A Framing...The facts please.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

When I used to tow stuff with the Audi 200, it occurred to me how, used with care, the A-frame is not in the least bit dangerous. the law can be an ass on this sort of thing. Your brakes slow you down by turning your kinetic (movement) energy into heat. Kinetic energy increases proportionally with mass, and with speed squared. So if you double your speed, you quadruple your kinetic energy. Triple your speed, you've got 9 times the original kinetic energy, which your brakes must convert into heat and dissipate into the air. But double your mass, and you have 'only' doubled the KE. Anyway the 200 had a top speed of something like 140 mph, and its brakes must have been throughly tested and proven to be capable of safely slowing down the car in an acceptable distance from this speed. So if I then tow another 200 behind mine with the A at 70, I have doubled the mass, so doubled the KE, but I still have only half the KE I would have if i was driving the 200 on its own at 140. So basically if I had to slow down quickly while towing, the brakes would have to process half the energy required to slow the car alone from 140mph. If you take into account the fact that 55mph is a safe towing speed, and keep the towed car beneath 80% of the weight of the towing car, in an emergency stop your brakes have actually got the same amount of work to do as slowing the towing car alone, from 73.5mph. Any car, even a 1000cc metro, can safely stop itself from 73mph. Basically, used with care, the A is perfectly safe even in unbraked from, but the law has to draw a line somewhere, fortunately I dont really know where it is and dont really want to look! Just use a heavy old car for towing and you can't go wrong.

[warren t claim]

A good point there Mr B but I think you would be surprised how little braking is available at 140mph! Slam on at that speed and you would be shocked at how long it takes you to slow down, even with new pads and discs. Throw a set of barryboys 16" wheels into the equation (think about it) when 14" rims were standard spec for much amusement.

[Lankytim]

I recon theres much more risk of a jack-knife than failing to slow down or stop in time. Saying that theres much more risk of a jack-knife using a fully legal braked car transporter trailer than using an A frame.

[dieselnutjob]

So if I then tow another 200 behind mine with the A at 70, I have doubled the mass, so doubled the KE, but I still have only half the KE I would have if i was driving the 200 on its own at 140. So basically if I had to slow down quickly while towing, the brakes would have to process half the energy required to slow the car alone from 140mph.

That won't help you at all if the road is wet and slippery. The tyres on the front vehicle will be sliding long before the brakes have run out of capacity.I used to tow quite a lot using a solid beam (and a mate steering the rear car). Even with flashing amber lights on the roof I still nearly twatted into some pillock on the north circular when he decided that actually he didn't really want to go off of the exit ramp and re-joined right in front of me. I was doing 40mph and he was trying to rejoin the north circular at maybe 10.There is no way I could have stopped but luckily a longer blast of airhorn and main beam got him to change his mind and go up the exit ramp anyway.

[dieselnutjob]

another thingIf you get a lighting board with the number plate of the (legal) towing vehicle, and strap it to the towee coving its number plate, how are the police going to know whether its got tax, mot or whatever? They aren't going to be able to identify it. They would have to actually stop you to find out what it is, and provided it all looks okay they probably won't bother.another time I was towing a shitey car with the work transit van, on a rope and got to a very busy large roundabout in Chelmsford. The copper in the police car next to me pulled out on to the roundabout and stopped with blue lights on to stop the traffic so that I could pull out.Then he just disappeared.I was well chuffed and greatful.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

^^ wow, good story, I would have 'nuff respek for the police for ages after that happened to me. Sadly my views of the police are formed mainly from reading depressing stories in the guardian about them photographing innocent folk and putting them on spurious 'troublemaker' databases etc.