Are a-frames legal (1 Viewer)

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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they must be as just about every caravan as an a frame attaching it to the car. ha ha .put your filled gas bottles on the aframe .i,m off .:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

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vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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off topic ,how do i clean my stale water tank out .ideas gratefully recieved , thank you in advance.
 

vwalan

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does sex and travel come into it .we are m,homers .

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haganap

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Dec 5, 2007
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why don't you get Jan to have her own log in? something like Jan&patrick?

Oh by the way,

No there not, I have a friend who is a road traffic officer whom applies pegusas, Aframe theory and has studied this subject at great length including trips to as far away as Manchester in the name of research.. He says and I quote " a mate at work told me there illegal" trust me he should know.

Anyhow, the preffered option for the haganaps, is to steal a car when we arrive somewhere. It costs a lot less on fuel and its great teaching the kids to drive in someone else's motor. I would rather get done for TWOK than done for having an Aframe.
:thumb::thumb:
 

pappajohn

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why don't you get Jan to have her own log in? something like Jan&patrick?

Oh by the way,

No there not, I have a friend who is a road traffic officer whom applies pegusas, Aframe theory and has studied this subject at great length including trips to as far away as Manchester in the name of research.. He says and I quote " a mate at work told me there illegal" trust me he should know.

Anyhow, the preffered option for the haganaps, is to steal a car when we arrive somewhere. It costs a lot less on fuel and its great teaching the kids to drive in someone else's motor. I would rather get done for TWOK than done for having an Aframe.
:thumb::thumb:

daughters boyfriend is a detective constable so i asked him.......his reply....dont ask stupid questions and whats an A frame anyway????:ROFLMAO:
 

mejulie

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May 22, 2010
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Whilst on holiday in Cornwall last week my wifes exhaust fell off and we had to call out the RAC. When we told him that we were on holiday and we had a motorhome he assumed that we had towed the car on a trailer. "You haven't got one of those A-frames have you" he said, "no I said, the wife drove down. Why do you ask" he said that he doesn't know how people get away with it as legally you are not allowed to tow anything that is driveable. If that's the case why is it allowed.

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pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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Whilst on holiday in Cornwall last week my wifes exhaust fell off and we had to call out the RAC. When we told him that we were on holiday and we had a motorhome he assumed that we had towed the car on a trailer. "You haven't got one of those A-frames have you" he said, "no I said, the wife drove down. Why do you ask" he said that he doesn't know how people get away with it as legally you are not allowed to tow anything that is driveable. If that's the case why is it allowed.

short answer.... you get away with it because no-one in the UK, including the police and VOSA, give a monkeys as long as its safely/properly/securely fitted. :thumb:

can you imagine the time and resources involved in bringing a prosecution to court when there is no precedence already set......:Eeek:
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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and we have to make an allowance as most rac/aa men cant read. thats why they put cars on their little fold up dollies and keep to 20 on a normal road and 40 on a motorway .never seen one drive that slow.

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Elvis

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Jun 13, 2009
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Yes, already!

Yes they are legal in the UK, bit dodgy abroad at the mo tho :Smile:
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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hi jaws .i meant the drinking water .only joking . never had to clean any of mine in 10 yrs .ijust put clean water from the uk tap system in that will do it easily. it does work for cleaning aframes but as i,m on a metre i use water from the water but .cant pay for water .

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Aug 27, 2009
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daughters boyfriend is a detective constable so i asked him.......his reply....dont ask stupid questions and whats an A frame anyway????:ROFLMAO:
The law regards this as an unbraked trailer and you are allowed to tow up to 750 kg Gross Trailer Weight, not a car?s kerb weight. The figure you have to use is the car?s Gross Vehicle Weight or Maximum Permitted Weight. This is usually at least 300 - 400 kg more than the kerb weight. We have no knowledge of any car sold in the UK that has a GVW under 750 kg. The only vehicle we know that is completely legal to tow with an A-frame is the French Aixam small "car". This is a full four seater and details can be obtained from Aixam UK on 01926 886100. An A-frame or dolly can only be used to recover a broken down vehicle to a place of safety. Transporting a car is, therefore, illegal. A-frames may be offered with a braking system that applies the car's brakes. These do not conform to the law as the car then becomes a "braked trailer" and has to conform to European Directives contained within the Construction and Use Regulations. It does not conform to the European Directive 71/320/EEC and amendments regarding braking requirements in any way. The use of this A-frame for transportation is illegal. It is still OK for use to recover a vehicle to a place of safety.:tears:
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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hi buttons ,i think you readit wrong .fitting an a frame to a car makes it a trailer with brakes fitted regardless of weight. and they must work.
some dont use a sliding hitch and use other means of applying the breaks .electrically or hydrolicly or air. these do meet the requirements so i dont think we can actually generalise and say aframes are illegal.
there was one at malvern last year controlled by a nintendo ds contraption very nice .i liked that one.
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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have been doing a bit of research into these new ways of making the brakes work and discussing them with vosa.i do think they are innovative .i dont want to use one .done that and still have the unbraked .and loads more recovery gear here. but there is still the interest. i,m just amazed that so many want to pull a car behind their m,home. why not get a 5er. having used frames for years i agree easier than trailers .i will stick up for the right to use one but dont want to. much rather have my set up. i dont really like the 5er campers as they dont overlap enough for me . big area short length artic. cheers have fun .alan.
 
Oct 15, 2007
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i,m just amazed that so many want to pull a car behind their m,home. why not get a 5er. .


5ver, truck required (euro/US pickup or other), caravan (just to make a point) suitable (usually large) car to tow, either way fixed way of traveling.

Motorhome towing a car/bike/trike etc, flexibile travel, take if you want or leave at home dependant what you are up to AND if taking a car the vast vast majority have a small car, which lets face it is much more suited to sight seeing etc, especially the more out of the way places were the roads are narrow and twisty, than a gert big truck, bit of a no brainer to me. To compliment the bike/trike mention above, TOYS, we've all got 'em, PCs, IPODS, games consoles, guitars etc etc etc, some want to take thier toys now and again, bikes/trike/cars so why not. Again, flexibility.

As an aside, we don't tow (toad) yet, but probably will one day and we realy fancy a 5ver with a get big Yank 4X4 truck with a huge V8 further down the line:thumb:
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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hi dodgey. i carry bikes in the back . my truck is not as big as most think .only the same as a conventional van. in fact narrower than most. as to going out of the way places .you should come and see where we get to.the whole rig is only 30ft long 3m high. 7ft 6wide trailer. .good job we are all different. i have towed behind campers but just found what i have now ticks many more boxes .mot excempt cheap tax if you pay. definately very manouverable and robust . goes where many rv,s and campers fear to tread. and not expensive so have a few quid to go away with. and have a seven seater travel if i want.
the beauty of it is the overlap makes it really just what i like, and get cheap ferry crossigs as a car and caravan. much cheaper than same size camper. yes its a caravan. but different. off to a custom car show with it on friday gets in as a custom truck . whoooopeeee party on.
cheers alan.

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Feb 22, 2008
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The braking method on the car a tow a frame and I believe others is a cable from the overrun on the hitch to the toad foot pedal. This gives the required 50% braking efficiency required ( bearing in mind the servo is not working when under tow). As a result the "trailer" meets UK requirements.
It is illegal in Spain I understand.
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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the discepancy is with the car a tow the brakes can come on in reverse so that could make it not legal . i think the cable system is good but the new systems are much better. i,m not against a frames i,m for them. been using them since early 80,s. its the auto reverse brake bit thats iffy . but then how many can reverse an a frame. how many can reverse a 4x3 trailer behind an rv or camper. so is reversing really an issue.
 

Geo

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Jul 29, 2007
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Talking to VOSA:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
excerpt from last special notice June 2010
shortend for ease of reading
just because the parking brake does not comply with regs is NOT a reason for rejection:Doh::Doh:
Because the vehicle concerned has EU type aproval our rule go out the window:RollEyes:
Geo

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OP
OP
Patrick

Patrick

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Nov 18, 2007
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Thanks for all that guys. This was for Jan's benefit actually as she was elsewhere, distracted somehow!!!!:ROFLMAO:
 

barnybg

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Jan 23, 2010
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No !!!!

Illegal,especially in Europe,well thats the unbraked types,and as said ...for use only as an emergency to place of safety (Britain)
The braked version are still dodgy but still not recognized in Europe .....try argueing with German or Austrian cops,like i did ! as i had just purchased a brand new heavy duty super deluxe one still sparkling in the sunshine,and although two burly Deutchland heel slappers bounced on top of it while it was connected to my suzi 4x4,they still said it iz not recognized in Deutchland onz austria,i tried this several times on the long 2000 mile journey,as i had no option to drive it,and was lucky with stiff warnings or travelling at night,but unless ' someone ' takes it to the European courts,you may be done upto 1000 euro.
Anyone want to buy a once used h/d one ?
 

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