A frame towing

Hi
have any of you guys used an A frame fro towing a freelander. If so how safe did it feel.

Cheers in advance
Celt69

celt69 said:

Hi
have any of you guys used an A frame fro towing a freelander. If so how safe did it feel.

Cheers in advance
Celt69

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No, and I don't think it is legal to use them.

Scrappie should tow it away fairly reasonable

Legal for recovery use only. Weight wise hippo on hippo is fine. Some vehicles won't tow on a frame due to the suspension design but I think the freelander will as it is a simple suspension design unlike the bmw and rover 600s that cause problems.

Best solution is a trailer as long as the combined weight of trailer and freelander is under 2000kg you will be legal as long as you have a suitable licence. If need be to get the weight down remove seats from the towed vehicle and put them in the towing vehicle. Seats are surprisingly heavy!

ZDomZ said:

Legal for recovery use only. Weight wise hippo on hippo is fine. Some vehicles won't tow on a frame due to the suspension design but I think the freelander will as it is a simple suspension design unlike the bmw and rover 600s that cause problems.

Best solution is a trailer as long as the combined weight of trailer and freelander is under 2000kg you will be legal as long as you have a suitable licence. If need be to get the weight down remove seats from the towed vehicle and put them in the towing vehicle. Seats are surprisingly heavy!

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Doesn't work like that if the trailer is plated to carry more than 2000Kg then that is illegal whether the trailer is empty or fully loaded.

That's is what I was led to belive until recently... I double and triple and quadruple checked and that isn't the case. Also asked a traffic copper about it.

As long as none of the plated maximums are exceeded you are legal.

Have you ever tried finding a trailer with a mgw of 2000kg?

It tows fine on an A-frame - no issues at all.

ZDomZ said:

That's is what I was led to belive until recently... I double and triple and quadruple checked and that isn't the case. Also asked a traffic copper about it.

As long as none of the plated maximums are exceeded you are legal.

Have you ever tried finding a trailer with a mgw of 2000kg?

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Had a Plant trailer rated at 2200Kg.

further to the law.. These peeps make trailers so should know what they're on about..

Although trailers with overrun brakes can weigh up to 3500kg gross, actual maximum weights are set by the specifications of the vehicle that is doing the towing. The law says you must not exceed the Gross Train Weight that the manufacturer has set for the towing vehicle. Look in the vehilce handbook or on a plate riveted to the vehicle to find this figure. You then have to subtract the weight of the towing vehicle (including fuel, driver, passengers, luggage or cargo) from the Gross Train Weight. The amount you are left with is the maximum theoretically-possible weight of trailer that can be towed legally. REMEMBER, the law does not care whether the trailer is empty or packed to the roof with bricks, what counts is the plated gross vehicle weight of the traile

The Law for Trailers.

I asked about towing with a A frame as I wanted to know and it was VOSA I asked they were doing a roadside check ,I wanted to know what was the law about towing a car home without a mot for it, they said you can either trailer it or tow with a A frame and as long as no body is in the driving seat it is legal .but of course the weight limit applies .


G0VVT
G7LVT
M5VVT
2e0VVT
2e1VVT.

Remember that a Freelander shouldn't be towed above 40mph or whatever it is when on all 4 wheels, unless drive to rear wheels is disconnected

SES88 said:

Remember that a Freelander shouldn't be towed above 40mph or whatever it is when on all 4 wheels, unless drive to rear wheels is disconnected

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Not heard that one. I can't see it making much difference to the drive train, the wheels are rolling in the same way as if the engine was driving the car.

I have read that before, but I belive that they are incorrect, I can't find the info I found before, but basically put and as verified by a traffic plod who got his info book out,

You cannot exceed any plated weight... So the tow vehicle must not be over weight on any axle or over its mgm the trailer must not be over weight on any axle or over its mgm. And the whole outfit must not be over the mgtw.

The fact the trailer gross weight is greater than the plated weight of the vehicle is not a problem. Neither is the fact that at the maximum weight of the vehicle the trailer weight must be reduced on some vehicles (the frelander for example)

As long as none of the maximum plated weights are exceeded the law has not been broken.

I wouldn't tow an auto Freelander 1 as there's no oil circulation in the auto.

8 miles on a recovery truck cost me about £55+vat when I took it to the main dealers.

Hippo said:

I wouldn't tow an auto Freelander 1 as there's no oil circulation in the auto.

8 miles on a recovery truck cost me about £55+vat when I took it to the main dealers.

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that is right hippo a auto should never be towed. and welcome back

A frames are only legal for moving an immobilised vehicle to a place of safety ie: next junction off the motorway.... if you take the **** with them you will get done for using a un braked trailer in excess of 750 kg

I used to see motor homes towing cars etc behind then on a-frames. Not sure when I last saw that though. 2CV etc.

Epicuser said:

I used to see motor homes towing cars etc behind then on a-frames. Not sure when I last saw that though. 2CV etc.

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Down here we see loads of motor homes pulling all manor of small cars on A frames. Some of these are hooked up to the chassis and braking systems. These are approved and are legal. However we do see many motor homes with a simple recovery type A frames, pulling Smart cars and the like behind them. Many of these folks are pulled by the local traffic offices and are presumably informed of there error.

When it comes to braked or unbraked trailers it is the gross weight that counts so even a tiny car that weighs 700kg had a gross weight of at least 900 so is still illegal on a unbraked a frame unless being recovered.

Autos should never be flat towed. You can front lift a hippo only with the prop off ( manual or auto)

Nodge68 said:

Down here we see loads of motor homes pulling all manor of small cars on A frames. Some of these are hooked up to the chassis and braking systems. These are approved and are legal. However we do see many motor homes with a simple recovery type A frames, pulling Smart cars and the like behind them. Many of these folks are pulled by the local traffic offices and are presumably informed of there error.

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Yes, I have seen them around sometimes, although I try and avoid the sort of places they tend to go.

Havent seen any getting pulled over, but I am sure it does happen.

Turboman said:

Yes, I have seen them around sometimes, although I try and avoid the sort of places they tend to go.

Havent seen any getting pulled over, but I am sure it does happen.

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When I was working for a local recovery garage, I'd see lots of motor home/ car combinations pulled by the local traffic boys. The A30 and A39 were particularly common roads to see such things.

Even the braked A frames are not legal apart from emergency recovery, it's to do with trailer brakes must be split 50/50 on both axles, car brakes are not a 50/50 split.
So although they comply with the over 500kg being braked they fall foul on brake balance.

In short it's a very grey area and very few know the full rules with these.