Anyone made a tow dolly?

[white van man 2]

i've read thru the trailer & towing association guide to the law relating to trailers (clicky) and can't find anything that says a 4 wheeled trailer must be braked.

one nice solution to the problem i've seen is an A-frame with brakes. the drawbar has a brake master cylinder in it, and there is a slave cylinder that clips to the brake pedal and the driver's seat. when the towing vehicle slows it pushes on the drawbar which in turn presses the brake pedal in the vehicle being recovered.

 

[Justme]

Added stuff

Any trailer over 750kg must be breaked. If it needs breaks then all wheels must be breaked. Or thats my understanding of it. With an A frame get some one to sit in the car to opperate the breaks, its then not a trailer but a towed car.


Just checked out that site. Dont hold much confidence in it as some of the info is wrong. On the Driving Licence page it says to tow ANY trailer you must hjave a full licence. That is wrong. If you have a provisional trtactor licence you can tow a trailer even if you dont have a car licence. You cant tow a full sized agri trailer witha full sized tractor as there are limits on size / weight (about 8 tonnes I think)

Justme

 

[rtbcomp]

i've read thru the trailer & towing association guide to the law relating to trailers (clicky) and can't find anything that says a 4 wheeled trailer must be braked.

.

I can (if it needs brakes in the first place, which it will if total towed weight >= 750 kilos)

Braked trailers manufactured after Oct. 1982 require brakes that comply with EC Directives. If brakes are required, all wheels must be braked. (if manufactured in or after 1968)

 

[rtbcomp]

. With an A frame get some one to sit in the car to opperate the breaks, its then not a trailer but a towed car.

Justme

Unless a copper decides you're carrying a passenger in a trailer!

 

[Justme]

LOL

Thats not always illegal. Farmers are allowed to do so still.

Justme

 

[Towing and trailers]

Hi not been on the site for a long time and I came on and saw this post at the top.

yes you need brakes over 750kg this includes the weight of the trailer / Dolley and its goods ( the car ) so if you want to make a towing dolly unbraked you must look at transporting smart cars.

This is the same for A frames and there are braked A frames around not that I agree with A frames or dollys

you can not use car brakes as all trailers must have Auto revers brakes and car brakes do not do this.

you will require the wheel supports to swivel as the wheel distance will be so long that the car will try and twist itself off on tight corners.

I will not even try and sell Dollys as it is a very dark area in the law I do not want to get involved.

The best bet is a twin axle car trailer.

get a couple of Caravan Axles from a brakers as these have the correct brakes and a coupling to suit and make a simple frame this does not need to be too elaberate basically a couple of runners down either side with a few cross braces and an A frame drawbar.

Caravan axles are good as they are wide.

other oprion is buying one they are not as expensive as every one thinks single axle car trailers do start under £1000 Twins from about £1500.

but this takes the fun out of building one.

if you need any help please contact me I would Recomend stearing away from a Dolly.

Regards

Pete

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

took my car in for MOT today and, by chance, a recovery truck pulled up to drop off a dead car that they'd just picked up.

The 'dolly' was attached to a crane arrangement attached to the truck.

So I wandered over to ask the driver about the legalities and he said that as the front wheels of the towed car were, in effect, 'on' the back of his truck and only the cars rear wheels were on the road, he was towing a two-wheeled trailer.

I asked about the car being around 1500kg, well over the limit for requiring a braked trailer and he wasn't too sure but suggested that as most of the weigth was in the engine and that was 'on' his truck, then it was legal.

I'd guess that if 'the law' wanted to get him on a weigh-bridge and they weighed his truck first, then moved the truck forward and weighed the car (while still attached to the truck) then it'd be less than 500kg, but that's only a guess...

So if I could make something that attached to the back of my car, bolted on the tow-bar with the ball removed...

and for added ssecurity also bolted to the boot floor with suitable strengtheners in place...

and it had a 'spectacle' arrangement to take the front wheels of another car off the road while providing a pivot point...

then it may actually be legal.

Regards
Peter

 

[white van man 2]

i'd be slightly wary of that. it's nice as an idea, but in practice the spec lift on a recovery truck is bolted on to big girders, and the truck has springs wich will hardly notice if you chuck an extra couple of tonnes on them

 

[rtbcomp]

So if I could make something that attached to the back of my car, bolted on the tow-bar with the ball removed...

and for added ssecurity also bolted to the boot floor with suitable strengtheners in place...

and it had a 'spectacle' arrangement to take the front wheels of another car off the road while providing a pivot point...

then it may actually be legal.

Regards
Peter

Probably not as it is a legal requirement to able to steer your car.

Tell your insurance company though, as you have to declare any modifications.

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

well, yes...

how about a solidly attached dolly with wheels though?

These wheels would take the weight of the front end of the towed vehicle and as they're attached to my car I'd still only have a two wheeled trailer.

But here I'm not sure about the laws regarding my car having six wheels...

Regards
Peter

 

[rtbcomp]

Hi,

well, yes...

how about a solidly attached dolly with wheels though?

These wheels would take the weight of the front end of the towed vehicle and as they're attached to my car I'd still only have a two wheeled trailer.

But here I'm not sure about the laws regarding my car having six wheels...

Regards
Peter

When you turn a corner the extra wheels will scrub sideways in an arc, or force the car to carry on, understeer would be incredible! You could try casters The towed car would have to be on a pivoted beam or it too will tend to be swung out in an arc. The forces on the towing bar would be enormous.

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

casters! That would do it...

Regards
Peter

 

[classic2cv]

Hi not been on the site for a long time and I came on and saw this post at the top.

yes you need brakes over 750kg this includes the weight of the trailer / Dolley and its goods ( the car ) so if you want to make a towing dolly unbraked you must look at transporting smart cars.

This is the same for A frames and there are braked A frames around not that I agree with A frames or dollys

you can not use car brakes as all trailers must have Auto revers brakes and car brakes do not do this.

you will require the wheel supports to swivel as the wheel distance will be so long that the car will try and twist itself off on tight corners.

I will not even try and sell Dollys as it is a very dark area in the law I do not want to get involved.

The best bet is a twin axle car trailer.

get a couple of Caravan Axles from a brakers as these have the correct brakes and a coupling to suit and make a simple frame this does not need to be too elaberate basically a couple of runners down either side with a few cross braces and an A frame drawbar.

Caravan axles are good as they are wide.

other oprion is buying one they are not as expensive as every one thinks single axle car trailers do start under £1000 Twins from about £1500.

but this takes the fun out of building one.

if you need any help please contact me I would Recomend stearing away from a Dolly.

Regards

Pete

The mans right

I bought myself a towing dolly but I only used it once

(it was terrible & it broke on the M1)

I transport my 2CV's with my homemade A frame and have had no problems

If you have to recover a car or move one now and again an Aframe will do fine

But if you want to move cars on a regular basis I’d go for a trailer

 

[fingers99]

I've just towed a Seicento from Birmingham to Liverpool using one of the post to the wishbone, chain over the top, clamp it tight with a strap A frames. Seicento probably isn't the greatest test you could come up with, but it was absolutely unproblematic.

 

[MikeMaughan]

Plans for making an "A Frame"

I bought some plans for making 'A' frames a while ago but never got around to it as the rules for use are still a bit strict.

Hi Peter,

Did you ever progress this project? Any opinions on it - progressed or otherwise?

I'd also like to get some plans, so would appreciate a note as to where you got yours - or anywhere else you know of too?

Regards, Mike

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

strewth this is an old one!

I found the plans on Ebay some time ago. Didn't cost much as I recall.

Designed by someone in the UK who makes them up for sale but also sells the plans for DIY builders.

Unfortunately they're said to have id codes in them so I don't want to give out copies.

As the rules on using these things are over-strict and the pigs are getting very keen on busting people who have a bit of cash (obvious as you've got a car!) and are just trying to get through life doing whatever they can...

I haven't built one and probably won't be doing it.

If I need to shift a car a mile or two across town I'll use a tow-rope and a second driver, much less hassle!

Anything at distance and I'll use a local 'one-man-and-his-truck' at reasonable cost. For instance I bought a Mondeo from the salvage auctions 15 miles out of town. Local guy with a 5-tonner charged me around £25 - £30 to pick it up and drop it on my drive. Ok, it was 10% of the value of the car I'd bought for a small job but there was no hassle doing it that way.

Regards
Peter

 

[white van man 2]

If I need to shift a car a mile or two across town I'll use a tow-rope and a second driver, much less hassle!

rope ain't allowed anymore get yourself a solid tow pole

 

[Robotstar5]

rope ain't allowed anymore get yourself a solid tow pole

Has anyone told them yet?

 

[white van man 2]

they'll justify selling them by saying they are aimed at the 4x4 drivers for when they go off-roading, or for towing a car out of a dangerous location, such as broken down in the middle of a junction

 

[Chas-Chiro]

Has anyone told them yet?

Towing on a rope is NOT illegal.

I don't know where this wrong information has spread from but here are the restrictions.

Length between vehicles is no more than 1.5m unless the rope is clearly visible (clearly marked with a flag etc) then up to 4.5m apart.
Towing must be done in a safe manner. (Common sense).
If lights do not work on towed vehicle hand signals are allowed during hours of daylight only. Otherwise a trailer board must be used.
There are NO restrictions to the distance covered when towing on a rope, although it does take a lot more concentration.
Definition of a rope is: rope, strop, wire strop, or chain. As all these can become slack as towed vehicle can gain on lead vehicle.
When towing on a motorway, this is only allowed from the point of breakdown to the first exit (services are not an exit), then continue on 'A' roads, 'B' roads including dual carriageways.
The towed vehicle has to be of the same class of vehicle or smaller, eg a car (PLG) can tow another car, but not a vehicle over 3.5tonnes, however the other way round (larger vehicle towing the smaller one) would be legal.
If the brakes do NOT work on the towed vehicle then it's NOT legal to use a rope, but a solid bar is legal.

I worked in the recovery business for well over 15 years.