Hi all I'm thinking of buying a towing doll'y, the type which allows you to drive the front wheels up on to for transporting, will you need an MOT or Insurance on the motor being towed if the front wheels are off the ground! any info please, Geoff.

Location: sunnyish suffolk coast

yes you need mot, insurance, and road tax - if any wheels are on the road. And you are likely to need operative brakes, depending on the weight of the 'trailer'.

Geoff

I looked into this some time ago, see link below. One thing I did pick up is that there appears to be a view that they are for emergency breakdown so using to take to and from an event may not quite be with in the law. It also starts to get complicated with the breaking as the dolly and towed car I believe should have linked brakes as they are viewed as a trailer.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/408927/a-frames-and-dollies.pdf

Location: Dorset

Thanks chaps, I might as well buy a braked trailer! less hassle.

Location: sunnyish suffolk coast

Whilst brakes are clearly a desirable safety issue, if the total loaded weight of the trailer is less than 750kg, they are not required by law. However, with a lot of modern cars you need to check the manufacturers towing limits, as some have less than 750kg for an unbraked trailer! Trailer brakes fall into the category of "if fitted, must work". Not such a problem with car trailers, but something I have to be wary of with boat trailers, where the innards of the brakes have rusted away, or been removed.

Stuart.

Stuart

Remember also that the unbraked trailer law states that the maximum unbraked trailer weight 50% of the cars kerb weight up to a maximum of 750kg

This rises to the irish situation where the more you load your towing vehicle (staying within the allowable maximums), the more you can tow!

Actually Hedd I'm sure that the legislation regarding kerb weight relates to the manufacturers stated figures of the unladen vehicle, with full tank of fuel and any tools such as jack, wheelbrace, spare wheel etc. Loading it up with luggage, passengers and anything else does not alter the LEGAL kerb weight in order to tow a heavier trailer.

Therefore for unbraked trailers (ie dolly plus A7) the towing vehicles unladen weight must be at least twice the weight of the towed trailer and that the trailer,(ie car and dolly) whether laden or not, together must not exceed 750kg.

At the end of the day, safety is what it's all about. Personally I wouldn't tow my A7 on a dolly unless it was absolutely necessary and there was no alternative.

Location: Gard, France 30960

I would have thought a rigid draw bar would be a better bet than a dolly.

Location: Pembrokeshire

Hi Mike,

I'm one of those with a foot in both the A7 and gin palace camp

"A" framing has, and I suspect will always be a grey area in the UK. It is not strictly speaking legal but it hasn't been declared illegal either so basically it is tolerated. It is looked at differently in other European countries like Spain where it is considered illegal.

The premise of towing a car with an "A" frame is that the car becomes a trailer when being towed so it must comply with towing law. This means that the car must display the number plate of the towing vehicle, lights must work in conjunction with the towing vehicle, reflective triangles must be display at the rear of the car (trailer) and the brakes must work in conjunction with the towing vehicle. This can be achieved either by an overrun type system (like a caravan) or with a fully electronic system.

Trailer law says that any trailer over 750kg must have brakes fitted but even if a trailer is under 750kg then any brakes that are fitted must be operational. This would mean that an A7 could be A framed but a method of braking it would have to be found.

Phil

Location: South Wales

Is there any technical reason from the A7 side of things why it would not be wise to tow using an A frame or dolly. I was thinking about possible damage to the drive train or chassis for instance.

Regards Ian.

Location: Worksop Notts