails on each side to spread the load, that I can then loop onto the tow rope catches. Also there's not really anywhere on the front body to attach anything else to, so I think it needs to be underneath somehow.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Steve_D]

Keep a lifting strop onboard.
Probably a 2m long one will do the job. Pass it over a lower wishbone, across the car under the chassis, back up over the opposite wishbone and back out to the front of the car forming a triangle.


Steve

[AdiT]

My Fury chassis had an eye/loop welded on the underside of the front chassis cross-member. It wasn't easy to use though as it was a) so far under the nose and b)difficult to attach to as the under tray got in the way.

So I went to the scrap yard and found two long tin-top screw-in towing eye (right hand threaded ones so easy to find taps), made and tapped a bush to fit and then welded that to a bracket that bolts to the existing eye. I made a second bush and a bracket for the rear as well and welded a top-hat bush through the rear chassis bottom member/diff cage to bolt that bracket to.

Front...


Rear...


They've been used to tow me out of a gravel trap at Brands, get me to a fuel station when I ran out in France and even to straighten another cars bent bonnet bracket (attach rope to eye and bent bracket, roll car and snatch pulls bracket out).

[anonymous-user]

Great thanks for the suggestions - I don't have a welder so that option is out, but using a lifting strap sounds ideal

[ColinM50]

A bit off topic, but I'm pretty sure "they" outlawed tow ropes recently. Has to be a fixed rigid bar now. Might be worth checking?

[marshalla]

ColinM50 said:

A bit off topic, but I'm pretty sure "they" outlawed tow ropes recently. Has to be a fixed rigid bar now. Might be worth checking?

If it was illegal to use a rope, rule 98 would say that you MUST NOT use one. All it has is a warning that towing is "potentially dangerous".

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/rules...

[anonymous-user]

Seems to be quite hard to find any actual info on the law regarding using a rope. Best I can find are this things:

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q558.htm



and from here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/rules...

"In the event of a breakdown, be aware that towing a vehicle on a tow rope is potentially dangerous. You should consider professional recovery."



and this:
http://www.rac.co.uk/breakdown-cover/towing-a-car-...

All suggest that using a rope is fine so long as both cars are legal, weights are within limits (which they will be with a 600kg kit car behind a big Volvo), the rope is marked and the on-tow car has a sign on it etc...

[tr7v8]

ColinM50 said:

A bit off topic, but I'm pretty sure "they" outlawed tow ropes recently. Has to be a fixed rigid bar now. Might be worth checking?

I keep seeing this regurgitated, it is NOT illegal to tow using a rope in the UK anyway. It does however require some technique & practice.

[radical78]

llegal to use a tow rope on motorways but ok on a roads

[marshalla]

radical78 said:

llegal to use a tow rope on motorways but ok on a roads

Cite the relevant legislation please.