Buying an A Frame - read this! (1 Viewer)

[hilldweller]

I should imagine its a case of personal preference.
So trailer it is - quids in all round.

Without doubt it's a personal choice.

But I make the point because I don't think people do think this choice through.

We didn't. It was a case of "caravans, that's what poor olde fartes who cause traffic jams use, MH, the real deal, just get in and go.".

Three years on I see a broader picture. Yes indeed a MH is get up and go, which is what we do. But I have experienced the downside, stuck on site wishing we had a scooter or car for visits just too far for our pushbikes or too crowded to take the MH. Now folk in this position then take the quick view "oh we need to tow something" but fail to take a broad view and ask "if I am towing what is the optimum thing to tow".

Then I think there is a very strong argument to tow something light and low drag with a vehicle that is low drag, efficient and gives on site transport.

I have no experience of caravans so I may be talking a load of bollox.

 

[hilldweller]

Work full time VWalan so trips away are a bit limited.

So what is the logical choice.

1. Park up a £40K vehicle most of the time.

2. Park up a £15K vehicle most of the time.

 

[656]

So what is the logical choice.

1. Park up a £40K vehicle most of the time.

Yes, keep the van in storage as nowhere to park it long term at home, plus it only does 28 mpg

2. Park up a £15K vehicle most of the time

No, my Smart was only £3200 + £1004 for the Aframe, plus it does 50 mpg

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[vwalan]

when i first got the 5er i payed 1650pound then converted the trailer further 7grand including getting the vw lt50 ready for mot. not neaded i then find out ,but must be kept in good order.7 yr later buy and build mitzy as a new tug again further 7 grand. as it is mot excempt i think i get cheap motoring. had it 10 yrs .spend abit fixing it .did use truck as my car for a while still do. but prefer m,bikes. fits in drive by side of house . use solar panels to power things in house .makes a spare bed room fopr guests.
got aframe tow-dollie tow-poles etc in garage for recovering other people now.
get a 5er you know it makes sense. well mini artic does .
and treacle you can retire when ever you want. i semi-retired at 44. only work when i want now. roll on winter /my summer.
cheers alan

 

[Chris]

Hilldweller - Its a fair argument.

Financially for me it would make sense to have a caravan. Problem is I just don't fancy it at all. I am far too lazy for a start.

We use the van probably every other weekend all year round and for about 4 weeks holiday a year. It feels like I am saving money on hotels etc but I think I could stay in a lot of hotels for a lot of nights for what the van cost.

The kids absolutely love it which makes it worth it

 

[pappajohn]

Or is it ?

I know many people use a toad so nowt like doing a block insult.

It's ridiculous to tow a vehicle behind a MH. Two lots of tax and insurance. Two lots of expensive mechanical wear. If you need transport when you get there then buy a caravan or a fifthwheeler.

Caravan mechanically simple and no separate tax/insurance. More room than MH. Low drag. Cheap. Legal.

Simples.

MHs excel for nomads, can't be beaten, but olde fartes off for the winter, caravan.

that may be so if you only use the toad for towing......most folks use them as everyday cars as well so have to be taxed, insured and MOT'd anyway.

when i had the corsa toad i used it as much as my hilux at home.:thumb:

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[hilldweller]

It feels like I am saving money on hotels etc but I think I could stay in a lot of hotels for a lot of nights for what the van cost.

I see your little grey cells are working well.

It sometimes gets worse, some sites I have thought "we could be in a cheap hotel for what this pitch is costing".

Then there is 4000' up in Switzerland for a tenner, terrible din from a distant cow bell and it then makes sense.

>> We use the van probably every other weekend all year round and for about 4 weeks holiday a year.

Ah, that sounds much more viable.

 

[hilldweller]

that may be so if you only use the toad for towing......most folks use them as everyday cars as well so have to be taxed, insured and MOT'd anyway.

Caravan+car - you tax, insure and maintain one car. Not one car and one MH.

 

[vwalan]

brian ,get a 5er like mine more room for bikes.

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[hilldweller]

brian ,get a 5er like mine more room for bikes.

How about this one !!

Link Removed

It really was in use, though I didn't see how many were using it.

 

[vwalan]

beauty ,like that one. just goes to show what a bit of imagination can produce .dont quite think trainweight right on that one though.
wish i could work this putting photos up. no dont tell me i get confused.
i do like the weird things in life . i also have a teardrop caravan i really am a tugger now.
it was made by devon about 30 yrs ago as a prota type but never caught on then. i,ve had it 20 yrs .

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

Unless we go for some gi-normous RV thee's no way we could take our 350+KG Goldwing without a trailer. I don't want to take just a car, I want to take the bike, so unless the new Dethleffs caravan with the drop down rear (which acts as a ramp for loading a bike) carries the sort of weight I am talking about, then we will stick with our current set up.

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[hilldweller]

Unless we go for some gi-normous RV thee's no way we could take our 350+KG Goldwing without a trailer.

I've seen that thing - it could pull a big van.

 

[vwalan]

thats not a problem if you get a truck , use the tail-lift . wont be the first.
corse if you had my teardrop you could ride bike with caravan behind. it was built to go behind m,bike n sidecar. i then towed it behind a trike. sleeps two in luxury.
compared to a tent like we used to use. its the shape of a busmar side car. cheers alan.

 

[pappajohn]

Caravan+car - you tax, insure and maintain one car. Not one car and one MH.

my point was, Brian, if you have a motorhome theres every chance you also have an everyday car.

so why not utilise it as auxilary transport while using the van, instead of humping all the gear back in the van to do a spot of sightseeing then return to the same site later and set everything up again.

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[vwalan]

john can you fill gas bottles ha ha

 

[pappajohn]

john can you fill gas bottles ha ha

never had the urge mate.....in 3 years i'v used 3 X 13kg bottles and now on the fourth

i think i can run to £30 per year.

 

[vwalan]

was only thinkng iof changing the record ,have a laugh .can you start something new ?cheers have fun alan.

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[pappajohn]

was only thinkng iof changing the record ,have a laugh .can you start something new ?cheers have fun alan.

ok...how about gassing on french aires......that'll make a change.

 

[vwalan]

gassing i was robbed this year in spain must have been gassed .cos i must . did see a tanker parked outside but thought it contained milk. how many more have been milked of their belongings .

 

[Elvis]

virtue!!

I am confused now about A frames, trailers etc.

I was thinking of getting a litle Citroen C1 to tow behind the MH.

What's the best (EU legal) way?

Can you use one of those bars that the AA use which lift the front wheels of the toad off the road? What are they called?

Any help would be appreciated. I am a lousy reverser and have an aversion to being pulled by plod. Nor do I want to wait until next year for this new A frame being discussed.

Why is nothing ever easy when it comes to motorhoming?

Patience is a virtue !!! All good things come to those who wait and so on.... goodness me!

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[sailsussex]

The reverse issue with A-Frames is not whether you are able to control direction but comes from the legal requirement under Construction & Use Regs that from 1 October 1988 the inertia braking system was required to allow the trailer to be reversed by the towing vehicle without imposing a sustained drag and such devices used for this purpose must engage and disengage automatically. This will be very difficult to achieve on an "A" frame using an inertia (overrun) device - I have only seen Electronic systems achieve this legal requirement.
A frame

 

[RogerIvy]

Patience is a virtue !!! All good things come to those who wait and so on.... goodness me!

Elvis, how patient should we be?

We're about to get a 107 and fit an a-frame. It's a reasonable investment, so if there is anything that might change my decision it would be handy to know. I'd be happy to sign a NDA. Please send me a PM if necessary.

Rog

 

[dazzer]

Dont think we will ever find out, Elvis has left the building and said he wont be paying the subs oh:

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[RogerIvy]

OK, so this is a bit like answering the phone a second too late - living in agony not knowing who phoned! :Confused:
We may never know what Elvis was talking about

Ah well, back to what we do know then.

Rog

 

[Reallyretired]

Without doubt it's a personal choice.



Then I think there is a very strong argument to tow something light and low drag with a vehicle that is low drag, efficient and gives on site transport.

I have no experience of caravans so I may be talking a load of bollox.

I think you probably may be , a caravan doesn't have low drag and are comparatively heavy, just look at the change in fuel consumption when towing. Conversely towing a small car has no significant effect on fuel consumption or handling (if you've ever had a caravan 'snake' you realise how unstable the outfit is). I've had several trailer caravans and towing them is not pleasant, especially in cross winds/overtaking heavies. Their brakes are'nt brilliant either.
If you want to tow get a 5th wheeler.

 

[Larrynwin]

ARE WE NEARLY THERE YET ELVIS ?

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[pappajohn]

I can't say too much at mo but a new Euro legal A' Frame will be released in the UK next year; remember there are no Euro legal ones at the mo!!! It has so many super extras, that no others have! It will not be expensive and better than ALL of the ones on the market now so just wait a while before you buy one ...you guys will be the first to hear about it cos I will make sure you know as soon as it is launched... I am first on the waiting list though Can't wait! :thumb:

still waiting

and as Elvis is now a 'read only' funster, i guess we'll never know oh:

 

[jhorsf]

I thought he worked in a chip shop turns out he was making a frames all the time
uuhhhhaaa thank you very much