What is the penalty for A-framing a non road worthy vehicle?

What do you mean by a proper A frame? one which can apply the brakes on the towed vehical. Not sure what the penalty is but it illegal to tow anything over 750kg that is not braked.

Above this weight, an A frame can only be used to 'recover a vehicle to a place of safety' so dragging it 300 miles to the seaside would be a no-no. This also means that anything over 750kg would need tax, insurance & MOT, as well as a driver to use the brakes if not to steer.

With the A Frame it is legal provided the rear cross bar of the A Frame is permenately bolted to the car, when the towing bar is attached and a braking system installed the car becomes a four wheeled braked trailor and is legal in the UK and Europe

You also need to check your licence to check you are okay to tow a trailor, if you passed your test after 1997 it is not on you licence as standard.

63ragtop said:

What do you mean by a proper A frame? one which can apply the brakes on the towed vehical. Not sure what the penalty is but it illegal to tow anything over 750kg that is not braked.

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with no engine how heavy would it be?

Just done some more reading... the 750kg is gross weight not actual kerb weight, which means its the manufactors weight + its load carrying capacity There can't be a car on the market that has a gross weight less than 750kg

63ragtop said:

You also need to check your licence to check you are okay to tow a trailor, if you passed your test after 1997 it is not on you licence as standard.

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Common mis conception, if you passed after jan 97 you CAN tow over 750kg.

The law states (got off a site that does the trailer training, after I got pissed off trying to find a caravan under 750kg) that you may tow up to 750kg with a MGW of 4500kg, you may tow over 750kg but the MGW changes to only 3500kg (and as long as the towing weight of the car your using can tow it)

Therefore as long as the car will tow it and the whole lot don't exceed 3500kg your ok, thus you could tow a bug around on a proper car trailer as long as it's all under 3500kg

It's all about the weight of everything

Trouble

Probably none!

It's a matter of being sensible. I towed a bug back from Birmingham with a freelander. Both near side wings were missing but I stayed at a constant 50mph and all was well.

I have a mate who tows at 70mph

The towed car technically becomes a trailer and is therefore subject to the towing capacity of the actual vehicle being used.

If you tow a T4 with a bug that could be a problem and stand out a mile. The other way round though.......................

heres a link
http://www.fleetdriverskills.com/fl...ingtest.html?gclid=CM617Ljt85UCFRSb1QodQBZvhg

DubKopfeYellow said:

heres a link
http://www.fleetdriverskills.com/fl...ingtest.html?gclid=CM617Ljt85UCFRSb1QodQBZvhg

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I always thought you could tow UPTO 750kg ASLONG as the combined weight of car and trailor did not exceed 3500kg

ie so if the towing vehical was 3000kg then you could only tow 500kg

But if the towing vehical is 1500kg you can still only tow 750kg

I must be wrong

a framing is really only for breakdown recovery.
However, as long as the tow car is sensible, the one on the frame looks reasonably safe (nothing falling off) you have a lighting board and you are driving sensibly most police tend to ignore you.

Back in the day we used to recover any bug, from anywhere back home on A frames, I've towed bare floorpans this way, shells with no wings, all sorts, wouldn't risk it now. We even collected an Oval from Portugal like this, drove all the way up across Spain, then from Portsmouth back to Norfolk.
More recently I've moved bay windows about with my old Passat B5 estate.
Wouldn't do it now though.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but apart from the trailer licencing/weight issues, isn't a car being towed on an a-frame technically being driven? I think the law says if you're towing a car the driven wheels have to be off the ground (ok on a FWD, but a RWD it can make it difficult!) otherwise you are 'driving' it and are subject to the mot, tax and insurance laws.
So basically its a no-no unless the towed car's fully road legal, but like flat4fanatic says, as long as you're safe most coppers will turn a blind eye.

a framing

technically without an engine this vehicle is not motor propelled, therefor classes as a trailer, did you also know that you can have a van/car etc on a public highway, with no tax as long as the engine is gone, because it is classed as non motor propelled again therefor a trailer, i know coz i went to court about it !!!!!!!!!!!:moon:

botsdad said:

technically without an engine this vehicle is not motor propelled, therefor classes as a trailer, did you also know that you can have a van/car etc on a public highway, with no tax as long as the engine is gone, because it is classed as non motor propelled again therefor a trailer, i know coz i went to court about it !!!!!!!!!!!:moon:

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Did you win?

1972_Beetle_1300_Tom said:

What is the penalty for A-framing a non road worthy vehicle?

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Death by chocolate

u were sitting in the buggy? whilst it was being a framed?

This is rather interesting because I have devised a system for my Baja... Basically, my own A frame fits onto the beam, and the Baja's brakes are operated much in the same way as a caravan brakes (please don't start going "Yeah but it won't work because..." Because it does and I just can't be arsed explaining how I've done it!). There will be an electrical hitch, so that the Baja's lights operate just like a trailer, now I wonder what the legalities of that would be...

3 years ago I got stopped on the motorway A framing my broken bug back from the pod. I told them I was 'recovering' it off the motorway and they were fine with that (although they seemed a little unsure of the law)but said I must leave at the next exit and go no further with my A frame set up. I took it all the way home.. probably a lucky escape

63ragtop said:

I always thought you could tow UPTO 750kg ASLONG as the combined weight of car and trailor did not exceed 3500kg

ie so if the towing vehical was 3000kg then you could only tow 500kg

But if the towing vehical is 1500kg you can still only tow 750kg

I must be wrong

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Thats what i used to think to, untill i thought "sod it how much is it to do the towing training" and read that so as it says you can tow whatever you like aslong as the weight don't exceed 3500kg

I'm still buggered however cos i'm looking into a T5 which weighs in (inc. payload) at 3000kg so I still need a 750kg caravan/trailer making the lot 3750kg thus still within the 4500kg allowed when your "tow" is only 750

It very confusing, but good news for those of us who passed after '97

fall-apart-dave said:

This is rather interesting because I have devised a system for my Baja... Basically, my own A frame fits onto the beam, and the Baja's brakes are operated much in the same way as a caravan brakes (please don't start going "Yeah but it won't work because..." Because it does and I just can't be arsed explaining how I've done it!). There will be an electrical hitch, so that the Baja's lights operate just like a trailer, now I wonder what the legalities of that would be...

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Your car will then come under trailer regulation, but I think trailer breaks have to conform to an EU standard and the trailer tagged as such but not 100% on thats though.