Citroen Dyane`s and an A frame (1 Viewer)

meexi

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Can anybody tell me if i need a braked or unbraked A frame to tow a Citroen Dyane the kerb weight of 594KG suggest unbraked but what do you guys think?

Regards

Meexi
 

scotjimland

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Can anybody tell me if i need a braked or unbraked A frame to tow a Citroen Dyane the kerb weight of 594KG suggest unbraked but what do you guys think?

Regards

Meexi

it's the trailer's (toad's) GVW that determines whether braking is required or not .. check the plate on the car, I think you'll find the Dyane's GVW is more than 750kg ..

regulations here Link Removed

Trailer Maximum Weights

Type 01: unbraked trailers - max. 750kg gross trailer weight or half the towing vehicle's kerb weight - whichever is less.

Type 02: trailers on overrun brakes - max. 3500kg gross trailer weight
 
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aba

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does the dyane have brakes fitted ????
if it has they have to work when it becomes a trailer.

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Mel

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And even if the GVW is under 750 kg which I doubt
Does itnot become brakes must work if fitted?


Mel
 
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meexi

meexi

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I have not got the car yet, What i did find find was this.

What's the maximum weight I can carry in my trailer?
Trailer has no brakes (Unbraked Trailer)

  • Maximum 750kg gross trailer weight or half the towing vehicle's kerb weight - whichever is less.


Thats what got me thinking as i cannot find the GVW for the Dyane.
 

aba

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I have not got the car yet, What i did find find was this.

What's the maximum weight I can carry in my trailer?
Trailer has no brakes (Unbraked Trailer)

  • [HI]Maximum 750kg gross trailer weight or half the towing vehicle's kerb weight - whichever is less.[/HI]


Thats what got me thinking as i cannot find the GVW for the Dyane.

up to the towing vehicles train weight.

what you need to do is borrow one and get it to a weigh bridge and see if the weight of the dyane and the trailer is under 750kg

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aba

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gross vehicle weight only applies if you are A-framing it if its on a trailer its the gvw of the trailer that counts and as long as the car and trailer are under the gvw of the trailer AND is between the gvw and the train weight of the towing vehicle.


i notice you have a tag hymer so you will be limited on train weight.

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TheBig1

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any wheel in contact with the road that has brakes fitted, they must work effectively. so regardless of weight, ANY car being towed on an A frame needs to have a proper braking system connected, like the brake buddy I think they call it.

still doesnt answer the bigger question though about legality. if they are illegal to use in one or more member state of the EU like it is in Spain, it will soon be ruled illegal elsewhere. At the moment people rely on them being a so called grey area of law.... is it a car or trailer? As modern cars have type approval, changing its use or structure affects this making such frames illegal

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teddybard

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Can anybody tell me if i need a braked or unbraked A frame to tow a Citroen Dyane the kerb weight of 594KG suggest unbraked but what do you guys think?

Regards

Meexi

contact 2cv club uk they should know as several of their owners
have motorhomes.
 
Jul 29, 2011
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Hi Meexi
I have a 2cv special which has a custom built trailer. Together they are supposed to weigh in at less than 750 kg, it is unbraked and i have been up to Scotland with it. Dont know if it has been legal but it towed well.
As you know i have the same Hymer as you.
Pain in the a**e to use the trailer.
Selling the Hymer soon, turned the trailer into a box trailer but i want to keep my "cecille" as i love driving in her.
Look carefully if you are getting a 2cv. They are not cheap as they are a bit of a collectors piece.
Another to consider is the old fiat 500 as they come in at just over 500kg.
 

bobandjanie

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Hi, the first thing to check, is what you can tow behind your motorhome, a lot of tag axles have very small train weights.

We had a Fiat Cinquecento on an a frame, nice little car with 4 seats. :thumb:

We now tow a Smart on a trailer, weighing about 1070kg including the trailer, and the trailer being plated at 1300kg, but our motorhome has a train weight of 1700kg. :thumb: Bob.

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Apr 27, 2008
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Re the above, if you look on your rating plate for your motorhome you will see a figure for MGW and for train weight. (the two highest figures on the plate) if you subtract the MGW from the train weight you will get the maximum you can tow, which on a lot of tag axle vans is so low that you really can't tow anything.
 
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I thnk you will find with the B694 it is 4000kg with a GVR of 4800kg. Hence the reason for my 2cv and trailer.
 
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For the life of me i shall never understand why anyone wold want to tow a car behind a motorhome. Does it not make more sense to buy a car and caravan. I gave up caravaning to enable me to be free and be able to visit more remote destinations and not have the hassle of winding legs down and not having to unhitch every night. BUSBY.

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pappajohn

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For the life of me i shall never understand why anyone wold want to tow a car behind a motorhome. Does it not make more sense to buy a car and caravan. I gave up caravaning to enable me to be free and be able to visit more remote destinations and not have the hassle of winding legs down and not having to unhitch every night. BUSBY.
But then you dont have the option of going 'solo' if you want.

a small car allows you to go 'sightseeing' and visiting areas with limited access without having to pack everything back in the motorhome for a days ride out then doing the reverse when you return to the campsite...assuming you still have a pitch on your return.
 

Mel

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I may think the same.
But its not the same as a caravan.
You have total fredom with a car at the back.
And no i dont tow a car.
Fredom of choice thats what its all about.


Mel
 

schojac

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Having bought a toad some years ago I think I can give a rather unbiased view.:winky:

When I choose to, I leave the toad behind. This gives me all the advantages of owning a motorhome. However, the UK is still not a MH friendly country when it comes to parking. I always take the toad for holidays here. It also allows me to use many of the excellent CL sites which tend not to situated close to amenities.

There's less need for a toad abroad and I have toured Europe solo with little or no problems as long as you follow some simple basic rules when entering some French towns. Most aires and camping sites tend to be located a litle closer to towns. The French want yiu in there town to make use of what facilities they have to offer.

I try to use the toad wisely and use it as a second car to support my other car and keep the mileage down. Expensive? - £150.00 ins, £150.00 road tax, £35.00 MOT; £50,00 service (self) + other consumables.

Is it worth it? - personally I feel so

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Jul 29, 2011
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For the life of me i shall never understand why anyone wold want to tow a car behind a motorhome. Does it not make more sense to buy a car and caravan. I gave up caravaning to enable me to be free and be able to visit more remote destinations and not have the hassle of winding legs down and not having to unhitch every night. BUSBY.

As my wife is disabled we need other transport, i have never had a desire to tow a caravan.
There are other people sho choose to tow for the same reason as i do, bear that in mind when you make a comment about towing, we would be quite happy without a toad if she was mobile.
 
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For the life of me i shall never understand why anyone wold want to tow a car behind a motorhome. Does it not make more sense to buy a car and caravan. I gave up caravaning to enable me to be free and be able to visit more remote destinations and not have the hassle of winding legs down and not having to unhitch every night. BUSBY.

You don't have to understand it. It's their choice and if they're happy with it that's all that matters.
 
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But then you dont have the option of going 'solo' if you want.

a small car allows you to go 'sightseeing' and visiting areas with limited access without having to pack everything back in the motorhome for a days ride out then doing the reverse when you return to the campsite...assuming you still have a pitch on your return.

Thats exactly what a car and caravan do but with less expense and more space.

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TheBig1

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Thats exactly what a car and caravan do but with less expense and more space.

but can you walk through to the back and make use of the facilities whilst on a journey with a caravan and car?
 

pappajohn

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Thats exactly what a car and caravan do but with less expense and more space.
Had a car and caravan once....24ft coachman Amara and a Toyota Hilux 4x4 pickup.

That combination cost us £31,000.......how is that cheaper than a £24,000 motorhome just 5ft shorter in overall length?

and towing it was the worst experience of my life.

unfortunately my RV doesnt have a plated train weight so i cant tow anything at all, by law, but given the chance i would.

I still have my A frame in readiness for the day we change vans and i can tow again.

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aba

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motorhome over 3500kg road tax = £165.
small car road tax if chosen correctly =nil
combined mpg averaged out between both motorhome and car 45-50mpg as mpg of motorhome wont suffer as much towing a small car than larger car towing a caravan.

larger vehicle to tow twin axle caravan road tax £250+
average mpg towing / not towing around 25-30 mpg (being realistic)

insurance don't really come into it as both motorhome and car have to be insured
as by rights does larger vehicle and caravan.

if using the tow car as a main vehicle you will use more fuel as the smaller toad will be at least 50% more economical to run possibly more.
 
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aba

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one other thing that came to me this morning:Doh:

if you have a car and caravan and the car breaks down on a day out holiday is over.

if you tow a toad with the motorhome and the toad breaks down on a day out taxi back to site collect with motorhome and continue holiday.

ok so you wont be able to do some trips that you may have planned but ultimately its not a ruined holiday
 
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one other thing that came to me this morning:Doh:

if you have a car and caravan and the car breaks down on a day out holiday is over.

if you tow a toad with the motorhome and the toad breaks down on a day out taxi back to site collect with motorhome and continue holiday.

ok so you wont be able to do some trips that you may have planned but ultimately its not a ruined holiday

This actually happened to us once. Toad broke down second day away so just left it at the first site (owner was very helpful) and picked it up on our return. The insurance provided a car free for some of our time away too (though obviously we couldn't tow it - too big anyway)

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