Going out to by a TOAD (TowCar) today!

Hi, I have no experience in these matters but would it be possible to buy a Spanish car and take it to France? Nearer if you need annual MOT type checks. I am sure one of you out there know if this would work.
 
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Whether right or wrong I Bought this one, complete with A Frame 😃
 
Looks good (y)

We towed a Chevrolet Matiz on an Armitage A-Frame which i had fitted at their place in Ferrybridge for 3 years without any problems.

The reason we gave up towing it was the fact that we were doing more and more wilding so an outfit that length did not work well when parking overnight.

We did what is now the dreaded NC500 long before it was even thought of and it was fine including the single track roads although we did base ourselves at campsites and toured in the car which got us to places that we could only ever dream of if only in the motorhome :eek:

One little tip i have is for the spare key that you need in the ignition to take the steering lock off, i got a standard non-immobilser one cut at Timpsons.

They kept insisting it would not start the car, i tried to explain i didn`t want it to start the car which really confused the little poppet and he kept saying, why do you want a key that will not start the car, in the end the manager took over and cut me one no problem, I also got a light black cloth that i could put over the steering column and didn`t interfere with the steering wheel turning so it wasn`t obvious that there was a key in the ignition when we left it at service stations etc.
 
yeoblade said:
As title, we have bought house in the middle of France, just come back and after travelling there 'n back in the MoHo (7.4m long coachbuilt ) I have found the impracticalities of having to daily drive it around there to do all those daily things. So the only real solution I've found is take a TOAD with me and leave it there for 6 months. As it needs at least one or two stopovers to get there I like having the moHo to travel there, and of course have some trips out from the FR. house.
Any thoughts apart from it's maybe illegal and it will fall off the MoHo and kill people when its front goes rusty!
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Legality.
It is not permitted according to the French Highway Code (Le code de la Route) to tow one motorised vehicle with another. Even if broken down, in general and always on motorways, it is a requirement to use a licensed recovery operator.

Folk will comment on the fact that there is at least one French manufacturer of a-frames (true), “so it must be legal”. Not so, I’m afraid. The supplier I know is Le ‘Cadre-a-tracter’ système bleu. The system they provide is inertia braked and inertia braked systems are outlawed under UNECE regulation 13 para 5.2.2.2 which bans inertia couplings on anything other than ‘centre-axle’ trailers.

Safety.
I realise your comment was tongue in cheek but, it does happen. On 17/10/21 in Weston Super Mare, a Low mileage Suzuki Alto had a total failure of the a-frame mountings. The installation was illegal in that it had neither an emergency breakaway system installed or a secondary coupling (not that the latter would have helped).
Pedestrians ran for their lives but fortunately, no one was injured.
Already in the last 12 months, there have been at least 3 failures where either the towing eye(s) pulled out of the TOAD or the front crash protection collapsed. All were new (or nearly new) vehicles with less than 1000 towed miles. All these 3 cases are still ongoing.

My thoughts.
Personally, I’d use a trailer! However, if you do go down the a-frame route, ensure you have a couple of hundred euros handy and, a second driver! Additionally, the front bumper needs to be removed annually for a full inspection of the mountings. As there are no standards or controls in place for a-frames, nothing can be taken for granted. ANYONE can have a go and fit one, no skill required.

#TowLegal #TowSafe
 

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No idea if it’s any less problematic than an A frame but is a towing Dolly an option for France? The type I mean has the front wheels off the road similar to the ones that fold out of breakdown trucks. Add a bit of width to the towed vehicle but that was only downside I noticed but no idea if they are any more legal than an A frame in other countries
 
TonyEmm said:
Legality.
It is not permitted according to the French Highway Code (Le code de la Route) to tow one motorised vehicle with another. Even if broken down, in general and always on motorways, it is a requirement to use a licensed recovery operator.

Folk will comment on the fact that there is at least one French manufacturer of a-frames (true), “so it must be legal”. Not so, I’m afraid. The supplier I know is Le ‘Cadre-a-tracter’ système bleu. The system they provide is inertia braked and inertia braked systems are outlawed under UNECE regulation 13 para 5.2.2.2 which bans inertia couplings on anything other than ‘centre-axle’ trailers.

Safety.
I realise your comment was tongue in cheek but, it does happen. On 17/10/21 in Weston Super Mare, a Low mileage Suzuki Alto had a total failure of the a-frame mountings. The installation was illegal in that it had neither an emergency breakaway system installed or a secondary coupling (not that the latter would have helped).
Pedestrians ran for their lives but fortunately, no one was injured.
Already in the last 12 months, there have been at least 3 failures where either the towing eye(s) pulled out of the TOAD’s front crash protection collapsed. All were new (or nearly new) vehicles with less than 1000 towed miles. All these 3 cases are still ongoing.

My thoughts.
Personally, I’d use a trailer! However, if you do go down the a-frame route, ensure you have a couple of hundred euros handy and, a second driver! Additionally, the front bumper needs to be removed annually for a full inspection of the mountings. As there are no standards or controls in place for a-frames, nothing can be taken for granted. ANYONE can have a go and fit one, no skill required.

#TowLegal #TowSafe
Click to expand...
I think the OP already knows all this but has went ahead and bought one anyway🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
 
For UK all a frames must have a sys where it puts the brakes on in the t car, lots of older types were on f book for sale here to the unwary.
T dollies were banned here about 15 years back but I still see them used.
Trailers carrying more than 750kg must have a full cable braking sys, hydraulic brakes are not allowed, many boat trailers from the USA are illegal here but still used, our police don't seem to bother or know until an accident happens and the sh one t hits the fan.
 
trevskoda said:
For UK all a frames must have a sys where it puts the brakes on in the t car, lots of older types were on f book for sale here to the unwary.
T dollies were banned here about 15 years back but I still see them used.
Trailers carrying more than 750kg must have a full cable braking sys, hydraulic brakes are not allowed, many boat trailers from the USA are illegal here but still used, our police don't seem to bother or know until an accident happens and the sh one t hits the fan.
Click to expand...
Towing dollies are not actually banned in the U.K. but they are subject to severe restrictions. Not least is that under the C&U regs, all the brakes on a towed vehicle have to work (exceptions for breakdowns) and, towing a vehicle on a dolly is classed as 2 trailers. Very few can do that legally plus there are severe speed restrictions.

i used to manufacture car dollies and did trials on many variations, from unbraked with wheels under, to Ackerman steered (braked) with wheels outside. None of the them were a total success for prolonged transportation, only really good for recovery to a place of safety (which is still legal).
 
TonyEmm said:
Towing dollies are not actually banned in the U.K. but they are subject to severe restrictions. Not least is that under the C&U regs, all the brakes on a towed vehicle have to work (exceptions for breakdowns) and, towing a vehicle on a dolly is classed as 2 trailers. Very few can do that legally plus there are severe speed restrictions.

i used to manufacture car dollies and did trials on many variations, from unbraked with wheels under, to Ackerman steered (braked) with wheels outside. None of the them were a total success for prolonged transportation, only really good for recovery to a place of safety (which is still legal).
Click to expand...
You will probably know the answer to this so I am addressing the question to you. I think the type of dolly I mean on recovery vans is fixed at the vehicle end so no double articulation (which I be,I’ve would require a type 1 HGV or whatever the artic licence is these days) are the fixed as I think?

I know I once bought a trike from Grantham and towed it home using a tow a trike device which fixed to the front forks and was double articulation. I didn’t know it was illegal until about a month after I used it. Had passed police cars with it on as well so maybe they weren’t aware either back then. I know around a year after these devices started to disappear from the market and dolly’s or trailers took over.
 
Nabsim said:
You will probably know the answer to this so I am addressing the question to you. I think the type of dolly I mean on recovery vans is fixed at the vehicle end so no double articulation (which I be,I’ve would require a type 1 HGV or whatever the artic licence is these days) are the fixed as I think?

I know I once bought a trike from Grantham and towed it home using a tow a trike device which fixed to the front forks and was double articulation. I didn’t know it was illegal until about a month after I used it. Had passed police cars with it on as well so maybe they weren’t aware either back then. I know around a year after these devices started to disappear from the market and dolly’s or trailers took over.
Click to expand...
I’m guessing you’re referring to a fixed ‘spectacle’ frame? As it’s not a Cat O1 or O2 trailer it’s not my field of expertise however, I believe that as the vehicle is fitted with brakes, trailer laws would apply. (Breakdowns excepted). Legal for recovery , not for transportation. You would also get into the realms of Operators licences and tachos!
 
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yeoblade said:
Of course I might chicken out, and just drive it there. As it's got the A frame with it, it is a sort off option.
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You could use the A frame to get the car to France, it will save money on fuel to Dover and it was cheaper on the ferry when I used to take mine to France, it is classed as a trailer, and a motorhome with a trailer was cheaper than a motorhome and a separate ticket for a car
 
Wooie1958 said:
Looks good (y)
///snip...........

One little tip i have is for the spare key that you need in the ignition to take the steering lock off, i got a standard non-immobilser one cut at Timpsons.

They kept insisting it would not start the car, i tried to explain i didn`t want it to start the car which really confused the little poppet and he kept saying, why do you want a key that will not start the car, in the end the manager took over and cut me one no problem, I also got a light black cloth that i could put over the steering column and didn`t interfere with the steering wheel turning so it wasn`t obvious that there was a key in the ignition when we left it at service stations etc.
Click to expand...
It actually comes with a non-chipped key just as you described!
 
i use a frame in the uk as i dont see a problem, but when i went abroad i put car on a trailer as you can reverse a trailer , if i were stopped abroad using an a frame and they said its wrong as im on my own i would have to leave one of them at the side of the road. i now just carry electric bike when going abroad
 
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Got a pair of Fiats 500's now, Wife's Red one she didn't want to leave in France and the white TOAD and a bigger Fiat to tow it with 😀
 
Tezza33 said:
Lovely cars, Maggy has a 500 but she doesn't allow the dogs in it so I had to buy a Fiat Panda to tow, it has a top box and makes a great trailer behind the van 👍
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That's a coincidence, Mary won't ever let the dog in her Red one either. Mind you it would be a bit squat if the seats weren't down 🐕🐶
 
If you have a really good Moho do you need a house? Just sell the house and spend your time in Germany, Switzerland, Spain or wherever
 
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