A frames and towcars

[Graydo]

Hi,
I am thinking of towing my small Kia Picanto behind my Burstner 6m motorhome.

Does anyone on here have any experience of towcars?
In particular which A frame you went for and why, and what did you do if you also wanted to take bikes but have no garage.
i.e on the back of the towcar (possibly obscuring "on tow" sign).

Lastly any tips or things to avoid once all hitched and converted.

TIA
Graydo

 

[Steve and Denise]

There are a lot of pros and cons, we have had A frames over10years UK only presently have a towbar to towcars good light frame tows well,
The last one was A-Frames Chesterfield good kit if you can get past the mental wife who has to much to say!
The worst one we had was Towtal far to heavy same as Armitages
Never had a problem towing.

I am sure you will have a lot of but why tow, get a caravan, it’s a Motorhome, along shortly, if it suits your style of traveling it’s right.?

 

[Graydo]

There are a lot of pros and cons, we have had A frames over10years UK only presently have a towbar to towcars good light frame tows well,
The last one was A-Frames Chesterfield good kit if you can get past the mental wife who has to much to say!
The worst one we had was Towtal far to heavy same as Armitages
Never had a problem towing.

I am sure you will have a lot of but why tow, get a caravan, it’s a Motorhome, along shortly, if it suits your style of traveling it’s right.?

Hi thanks,
Yes, I have heard all the reverse caravanning arguments.
This is the one I was looking at-

Tow GLIDE | Tow A Frame

Towing A Frame for towing small vehicle behind Motrohome.

www.towaframe.com

I like the idea of being able to move it slightly to the side or back and forward if you are not quite lined up correctly.
Do you take bikes with you when you tow?

Graydo

 

[Steve and Denise]

Not if we have the car.
Lining up is easy with a bit of practice ?

 

[Geo]

Having used most manufacturers A frames over the years and installed a n American Blue Ox frame that does have a truly sliding ram system
My preference is the electric braking lightweight system by tow bars to tow cars.
I dont feel the sliding arms whilst handy are worth the apparent extra£1500 price tag
And are certainly a gimmick more than a necessity

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[DuxDeluxe]

Towbars to Towcars..........

 

[Pausim]

I have one of the TAF Chesterfield ones mentioned by Steve and Denise at #2 because I can lift it without giving myself a hernia. Also made nicely out of stainless steel. Had to give up on my Car-A-Tow one because it was doing my back in (still in my garage I must get round to selling it, any front row rugby forwards interested). That Tow Glide looks clever but expensive, I rarely have too much trouble lining up.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

I also have the Towbars2Towcars. They will fit them to your car, though I bought me tow car from them with the full kit fitted ( lighting, electronic brakes etc). They also supply the appropriate sign for the tow car and a number plate. Don’t use an “on tow” sign; they are not legal for this application.

TB2TC have also produced a prototype bike carrier for some small cars. I was thinking of getting a regular towbar fitted to our Fiat 500and mounting my towbar mounted bike Carrier on it behind the motorhome

 

[Rapphil]

I recently asked same on a thread ‘Towing a Car’ lots of helpful advice from members. Could be useful sometimes in this country but don’t think worth the risk in EU. Looked at car trailer also but would only take that option if going to one place for a long time.

 

[Graydo]

I also have the Towbars2Towcars. They will fit them to your car, though I bought me tow car from them with the full kit fitted ( lighting, electronic brakes etc). They also supply the appropriate sign for the tow car and a number plate. Don’t use an “on tow” sign; they are not legal for this application.

TB2TC have also produced a prototype bike carrier for some small cars. I was thinking of getting a regular towbar fitted to our Fiat 500and mounting my towbar mounted bike Carrier on it behind the motorhome

Yes,
that's what I was thinking I may have to do to take bikes as well, interested in this prototype.
I take it that this is not a towbar mounted bike rack then?

Graydo

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[Graydo]

I recently asked same on a thread ‘Towing a Car’ lots of helpful advice from members. Could be useful sometimes in this country but don’t think worth the risk in EU. Looked at car trailer also but would only take that option if going to one place for a long time.

Thanks will check out the other thread, don't fancy the trailer route either, too cumbersome to store at the campsite.

Thanks

Graydo

 

[David and Sally]

Slight hijack here.

I have been considering a toad for some time but having a third car would be a nuisance with all the added costs. We do have a Fiesta that I use a lot and to convert that with an A Frame would be about £1500. The car weighs about 1100kg. Now, with an A Frame that would be about 1200kg with a bit of petrol in and some 'stuff' in.

Our MoHo can tow 2000 kg - but in the opinion of experienced Toaders, would that be too much in reality - up hills, etc??

I would not like to have to sell the Fiesta so using it as a toad would be an ideal solution if practical.

Again, apols for the hijack

 

[Rapphil]

Thanks will check out the other thread, don't fancy the trailer route either, too cumbersome to store at the campsite.

Thanks

Graydo

Are you thinking of UK or Europe as well, have seen trailers on pitch used as a sun deck !
Talked to some suppliers at NEC and one lady told me , on the stand with the heaviest frame,when asked about using them abroad, that she knew of some customers that had been stopped and fined but wrote to the Spanish embassy on return and got a refund??**!!

 

[TheAleMan]

Towbars to towcars we have. Great system that we are very happy with. They also sell the 'hoodie' to protect the front of your car, and they will let you have the use of one of their cars while it is being fitted.

 

[Pausim]

Slight hijack here.

I have been considering a toad for some time but having a third car would be a nuisance with all the added costs. We do have a Fiesta that I use a lot and to convert that with an A Frame would be about £1500. The car weighs about 1100kg. Now, with an A Frame that would be about 1200kg with a bit of petrol in and some 'stuff' in.

Our MoHo can tow 2000 kg - but in the opinion of experienced Toaders, would that be too much in reality - up hills, etc??

I would not like to have to sell the Fiesta so using it as a toad would be an ideal solution if practical.

Again, apols for the hijack

How many bhp are you towing with and how heavy is your loaded motorhome to start with? We tow a 900kg car with 150bhp and start out with near enough 3500kg of motorhome. In effect 150bhp pulling 4400kg and I would say it is adequate but have not met any very steep hills since buying the motorhome in August. Previous set up was a slightly higher weight, nearer 4700kg and 163hp and that was ok.

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[David and Sally]

Pausim

150bhp on a van of 3850kg. I have not weighed it but I suspect about 3300kg loaded so some spare payload

Thanks

 

[Korgrocker]

I tow a Kia Picanto with the Smart Tow system. But the previous posts might be helpful

A Frame towing

For specific reasons I’ve decided to go down the A-Frame towing route with a Smart Car and only for use in the UK. Can anyone recommend an installer in the North West / North Wales area ? Thanks all.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Larrynwin]

Slight hijack here.

I have been considering a toad for some time but having a third car would be a nuisance with all the added costs. We do have a Fiesta that I use a lot and to convert that with an A Frame would be about £1500. The car weighs about 1100kg. Now, with an A Frame that would be about 1200kg with a bit of petrol in and some 'stuff' in.

Our MoHo can tow 2000 kg - but in the opinion of experienced Toaders, would that be too much in reality - up hills, etc??

I would not like to have to sell the Fiesta so using it as a toad would be an ideal solution if practical.

Again, apols for the hijack

I tow a Kia Rio 3 which is probably around the same weight as a Fiesta , with our 150hp mohome its no problem, go for it ?

PS . Kia has a kerb weight of 1130kgs.

 

[Pausim]

Pausim

150bhp on a van of 3850kg. I have not weighed it but I suspect about 3300kg loaded so some spare payload

Thanks

Total weight probably a bit higher than ours but not by much so I would think your performance would be ok. I would probably unhitch the car and ask my wife to drive it up separately if I was faced with a long 20% with hairpins but mostly because I would not trust one of the cars in front not to come to a panic stop on one of the bends.

 

[Graydo]

Are you thinking of UK or Europe as well, have seen trailers on pitch used as a sun deck !
Talked to some suppliers at NEC and one lady told me , on the stand with the heaviest frame,when asked about using them abroad, that she knew of some customers that had been stopped and fined but wrote to the Spanish embassy on return and got a refund??**!!

No, just UK at the moment, at least until Brexit is sorted out :>)

Graydo

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[Graydo]

Thanks for the advice, it would seem that TB2TC's are a popular option for a a lot on here.

I gave them a phone today and found out that they have a fitter in Strathaven! ( I live near Glasgow).

This is much closer that any other company I can find and would save me an awful lot of grief as I would have to convince SWMBO to drive the car behind me all the way to Grimsby or wherever.

I am intrigued by this talk of a prototype bike carrier though, anybody got any more info on this?

I suppose I could just drop the rear seats in the car and remove the front wheels of the bikes and squeeze them in.

Graydo

 

[Mikey RV]

About 6 ton all up and ready to roll with 190BHP.

 

[Reallyretired]

Hi,
I am thinking of towing my small Kia Picanto behind my Burstner 6m motorhome.

Does anyone on here have any experience of towcars?
In particular which A frame you went for and why, and what did you do if you also wanted to take bikes but have no garage.
i.e on the back of the towcar (possibly obscuring "on tow" sign).

Lastly any tips or things to avoid once all hitched and converted.

TIA
Graydo

Don't use an 'on tow' sign. This is only for a broken down vehicle. A toad is considered a trailer and you don't put a sign on a trailer.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

Yes,
that's what I was thinking I may have to do to take bikes as well, interested in this prototype.
I take it that this is not a towbar mounted bike rack then?

Graydo

i Can it remember if their prototype included a towbars. They have probably developed it further now. Why don’t you give them a call?

 

[old-mo]

"A" Frames........... Only good for this country at the moment...

Better going for a lightweight trailer... Easier to reverse...

Then you can go abroad with out any worries...

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[Shrimp]

We tow a Peugeot 107 with an A frame on a 6 mtr van, no problems.
Our A frame is an old Chris Cox one-not made any more!

 

[Gaston aires]

We use ours very occasionally, we have to detach the brake when reversing, a bit of a faff really. Ours is a towacar, a bit heavy but very well made.
Phil

 

[Realist]

Deleted.

 

[Skipper43]

We had Tow Bars to Tow Cars system retro fitted to our 2019 VW Polo. I drove the car to Grimsby on day one and was kindly loaned a TOAD to return home. Following day drove the Motorhome to Grimsby with their TOAD behind and picked up our Polo. Nice neat job, car tows well so very pleased. Before we bought our Polo I contacted Terry Richardson TB2TC and he advised me as to what they could and couldn’t convert. We went for the Polo (manual without keyless ignition) as it suited us better than some of the more usual TOADs. If you have a detachable tow ball fitted with two bolts, it is possible to fit a bike rack mount between the ball and hitch mount. Not sure which make it is but think Thule?

 

[chaser]

Just a question not really in line with the thread, how do you reverse, these towed cars, is it like reversing a two wheel trailer, where you steer the opisate way to reversing your van or is it like reversing a four wheel trailer, not a lot to do with the thread but always wondered.
Only asking as we do a lot of trailer work with tractors and know how difficult it is with 4 wheeers, must be a nightmare on some narrow roads, but then again I suppose if it really came down to it you would have to unhook it.

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