Towing Disco?

Hi all I have to move a disco 300tdi (M) Reg can I hard tow it or is it props off job to do this about 15 miles distance
Regards Bryan

As far as towing with wheels on the road just knock the transfer box into neutral but its not legal to tow with a rope/solid bar or a dolly trailer unless it is to move it to a safe location

Disco Inferno said:

As far as towing with wheels on the road just knock the transfer box into neutral but its not legal to tow with a rope/solid bar or a dolly trailer unless it is to move it to a safe location

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What he says ^^^^^^^^. If the fault is a transmission fault however it is best to remove props if flat towing although it is highly illegal so NOT recomended

is it manual or auto?

You can flat tow an auto M reg up to 30 miles at a max speed of 30mph.

Hi Its a Manual with turbo problems have to get it near to home for the time to do it (Sorn at the moment)
Thanks for the replies
Bryan

roy1 said:

Hi Its a Manual with turbo problems have to get it near to home for the time to do it (Sorn at the moment)
Thanks for the replies
Bryan

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Not allowed on a public highway at all (even if towed) if not taxed & mot'd. So best to get it on a trailer or ask the local breakers to move it for you. epecially if it's sorn'd

Yep. All 4 wheels off the road or you could disguise it by putting a caravan shell over it

Hi Thats new to me towing must be taxed etc
Regards Bryan

roy1 said:

Hi Thats new to me towing must be taxed etc
Regards Bryan

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It's a motor vehicle, Therefore if it is on a public highway it must be taxed and mot'd. Also If you are towing a vehicle on a rope, Aframe, or bar. then you may only tow the vehicle to the nearest place of safety. This assumes that the vehicle is already on a public highway. Or it would already be in a safe place. hence the only vehicle you can tow on a public road must have been driven on the road when it broke down and required recovering. Therefore if it wasn't T&T'd then an offence was been committed, imediately before the moment you connected a towrope to it.

Well well well I'm glad the question has been asked as it's something I didn't know.
I carry a tow rope (what true LR owner doesn't) and only used it to pull cars with flooded engines from Fords.

Come to think of it, everyone knows, as I don't see any vehicles being towed these days.

Must find out more about when the law came into force and why.

Well it's summat I never knew ...

I've towed cars from home to garage before, or from house to house for mates etc, as well as the usual recovery jobs. I had no idea it's illegal ...

The law has always been in force it always (well for fooking ages) been illegal to have a motor vehicle on a public highway without it been T&T'd

The towing rules have been in force quite a while as well.

discool said:

Well well well I'm glad the question has been asked as it's something I didn't know.
I carry a tow rope (what true LR owner doesn't) and only used it to pull cars with flooded engines from Fords.

Come to think of it, everyone knows, as I don't see any vehicles being towed these days.

Must find out more about when the law came into force and why.

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As long as the car ya pulling out of the flood is T&T'd ya'll be fine.

Disco Inferno said:

As far as towing with wheels on the road just knock the transfer box into neutral but its not legal to tow with a rope/solid bar or a dolly trailer unless it is to move it to a safe location

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Can you tell me where you got this infomation from please cos I'm damned if I can find it.

so what are the towing laws in a nutshell?

if my mate rings me up and asks for a tow home could I legally go hook him on a rope and do it?

as i know you should only tow him to a safe place (layby etc)

battenberg said:

so what are the towing laws in a nutshell?

if my mate rings me up and asks for a tow home could I legally go hook him on a rope and do it?

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Note on A-Frames and Dollies, issued by the Department for Transport

When an "A" frame is attached to a vehicle (e.g. a motor car) and towed by a motor vehicle (e.g. motorhome) we believe the "A" frame and car become a single unit and as such are classified in legislation as a trailer. As a consequence the car and A-frame are required to meet the technical requirements for trailers when used on the road in Great Britain. These requirements are contained within the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/1078) as amended (C&U) and the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/1796) as amended (RVLR).
Trailers having a combined axle mass not exceeding 750kg are not required to have brakes fitted. However, if the trailer (regardless of mass) is fitted with a braking system, then all brakes in that system must operate correctly. The regulations do not include design constraints on how this should be achieved but, for example, it could be met by direct linking of the trailer brakes to the brake system of the towing vehicle or by automatic inertia (overrun) operation via the towing hitch. Inertia systems can only be used for trailers with a maximum combined axle mass of 3500kg.
Regulations 15 and 16 set out the braking requirements - including minimum braking efficiencies for trailer brakes. Subject to certain age exemptions, the regulation requires the braking system to comply with the construction, fitting and performance requirements of European Community Directive 71/320/EEC along with its various amending Directives. The most recent consolidated directive is 98/12/EC. Alternatively the braking system can comply with the corresponding UNECE Regulation No.13.09.
In addition, C&U Regulation 18 requires the braking system to be maintained in good and efficient working order. If the brakes of the towing vehicle do not directly operate the trailer brakes the use of an inertia (overrun) system is acceptable. If the trailer braking system has power assistance (i.e. servo or full power) it is likely that this assistance will be required while in motion to meet the required braking efficiencies. This is because once the vacuum reservoir is depleted it is possible that the brakes will not meet the braking efficiency. To prevent the trailer being used illegally a remote vacuum pump, powered from the tow vehicle, could be installed to recharge the reservoir, alternatively a source could be made available from the tow vehicle. From 1 October 1988 the inertia braking system was required to allow the trailer to be reversed by the towing vehicle without imposing a sustained drag and such devices used for this purpose must engage and disengage automatically. This will be very difficult to achieve on an "A" frame using an inertia (overrun) device.
Other provisions from Regulation 15 and Regulation 86A of C&U require the fitting and use of a secondary coupling system in which the trailer is stopped automatically if the main coupling separates whilst the combination is in motion. Alternatively, in the case of trailers up to a maximum mass of 1500kg, the drawbar must be prevented from touching the ground and the trailer able to retain some residual steering.
Whilst being towed, trailers are subject to the relevant requirements given in RVLR, including the use of triangular red reflectors. There would be further requirements for the display of the appropriate number plate, etc.
The use of "dollies" is intended for the recovery of broken down vehicles, not for the transportation of a vehicle from "A" to "B". Under Regulation 83 of C&U a motor car is permitted to tow two trailers when one of them is a towing implement and the other is secured to and either rests on or is suspended from the implement. Therefore as a trailer if the maximum laden weight of the dolly exceeds 750 kg it must be fitted with operational brakes, additionally the brakes on the wheels of the second trailer (the towed car) must work and meet the specified requirements. Again this would be very difficult for the rear brakes of a motor car, on their own, to meet the 50% braking efficiency required for a trailer. The dolly would also be required by Regulation 22 of C&U to be fitted with suspension. Regulations 19 and 22 in C&U permit a broken down vehicle to be recovered without complying with these requirements. However, there is further legislation under the Road Traffic Act that introduces a limitation on the maximum speed that the combination can be driven; this is 40mph on motorways and 20mph on other roads.

Soloby Rob said:

Can you tell me where you got this infomation from please cos I'm damned if I can find it.

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FFS do a search it's been covered 100's of times on ere and on every other 4x4 forum on the net

Also read the posts in this thread they make it fairly simple to understand

I'm with Rob, can anyone tell us what laws we are talking about? So far I've failed to find anything on the web.
I was under the impression that they only applied to those recovering professionally. That would include most of the motor trade, not just recovery companies.
That means I can tow my own motor anywhere (so long as its T & T etc) but if I am paying someone to repair it and he collects it, then he can't use a rope.