wild foamy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Hi peeps, I need to pick your brains for a while... Basically im moving from oxford to wolverhampton in April, i have a kia sportage 4x4 as a daily driver and also have a classic mini as a toy (not taxed or tested atm), i dont have a B+E licence so when i move i cannot put the mini on a trailer and tow it as i would be over my 750kg limit. however, a friend at work has a towing dolly, used only once and he is after £125 for it, its like a little single-axle trailer but with a turntable on top which the front wheels of the towed car sit on, this means that the car you are towing is then classed as a normal trailer and requires no driver, the Kia weighs 1500kg and the mini weighs 670kg (probably less considering it is partially stripped down) and probably a further 70-80kg for the dolly, which brings me up to and hopefully under my 750kg towing allowance. now, the things that troubles me... the Kias maximum approved (unbraked) towing weight is 465kg, which is 161% of the towing cars reccomended towing weight, would it be illegal for me to move the mini in this manner? or would it just be a major pain in the ass and likely to spit me over the central reservation and into the path of an oncoming HGV with a shitfaced polish driver at the wheel?. as always, input appreciated peeps, much love, ho ho f*cking ho Foameh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator mervin Posted December 24, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 24, 2012 Just get one of those companies that transport cars around to do it like shipley by the time you pay £125 for the dolly and the extra fuel you will have to use i reckon it will not cost much more, and no worries about things going tits up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 that could be a possibility merv, im not sure how much such a company would charge to transport a 'non-roadworthy' vehicle that distance, plus if i ever get in the shit again i have the bonus of a dolly to atleast be able to move my car to a safe(er) place theoretically and legally speaking, would there be anything stopping me from doing it in an emergency situation?, say the mini blows up miles from home and rather than pay the £500 recovery fee (like i did with my suzuki swift, robbing bastards!) i recover it myself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator mervin Posted December 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 25, 2012 Foamy they give you a quote first mate , suck it and see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted December 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 25, 2012 Have you checkedvto see if the dolly has brakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 The dolly is unbraked, will see what it will cost me to move it on a wrecker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shambles1980 Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 its still legal to transport things on a bar with no breaks. but it probably wont be for long. have transported a mondeo estate on a bar with no breaks. behind a skudo van. only hit some dual carrage ways though. Its not fun coming up to a junction on a steep hill. and the bar we have connects with chains so you have to start off on a straight line. and you cant reverse with it.. and it dosent like bumps.. apart from that its not too terrible... but given the choice of all things being equal, and if the expense was going to end up reasonably similar.. id go for some one els transpoting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy1 Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I would think that you are cutting it really fine on your weight,,loads of small independant companies about that would shift it for you ,,think you would be surprisedfor how little as well.There is also some kind of ban coming in this year to do with the use of tow dolly`s,, cannot find the link where i saw the details,bear in mind also that there is a law coming out this year that all trailers will have to be mot`d, it is to include everything from car transporter trailers right down to small garden rubbish trailers.. bloody europeans are at it again with their rules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 Well its going to cost me £203 minimum to get a transporter from benson to cosford :/ may aswell buy the dolly for £100 and road it from A to B, even if i sell it on once im there. i wont be doing 100mph with a mini hanging on the back, probably just find a lorry on the A34/M40/M6/M54 and follow it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator DirtyDT Posted December 27, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 27, 2012 LINKY Interesting info here LINKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator mervin Posted December 27, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 27, 2012 Well if this guy is right foamy you are up shit creek without a paddle, but what about an A frame ? like you see on camper vans , may mean you gota make some brackets to attach it to the mini but must be legit 'A' frames and Dollies Q. What is a trailer? A. A road vehicle, usually (but not necessarily) two wheeled, towed by a motor vehicle.Given the above dictionary definition, it is fairly clear that anything attached to the towball and having wheels in contact with the ground is a trailer. This includes cars on �A� frames and dollies. Bearing in mind that the unbraked towing limit of 750 kgs refers to Maximum Gross Weight (i.e. the figure on the towed cars VIN plate) and not to actual weight, it severely restricts the options. The only cars I know of with a MGW of less than 750 kgs is the Aixam range. These are around 450 to 550 kgs.There are strict regulations on braked trailers and, whilst a braked �A� frame attached to a towed car constitutes a braked trailer, it is not legal for transportation as it cannot comply with EC71/320. With car dollies, the situation is somewhat different. Under regulation 83 of the Road Vehicles (construction & Use) Regulations 1986 (SI.1986/107 Amending Regulations, a car dolly, with a car in place, will be considered as two trailers. This is legal for recovery but, under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 (Schedule 6) the combination is limited to 40 mph on motorways and dual carriageways and 20 mph elsewhere. Note that there is a very specific difference between recovery and transportation. Recovery is the removal of a broken down vehicle to a place of safety. It does not include removing a rotor arm (for instance) and travelling the length and breadth of the country. The police are well aware of the difference due to the regulations covering Tachographs and Operators Licences. Recovery vehicles are exempt. that last bit about tachographs is wrong if you are more than 15 miles from base now i think , I definetly know they come under tacho rules after a certain distance after speaking to a wrecker driver last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted December 27, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 27, 2012 The limit is 60 miles from base, any more and you have to put a taco in. I do recovery when things are slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 my brother had an A-frame for towing his mazda MX5 but it was crap, couldnt get it under the car and i doubt the mini would be high enough to get on there either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted December 27, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 27, 2012 Is there not one of your camp mates.....er you know what i mean.. That could do it. There must be trailers and such on base you could use...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 There is a car trailer at cosford, but the problem is i dont have a B+E licence therefore i am limited to towing 750kg, i will have to see who has a licence when i get to cosford and see if i can buy their time and diesel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up.yours Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 push it onto the road and ring the break down .they should tow it for you, (just act thick) shouldn't be hard. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 We have a motorhome and although you do see a lot of them pulling small cars, its a very dark area to what is actually legal and what they are getting away with. The only real legal way as the mini is not on the road, is fully trailered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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