towing with an a frame

[michael51]

at the rally at kelmarsh this weekend I saw people towing a morris with an unbraked a frame. I would like to point out that if the towed vehicle is fitted with a braking system the braking system has to operate in conjuction with the towing vehicle regardless of the weight of the towed vehicle. regards mike

[bmcecosse]

My understanding is that it is illegal to tow with an A frame - except perhaps for 'emergency recovery' ? Motorhomes now tow a small car on a trailer...used to be with an A frame.

[MorrisMinor-65-1000]

^^ That's correct in practice for 99% of scenarios, and the best rule of thumb to follow.
Although as ever there are nuances to the law. It is only permissible to tow a car with an A-frame if it is the subject of a recovery operation, and naturally that will be subject to the discretion of the plod who pulls you and/or how eloquently you can persuade him to that belief. Otherwise, all trailers with a gross weight of greater than 750kg have to be fitted with brakes. As the vast vast majority of cars weigh in excess of this on their own, the practical reality is that you can't tow a car with an A-frame. That said, a completely stripped Minor with nothing attached to the body except the rear axle and front suspension might weigh less than this if the A-frame were particularly light. But in the absence of roadside weighbridges every 3 miles, you'd still be subject to how far plod was willing to believe you on that one!!
As with a lot of these things, the overarching law of common sense and precaution applies.

[MorrisMinor-65-1000]

On a related note, this photo I first saw a few years ago is a particularly excellent example of complete ignorance to the rule
"The gross weight of the trailer must not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle"

[bmcecosse]

I used to tow my competition Mini on a very simple trailer - behind my road Mini... But it was a very light Mini .....

[M25VAN]

Well I still see plenty of Motorhomes towing a small car with an A frame. Most seem to have the electrics wired in such that the Motorhome indicators etc trigger the ones on the small car so don't use a trailer board.
Also some don't change over the numberplate of the small car to match the Motorhome, is this legal? If they did then the small car would be running on the road with the wrong plates to what it was registered with, is this legal?
Sounds like a small trailer is the safest bet.

[millerman]

Presumably if there was a driver in the vehicle being towed by the A-frame then it would be legal ie the towed vehicle can be braked?

Must admit I usually just do it

[rayofleamington]

My understanding is that it is illegal to tow with an A frame - except perhaps for 'emergency recovery' ?

As per many previous discussions, your understanding doesn't appear to get updated with further facts.

If you don't fit within trailer rules, then you are only allowed to do emergency recovery (to nearest town/garage/motorway exit/ motorway services - whichever is nearest).

What you tow as a 'trailer' and what brakes it has is subject to many many different rules with many entry conditions to whether the rules apply. If you operate within the trailer rules (trailer weight, plated weight, max gross weight, brakes, lighting, tow car rating etc.. etc..), an A-frame is fine. Getting within the rules, is pretty much an exception though!!

Towing an unbraked trailer has important weight restrictions - for most tow cars this is 500kg, so a Minor is usually too heavy anyway. Some tow cars may be allowed a 750kg unbraked trailer, and if your towed vehicle is under this weight (including A-frame) then you can start looking further into unbraked trailer rules.

For those that tow a car behind a motorhome, as a BRAKED trailer, they are probably still in conflict with the rules depending on year of the towed car!
Trailer constuction and use regulations also change with manufacture date, and for many years now the construction rules state that ALL trailer wheels must be braked AND that all brakes must be leading shoe as part of the ability to reverse. Towing a modern little hatch with front disks... not leading shoe!

[rayofleamington]

Also some don't change over the numberplate of the small car to match the Motorhome, is this legal?

No, not legal - for a UK registered vehicle used as a tow vehicle, the reg plate 'visible' from both the front and rear has to correspond to the ID of the driven/tow vehicle, not what's behind it.

If for example the tow vehicle reg plate was high enough to see it over the top of a very small trailer, the trailer itself doesn't need a reg plate.. Which seems strange, but that's what i was told by plod.


If in any doubt, use a trailer that's got the right load rating to take the towed car, and has been inspected against 'construction and use' regulations in line with it's plated details. Then get a tow vehicle where manufacturer's data says your total trailer weight is allowed.

Towing a car that's not taxed and has any of it's wheels on the road, can also be an offence! This is subject to the vehicle being still a car (as well as being your trailer) - Nobody has a clear set of rules to define when it is still a car, but i would expect that if it had engine and gearbox removed and was otherwise fully legally towed, Plod/DVLA may not be interested to pursue.
DVLA can (and have) been in court to fine someone for the entire back-tax since their towed vehicle was last taxed, plus a fine on top. So a vehicle which was off the road for 10 years could be a big bill. I don't know what they'd say about free road tax though!!

[bmcecosse]

I doubt there are many (any?) 'plated and braked' A frames out there - so 'my understanding' is just fine. I don't have the time or energy to worry too much about rules and regs that don't concern me! And so, I offer my tuppence worth as 'my understanding' - anyone contemplating towing with an A frame will take enough from that to go off and look up the regs themselves - at least they have been warned!

[rayofleamington]

I doubt there are many (any?) 'plated and braked' A frames out there - so 'my understanding' is just fine. I don't have the time or energy to worry too much about rules and regs that don't concern me! And so, I offer my tuppence worth as 'my understanding'

If you don't understand the issues it may be much more helpful NOT to comment, however that's just my tuppence.

I doubt there are many (any?) 'plated and braked' A frames out there.

They are available off the shelf from a number of sources.
First line on my first google search o "braked a-frame"
http://www.armitagetrailers.com/Aframes.htm

plating options shown in the photos on first page, weights, compatible vehicles etc... all on the page.




to quote UK Department for Transport (DfT):

We believe the ‘A’ frame and car become a single unit and as such are classified in legislation as a trailer.”
and

“We believe the use of ‘A’ frames to tow cars behind other vehicles is legal provided the braking and lighting requirements are met

European Law on use of a-frames is due to change this year, but nobody knows if it will be applied retrospectively in the UK. If it does, then I'll be selling my 8 year old A-frame, if not I'll be keeping it!
The camping and caravanning club has one of the best write-ups you can find on the issue (you'd need to read to the end of the page! Theres a fair bit there):
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co ... motorhome/

[bmcecosse]

Good find rRy - very informative. I still think it's worth commenting when something clearly not right is discussed. I'll be surprised if any of the frames used at the English National were of this type......