Practically Classics Forum

Hi all,
I am looking to return my car to the UK from France and am considering the use of an A frame but having looked on the DVLA website information it appears that they are considered as trailers and must be braked if over 750kg,which it would be with a car attached.My question is in what circumsatances can these be legal and can anyone suggest an alternative apart from driving it or hiring a trailer and 4x4.
regards
Johc

If the A-frame and towed car combined are over 750kg, then unless you can make the towed car brake automatically at the same time as the tow car, then it will never be legal. I still see them being used though.

Thanks Harvey,
That's exactly what I thought,it seems to me they have very limited possibilities.
Johnc

I am looking to return my car to the UK from France and am considering the use of an A frame but having looked on the DVLA website information it appears that they are considered as trailers and must be braked if over 750kg

Surely this applies only to wheels on the A frame / towing dolly being braked and not the vehicle that it is towing - (or is there confusion at DVLA in regards to what is a A frame and what is a Towing dolly) Towing dollies are the favoured way for local recovery of vehicles by the AA & RAC and can be seen on a very regular basis being used by these motoring organisations - there versions are of a kit type that are stored neatly within the vans when not in use.

The road wheels on the towing dolly are "braked" though. The "towed vehicle" in this case is the dolly not the car so the cars brakes don't need to work. The car is is considered a load on the dolly. Therefore, if the combined weight of the car and dolly exceed 750kg, the dolly's road wheels need to be braked.

Basically, if you are towing almost ANY car on a trailer/dolly/A-frame then the road wheels of the trailer/dolly/A-frame, need of the to be braked.

Hope that helps.

I've never seen a dolly with brakes. Or an A-frame with wheels for that matter. Maybe the best way to do this is to pay someone to bring the car back on a commercial vehicle. Much less hassle in the end, no extra insurance for the O/P to worry about either.
OK, so that suggestion involves spending money - which requires allergy meds to be taken first - but sometimes...

I believe I'm right in saying that if any of the vehicle's wheels are on the road (as in the case with A-frame towing) then the subject vehicle needs to be fully road legal - tax, insurance and MoT. This being the case, you might as well drive it? If you can't comply with this then you probably can't use an A-frame dolly, so your only option then is to trailer it or borrow a flat-bed transporter I'd have thought.

All the best with it though - the more classics we re-patriate the better!

Hi all,
Thanks for all the input.I have pretty much concluded that it's going to be either a trailer or transporter and bite the bullet with regard to cost.

Johnc

Luxobarge wrote:I believe I'm right in saying that if any of the vehicle's wheels are on the road (as in the case with A-frame towing) then the subject vehicle needs to be fully road legal - tax, insurance and MoT. This being the case, you might as well drive it? If you can't comply with this then you probably can't use an A-frame dolly, so your only option then is to trailer it or borrow a flat-bed transporter I'd have thought.

All the best with it though - the more classics we re-patriate the better!

The A-Frame / Dolly is really only intended for recovery. If you're using it to transport a vehicle for a very long distance, PC Plod will conclude you are taking the proverbial

One of the families in the village use an a-frame to tow a smart car behind their motor home. I assume it is taxed, insured etc but they definitely use it for some very long distances.