Thinking about towing! (1 Viewer)

Road Burner

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Apr 24, 2008
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We have a fairly large motor home and I have been thinking about taking a small family car with us, especiall if we go on a long trip. Just wondered if anyone could advise me if its best to have a small trailer or an A frame (which I know nothing about) Anyway my car is a Toyota Yaris which is a bit bigger than some of the vehicles I have seen being towed.:Doh:
 

American Dream

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Aug 20, 2007
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We have a fairly large motor home and I have been thinking about taking a small family car with us, especiall if we go on a long trip. Just wondered if anyone could advise me if its best to have a small trailer or an A frame (which I know nothing about) Anyway my car is a Toyota Yaris which is a bit bigger than some of the vehicles I have seen being towed.:Doh:

Everyone seems to be going the "A" frame route.So much easier to hitch on and off.

Personally I'd do the same but preferably the "braked" version.

There's a few interesting threads on forum worth reading.

Is it a Yaris with a Manual gearbox? Perfect car IMHO as the SMART is too small for my Family.There are issues towing some true Auto cars for any distance.The yaris would be my personal choice too.

The CAR-A-TOW would be my choice of frame.
 
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scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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Suffolk Coastal District, UK
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Timberland
Hi

There is no doubt that an A frame is more convenient than a trailer, single handed hitching - unhitching .. and doesn't need pitch space, which can be a major problem abroad, manhandling a trailer can also be difficult on grassy or soft pitches, arguably it is also safer to tow with an A frame ..
If there were no legal issues abroad, particularly Spain, there would be no contest..

I have a Caratow frame, it is a joy to use.. but I doubt I will go to Spain with it, no big loss, except the route to Portugal. :Sad: much prefer France and Germany .. only thing Spain has going for it is the winter sunshine ..

Much more on this topic if you search A Frame

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joan

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Oct 13, 2007
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Hi We have a Toyota Yaris and tow it on the back of the RV. Chris Cox:thumb::thumb: fitted the A Frame. Towed toad all over France Spain and Italy last year
Joan
 

takeaflight

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Sep 4, 2007
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Stratford-upon-Avon
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Just to balance things up, I use a trailer.

1) For me I use the M/H for holidays therefore I prefer to be 100% legal, no Grey areas.
2) No mods to the car.
3) No wear on the car.
4) I can reverse, on one occasion more than half a mile (Thanks TOmtom)
5) I have used the trailer on other occasions other than with the motorhome.
6) Tilt bed so I can load and strap down the car within 5 Min's, assuming no one comes over to natter.

However I don't have any storage problems at home, which may be an issue for some. It can be quite hard work pushing it around on site, therefore I have a tow bar on the toad for such events. Which is useful because I have a small trailer for garden waste.

Due to a 8 mtr van I tend to go for large pitches therefore I have never had any problems with fitting the trailer on as well as the m/h. There again I only use sites or motorway parking, may be an issue if you use Aires (someone will know).

What I really would like is a dolly as used by the Yanks. Best of both worlds.
RV Tow Dolly and Camper Dolly Accessories
 
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lookback

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Nov 30, 2007
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Hi We have a Toyota Yaris and tow it on the back of the RV. Chris Cox:thumb::thumb: fitted the A Frame. Towed toad all over France Spain and Italy last year
Joan
Hi all, I am replying to this from a campsite near Malaga. I tow a Dhaihatsui on a Chris Cox A frame and have been touring Portugal and now Spain. I have been overtaken by spainish motorcyclist police and local police with no problems whatsoever!! The last campsite I was on there were three other outfits towing cars and not one of them had experienced problems with the police. True, there were problems 5 years ago when a- frames were new to Spain but with the large number of a-framers on the road it has become the accepted thing.
I have found that the biggest hazard is when cars join a road immediately behind your outfit and do not notice the towed car until the last possible moment. To combat this I have used the hazard striped board (used when carrying bicycles) cut to a suitable size and placed in the back window of the car and the remaining pieces "blue tacked" to the inside rear door windows.
Ian

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peter marshall

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Mar 5, 2009
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towing

Hi we are quite new to motorhoming but 2008 we went to France for 8 weeks, took the bull by the horns so to speak we have a bessacar 465 we took a Brian James Smart car trailer and Smart car never drove in france before let alone a motorhome trailer and smart car, we did 2500 miles in the van and 1200 in the smart and had a good trip ne problems, We have been told from various sources that A frames are not legal in france and other places in europe:Sad: So we bought a trailer, I am sure there will be one to suit your car as it is a bit bigger than ours. Good luck on your travels.:thumb: Peter
 

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