Simple question, legal or not.
I thought I'd read somewhere that they were only legal for use by a licenced recovery service, not for general use. Thing is I was speaking to a policeman (off duty) recently who uses one himself!!
Would be so much cheaper and easier to store than a trailer.
Saw this one which looks good.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-5t-CAR-RECOVERY-A-FRAME-TOWING-DOLLY-TRAILER-3-5-tons_W0QQitemZ160331879790QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Recovery_Tools?hash=item16033 1879790&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Any opinions?

[Edited on 29/4/09 by norfolkluego]

do a search , comes up every few weeks on every car based forum in the universe.

Not legal

[Edited on 29/4/09 by cd.thomson]

ooh a bent copper
only to be used for recovery, not legal for general towing, but the risk is up to you

A dolly is for recovery only.
A frames like in your Ebay listing are different, there is a fact sheet from the DFT about their use somewhere.
Ive just used 1 to take my car for its inspection at Leeds and no-one complained about its legality including the 2 sets of traffic police at VOSA or the traffic car that followed me on the Leeds ring road.

It may be legal(-ish), but if the towed vehicle has any wheels on the road then it has to be road-legal - MOT (if old enough), insurance and tax.

Not much good for a trackday-only car.

Thats not what the DFT fact sheet says, it says
we believe the "A" frame and car become a single unit and as such are classified in legislation as a trailer. As a consequence the car and A-frame are required to meet the technical requirements for trailers when used on the road in Great Britain
Trailers dont need tax, MOT or insurance

But ANY brakes fitted to ANY trailer have to be auto-reverse item which car brakes are not.......

Hmmm - not sure I'd want to argue that one in court!

Here's the sheet - LINKY. It seems to suggest that the 'trailer' (i.e. car on an A-frame) must display triangular reflectors, have lights linked to the towing car, show the towing car's number (trailer lighting bar thing?) and, if over 750kg, must have brakes linked to the towing vehicle... a car makes a heavy trailer.

...not sure it's worth the faffing about.

Dont need brakes for less than 750kg, oops too slow.
My kit is only about 450kg and the A frame is about 20-30kg so its well within the 750kg limit.

[Edited on 29/4/09 by PhilCross66]

Quote from the sheet:

"However, if the trailer (regardless of mass) is fitted with a braking system, then all
brakes in that system must operate correctly. The regulations do not include design
constraints on how this should be achieved but, for example, it could be met by direct linking
of the trailer brakes to the brake system of the towing vehicle or by automatic inertia (overrun)
operation via the towing hitch. "

The bit at the end is also significant:

'From the above I hope it is clear that we believe the use of "A" frames to tow cars behind
other vehicles is legal provided the braking and lighting requirements are met. However, while
this is our understanding of the meaning of the Regulations, it is only the Courts which can
reach a definitive interpretation of the law.'

Who wants to be the first test case?

[Edited on 29/4/09 by David Jenkins]

I researched this very thoroughly a while ago as I was going to produce A-frames to sell. I spoke to a guy who was also making them to tow smaqll cars behind camper vans and his system had the over-run coupling connected to the towed cars brake pedal. It was a very good system but which ever way you follow the regulations, they always culminate with the same answer, they're illegal.
The towed car is either a trailer, or a towed car.
If it's a trailer, no matter what it's weight, if it has brakes fitted (which most cars do) they have to be trailer specific. ie auto reverse.
If it's a towed car, it has to be road legal. It has to have third party liability insurance, have a current VED, be MOT'd and be road worthy.
And then we get on to the maximum gross weight of the outfit.......Total Train Weight.
That is the maximum the tow car is permitted to carry and tow, plus the maximum the towed car is permitted to carry or pull. Add these together, even if both cars are empty, and this is the figure the VOSA guys will be quoting when you're in the dock.
Loads of folks use dollies, A-frames, tow poles and ropes and most get away with it. You takes your chances.....


[Edited on 29/4/09 by owelly]

It would be very easy to just take off the calipers and tie wrap them to the arms, then there are no brakes fitted.
Surely if these things are as illegal as some say the police would be having a field day prosecuting motorists who use them, after all they love to persecute us for anything.

They will. One day!

As with anything like this no one seems to care too much until there's an accident, and your track car parts company with the towing car, jumpers the centre island and kills someone! At this point you can be sure the CPS and your insurance company will find the answer and I bet it won't go in your favour .

Obviously if you lose your car off the back and it kills somebody you will be heavily punished. But the same would be true if it was just a regular trailer because you would have just killed somebody by your negligence.
There is no more reason for it to become detached than any other trailer and just incase it does I also have mine chained to the car, as per the rules, so it still has to follow me while I stop.

Yes its a grey area, but they are not illegal.
My brother-in-law uses one every day for work. He has had several stops by the police and VOSA. Has he ever been prosecuted? No. If it was illegal then he would have been prosecuted.

The problem with road traffic acts and laws is that some can be open to interpretation. And no matter who interprets them (you, me, policeman, VOSA tester) they are doing exactly that, interpreting. And that means absolutly sod all. If a copper tells you its illegal to drive whilst listening to Motorhead because he interpeted a law wrongly, does that make it illegal? No. Same with these towing dollies. They are not illegal. My brother has had prohibition orders placed on him for using dollies, and then had them overturned. He has been pulled by road traffic officers and told he can not drive away. And then after lengthy radio conversations, the officer has let him go on his way. How could this happen if they were illegal? Answer is, they are NOT.


YET.

When the road traffic acts are updated I am sure they will add in some extra wording that clearly defines their use, but until then, they are fine to be used. And thats for normal towing or recovery, as as far as I have found there is no law that defines their use. The only way you could be prosecuted for using one now would be for you to be taken to crown court for using one and then have the judge read all the relevant laws and then for him, and him alone, to make a decision on what he thinks the laws exact wording means. And if it is a grey area then two different judges on two different days could make two different rulings. And that would only happen if it gets taken to court in the first place, which I have yet to hear any cases of.

Few, that was long winded. But I know how complex interpreting laws is, as I often have to deal with it in my line of work.

Wow this is complicated

Ignoring the legal bit, and purely out of curiosity, what is this setup like to tow?

I've towed a car on a trailer and that wasn't too bad - just wondering if there were any issues with this sort of A-frame.

The law could really do with revising - why is it that every time politicians bring in a law, they never make it clear and concise? In league with the lawyers maybe? Logically and morally, if a trailer of up to 750kg doesn't need brakes, then a lightweight car (regardless of MGW), weighing under 750kg when it's being towed, shouldn't and whether it's got them or not should be immaterial. Why on earth they can't phrase a law to allow that I don't know.

Out of interest ... what makes it turn with the towing car?