Towing frame

[Venture]

Hi has any one made or have a towing frame for a Lomax 223 I would like to tow it behind my camper van .Or if any one has a plan to build one many thanks

[Mendip.Wursel]

Tow Frame.JPG (200.25 KiB) Viewed 27519 times

A suggestion, thanks
Kevin

[Claus]

http://www.burton2cvparts.com/triangle- ... -5404.html

[administrator]

Hi,
You need to look into the legality of towing using an A-frame if here in the UK. Lots of people do it, but...

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

Key issue is the weight difference between the vehicle being towed and the tug, if you're towing your Lomax with a medium sized family car then you should be OK unless the tug is unusually light or the Lomax is unusually heavy.

Common sense applies here, if you are towing an unmodified 2CV with a Smart Car then expect to get pulled. I have A framed my Avion to family holidays in Italy and the South of France using our Citroen C8 - very few people even realise it is a car that's being towed. They think it is some sort of tiny caravan or trailer. It tows beautifully and we carry lots of extra luggage in it - it's then ready for fun when we get there.

Also worth remembering is that any towed vehicle weighing over 750kg (including the towing device) needs to be braked. Again, shouldn't be a problem with a Lomax or any other A series based special unless you have a very unusual build or a very heavy A frame.

Be aware that towing is dangerous no matter how it's done. The key to safety is many checks throughout the journey and a well constructed A frame (you can't go wrong with the 2CV City one). I also use webbing straps from the tug to the towed vehicle as an extra protection.

Whatever you do, don't have the steering lock on and don't strap the steering wheel up. The steering tracks perfectly straight and follows through corners. Tyres would scrub badly if the steering was tied down. What you cannot do with a 2CV Special on an A frame is reverse, the wheels go straight to full lock and even with someone in the towed vehicle it cannot be held straight. I usually have to unhitch or do a 360 turn.

Remember also to take the car out of gear - there is a story on the old forum about someone destroying his engine in a 100 mile tow by leaving it in gear.

Here's a link to the DoT fact sheet on A frames and towing dollies;

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ollies.pdf

And another on towing trailers generally;

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ailers.pdf

[llanigraham]

Also worth remembering is that any towed vehicle weighing over 750kg (including the towing device) needs to be braked. Again, shouldn't be a problem with a Lomax or any other A series based special unless you have a very unusual build or a very heavy A frame.

(snip)

Here's a link to the DoT fact sheet on A frames and towing dollies;

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ollies.pdf

And another on towing trailers generally;

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ailers.pdf

There have been a few people stopped and prosecuted recently for exactly this, and the important paragraph from Geoff's posting is above. I know of one case where both the vehicles were impounded and the "trailer" destroyed by the Police. The bill before the Court case were nearly a £1000, just for transportation and storage.

If the trailer has a MAM (Maximum Allowed Mass) greater than 750kg it MUST be braked, and those brakes must be independent of the towing vehicle, so that if the trailer becomes detached the brakes are activated.

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

There is a grey area around exactly what constitutes a trailer, when a car becomes a trailer and whether the advice on independent braking systems means trailers or cars being towed or used as trailers - or not... The advice and the interpretation of the legislation in the two DoT information sheets actually conflicts in several key areas. Choose the version that suits you best and carry a print off of that

This lack of precision in regulation works for us with our small, light, odd cars. Just use a decent size towing vehicle, a sturdy A frame and legal lighting system/trailer board and no one is going to bother you.

If you want to be 100% cast iron certain, then you need a braked trailer to carry the car on (not too expensive if you are have an old caravan chassis and are handy with a welder) or buy one of the remote brake actuators used to tow hatchbacks behind motorhomes - expensive to buy and difficult to install on a Citroen Special I'd think...

Of course, there's no problem at all if you are "recovering" the vehicle. Our sort of cars breakdown often enough to make that a credible explanation.

[llanigraham]

There is a grey area around exactly what constitutes a trailer, when a car becomes a trailer and whether the advice on independent braking systems means trailers or cars being towed or used as trailers - or not... The advice and the interpretation of the legislation in the two DoT information sheets actually conflicts in several key areas. Choose the version that suits you best and carry a print off of that

This lack of precision in regulation works for us with our small, light, odd cars. Just use a decent size towing vehicle, a sturdy A frame and legal lighting system/trailer board and no one is going to bother you.

If you want to be 100% cast iron certain, then you need a braked trailer to carry the car on (not too expensive if you are have an old caravan chassis and are handy with a welder) or buy one of the remote brake actuators used to tow hatchbacks behind motorhomes - expensive to buy and difficult to install on a Citroen Special I'd think...

Of course, there's no problem at all if you are "recovering" the vehicle. Our sort of cars breakdown often enough to make that a credible explanation.

Sorry Geoff, but I have acquaintances who work for DVSA, from who I am getting my information.
They are getting much more strict over this and the independent braking system is now seen as very important.

And the recovery element is now termed to be to the nearest safe place, especially on motorways. They are also much stricter on those who are not known to be "Recovery Operators" or in the motor trade.

The safest way to tow another car where there is the slightest doubt is to stick it on a proper trailer, so all it's wheels are off the road.

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

If I am towing a vehicle that weighs 300 kilos with a vehicle that weighs nearly 1800 kilos then there is no need whatsover for the towed vehicle to be able to actuate its braking system. Remember I can tow up to 750 kilos in an unbraked trailer.

I'd be interested to hear from the DVSA the engineering reasons for their crackdown... I suspect there are no reasons at all beyond the opportunity to fine people. If it is so dangerous that it needs them to get stricter then let's hear just what those dangers are.

Remember the outcry when all the local DVLA offices were closed? No...? That's because the DVLA chose to loose the confidence and support of the motoring public. Getting "stricter" rather than "more helpful" will have the same effect and when the government decides to get G4S to do the job instead then no one will care. Might be worth pointing that out to them when you get the opportunity.

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

The regulations just refer to the braking system and not which part of the braking system - I have been looking at the handbrake system on my Avion and I think it is possible to either extend the lever (the one under the bonnet - not the umbrella handle under the dash) or connect it by a cable and idler pulley arrangement to the linkages of the inertia braking system used by caravans fitted to the A frame (replacing the unbraked coupling normally fitted).

Once the linkages were connected the handbrake would operate as the towing vehicle slowed down - in the same way that braked trailers do. It might be necessary to fit a return spring to the handbrake lever but that would be easy.

New braked couplings are quite expensive at around £140 but one could be harvested from almost any scrap caravan. There are a couple of caravan breakers in North Wales. I will see if I can get one and play around with it when I have some time.

I have also seen system for motorhomes where the actual brake pedal is connected to the braked coupling using nothing more complicated than a hole in the floor, a cable and a pulley. I will have a look at that feasibility of that too - this would mean that the main braking system would be operated when the towing vehicle slows. It might be an easier option than actuating the handbrake on an Avion or a Pembleton without the standard Citroen platform chassis.