Aires and towed car

[Deleted member 2636]

Some of you tow a car either on a trailer or with an "A" frame type thingy: My question is what do you do with the spare vehicle at night when you are using an Aires?

 

[Kontiki]

We don't tow anything but in our years touring Europe we have seen all sorts of trailers, cars etc. being towed. There aren't any problems we have come across & from what we have seen some people leave the trailer/ car attached, park alongside, park elswhere on the aire or even park outside the aire. I think as long as people are considerate (not all are ) & you don't cause a problem for anybody or restrict the space if parking is tight then you should be ok.
There are no rules or rights/wrongs just common sense, you are only likely to encounter problems on some of the more popular places where space is a premium.

 

[Nosha]

I've only used two aires, one was on the edge of a bus terminus with room for a 35ft RV that pulled in for the night, and one was a carpark in a little village, again with loads of room.

If you search for aires there's a couple of very good 'private' website where people have photographed the 'pitches' and most are VERY roomy. If you used these website you can have a look before you go. In the popular areas there are so many, if room is tight you could soon move on to the next! (Just DON'T use 'A' frames in Spain!!).

 

[John H]

Following on from the last post, if you look up the very good French website CAMPINGCAR-INFOS you will find that most aires listed have photos so you can judge for yourself whether or not your rig will fit. I also agree that you would be wise not to tow by A-frame because both French and Spanish authorities have been stopping and fining such outfits.

 

[Deleted member 2636]

I also agree that you would be wise not to tow by A-frame because both French and Spanish authorities have been stopping and fining such outfits.

I know that the Spanish are being beastly about "A" frames but I wasn't aware that the French were cutting up rough about "A" frames

 

[donkey too]

In France they are getting very strict about using A frames. I was stopped last year towing my Spitfire down to Le mann and only got away with it by saying it had broken down and I was towing it to a repair shop. This is legal. But I think the police bloke knew the truth as when he saw the French Spitfire Club sticker he was very freindly and turned out that he was a member.

 

[John H]

I know that the Spanish are being beastly about "A" frames but I wasn't aware that the French were cutting up rough about "A" frames

We have been in Spain for five months and have met several people who told us about the problem they have had in France. We don't tow ourselves and so only have their stories to go by but it doesn't look good. At worst they have been heavily fined; at best, they have been made to detach the vehicle and drive it seperately (a bit of a problem if there's only one driver in the motorhome).