A Framing issue on another forum.

[cobblers]

My mate regularly A frames VW T5 campers behind his t5 panel van. I've done my best to explain to him that he is eventually going to get shot with shit for it (the van on the back weights more than the tow vehicle for a start) but he's got a braking device that presses the brake pedal on the back van, and he reckons this makes him bulletproof in the eyes of vosa.

 

I also pointed out that he's clearly towing it commercially, and not for recovery (the van on the back has for sale signs in the windows etc ) so due to the overall weight he'll probably need a tacho or something mad like that.

He's not bothered and he seems to get away with it all the time. Doing long motorway trips usually, too.

[KruJoe]

It’s totally barmy to decide a trailer combo is overweight based on the gross vehicle weight innit, i don’t know who decided on that. You might as well give 3 points and a £60 fine to any anyone found driving a car capable of 80+ mph.

+1 on that, Testes.

Add that to the fact that Fiat/Smart/Aixam decide the GVWeight and other numbers on the plate as a motor vehicle. They were not manufacturers of trailers last time I looked. Shirley there's a defence in that point; there is no published GVW for an A-framed car once it becomes a trailer (if it does indeed become a trailer once the A-frame is attached. My understanding of the wording is that if it is being towed by another PLG vehicle (not a specially registered 'recovery vehicle'), it is simply a vehicle being towed).

[messerschmitt owner]

990kg does include people in it and a full tank of fuel

 

my smart roadster weighs 790kg empty - a Brabus roadster about 840kg.

 

a smart city coupe weighs less than a roadster.

 

Oh sorry, I stand corrected.

I used to A frame my Trabant - based on the fact that it actually weighed 595kg

Presumably that was wrong as well then.

no, but I own a smart, I know its weight!

I've owned a trabant P50 too - it weighed about 600kg.

The law is a grey area - it's easier to take the hit than be the one that instigates a test case.

If the towed vehicle has brakes, they should be usable - the trailer should also be capable of being reversed on the a-frame - which almost every car can't be due to articulation and steering wheels!

 

I a-frame my messerschmitt occasionally - it has brakes and they should work as the vehicle has become a trailer, but they don't and I'm taking a risk.

 

I've been stopped twice with a car transporter now and each time the coppers wanted to know if it was a commercial load as If it was I'd get done for no tacho.

[Lankytim]

You can reverse a car on an A frame! It's just like reversing any other trailer- I had assumed it would be next to impossible until I tried it.

[worldofceri]

The stupid thing is a vehicle on an a-frame actually makes for a very stable combination.

 

I've a-framed a Renault 5 with a 1.2l Clio and it was much more stable at 50-60 mph than my Volvo S40 pulling a small caravan.

 

Admittedly I wouldn't want to have to make an emergency stop, but then I doubt it would jackknife easily, unlike a conventional car and trailer combo.

[Albert Ross]

I was party to a 1951 Land Rover being framed from Nottingham to Swansea.... with a 1979 Land Rover. When we got to the hilly bits, I jumped into the 80" behind, and powered it up, giving us power and traction. The Police didn't bat an eyelid, and there was me with no seat belt on (GOSH!) as it had none.... Seems they liked the idea, and wished more people towed responsibly. (Flashing amber, yellow "force field" jackets, and a lot of smiles)

[forddeliveryboy]

I was party to a 1951 Land Rover being framed from Nottingham to Swansea.... with a 1979 Land Rover. When we got to the hilly bits, I jumped into the 80" behind, and powered it up, giving us power and traction. The Police didn't bat an eyelid, and there was me with no seat belt on (GOSH!) as it had none.... Seems they liked the idea, and wished more people towed responsibly. (Flashing amber, yellow "force field" jackets, and a lot of smiles)

 

Fantastic!!! We all know plenty of plod prefers real British machinery, a mate and I used to drove past them at 90 in an XJS on the A1 and they'd give us a thumbs up. Try that in a BMW or Audi.