Gave the Triumph Sprint an airing this afternoon in the lovely weather and came up behind a large motorhome towing a very small Suzuki car.
The car was bearing the rear registration number of the motorhome and its rear lights also seemed to be linked up to those of the towing vehicle.
Anyway as I overtook I saw that the car was on its 4 wheels and had some sort of drawbar arrangement. Not spending too much time examining it you understand!
Now I have a very brief understanding of traffic law ;-) but as I progressed in the sunshine I got thinking.
Was the car classed as a trailer or a 'motor vehicle'? If it was a trailer then it was bearing the correct reg plate. If it was a 'motor vehicle then it should have been displaying its own as it was 'on a road' . But then the car obscured the rear of the motorhome so should it have had 2 reg plates on it????
And the there is the question of the other documentation. If it was a trailer then it would not require its own insurance but if it was a 'motor vehicle' it would require Insurance, VEL and MOT.
A 'motor vehicle' ceases to be on a road only when its wheels are off the ground ie on a trailer which it wasn't therefore it was still a 'motor vehicle' on a 'road'.
So then I thought, 'Must get a life', rolled back the throttle and enjoyed the rest of the ride.
Its only when this sort of outfit gets involved in something that the head scratching and law book perusal starts.
Anyway I thought I would throw it in for discussion or perhaps someone has some first hand knowledge.
Edited by Fullchat on 26/09/2009 at 23:13
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what do the AA do when the put a bar on your family car and tow you. I know they'll put extra lights on, but do they put the towing vehicle's registration number on ...or leave it as the original vehicle?
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I can't say that I have really paid any attention to the dilemma before. Don't the AA have a light and VRM pod on the roof so that it can be seen above a vehicle being towed?
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Assuming, maybe wrongly, that vehicle is to be used as a runabout when the towing vehicle reaches its destination. As long as it has insurance, VED and (if required) a valid MOT would an on tow sign suffice ?
By the way T Sprint was always a boyhood dream car. Always looked so mean however, the Italians always stole my heart.
Edited by gmac on 26/09/2009 at 23:39
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Bit of lateral thinking there! 'An 'On Tow' sign is not a legal requirement but could be useful.
Are you thinking about a Dolomite Sprint ? My sprint has only got 2 wheels and is a whoooooooooole lot quicker :-] (Up to 70). Cracking car though in its time even if the headgaskets where a bit fickle.
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I was thinking Dolly Sprint but even so the Italians still get my heart. Had to laugh at the 2 wheels comment though :)
I've just spent the weekend fettling the CBR600FV after a mad summer. 2000 miles in one week on a twelve and a bit year old bike and she didn't miss a beat. Might take her out for an autumnal run tomorrow...to the 'Ring :) Still got a couple of laps on my card.
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My father once towed a very big caravan with a Dolomite Sprint! Scary. A friend had told him a good (short) route.... with lots of hills.
Edited by rtj70 on 27/09/2009 at 00:27
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It's scary what used to get towed in the 70's. We had a Sprite400 (not a big van in itself) but must have weighed 3 tonnes with all that damp cardboard and steel.
It was towed by a FIAT 128 1300 Coupe with 78bhp.
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The car being towed is classed as a trailer.
Trailers up to 750kg (max laden) don't need brakes. But there are only a couple of very small cars which qualify. So to allow a larger car to be towed, some enterprising companies have found a way of applying the car brakes - so turning it into a braked trailer.
As to whether all this is legal? I don't think anyone knows for sure.
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There must be a difference between what is permitted when recovering a broken down vehicle, and regular use. As has been pointed out, the AA etc routinely tow cars this way, and obviously they don't modify your brakes by the roadside.
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There must be a difference between what is permitted when recovering a broken down vehicle and regular use. As has been pointed out the AA etc routinely tow cars this way and obviously they don't modify your brakes by the roadside.
There are exemptions for recovering a vehicle to the nearest safe place, and additional examptions for vehicles registered as breakdown vehicles.
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Gave the Triumph Sprint an airing this afternoon >>
Is that a Dolomite or a more recent two wheeled product of Hinkley?
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Quote, "So then I thought, 'Must get a life', rolled back the throttle and enjoyed the rest of the ride."
Clues = rolled back the throttle & ride. No mention of Dolomite.
Educated guess = motorcycle.
Regards,
John R
Edited by John R @ home {P} on 27/09/2009 at 09:34
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Excerpt from .............
www.watling-towbars.co.uk/motorhome_trailers_rever...l
"We ........... after many conversations with the Department of Transport and other legislative bodies who are involved with writing the construction and use regulations. As far as we, and they are concerned, the only safe and legal way of transporting a car behind a motorhome is on a trailer."
Edited by L'escargot on 27/09/2009 at 09:05
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Driving back from Edinburgh we passed a Smart car being towed in exactly the same way, though I didn't see which plates were being shown on the back (it was going the other way!)... logically, though, I'd have thought that they must display the motorhomes plates, for two reasons, first as someone earlier has said (its a braked trailer, in effect), and secondly it would be obscuring the number plate of the motorhome which is surely illegal?
Didn't we have a previous discussion on here re these things and someone point out that they are only legal in the UK and not over the channel?
Edited by b308 on 27/09/2009 at 09:27
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Excerpt from .............
And the alternative view ... (that's its fine as long as you find a way of engaging the brakes of the towed vehicle when its in use as a trailer)
www.smart-tow.com/legal.htm
As I said above, its a very grey area!
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Reading that it would indicate that its regarded as a trailer... so it must have a set of plates showing the motorhomes' registration on the back...
BTW can some please explain the logic of motorhomes, especially the mediium sized versions which seem to cost the earth but have less space inside than a decent 14' caravan? The only logic I can see for one is that you don't have the worry of towing, but other than that a car/caravan seems a lot better and more flexible... and cheaper...
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...Didn't we have a previous discussion on here re these things....
We did:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=61469&...f
That was more about safety, although the legalities seemed far from straightforward.
Agree about the price of smaller motorhomes, £40k for something with less room than a medium sized towed caravan.
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Didn't we have a previous discussion on here re these things....
SQ
Apparantly we did. Soz I've had a sleep since then :-)
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/09/2009 at 00:54
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Can claim dual FC
As a trailer coz it is being towed. As such will need the VRM of the towing vehicle unless Military that have seperate numbers on their trailers.
As a motor vehicle because owner intends to keep on road and as such has not fallen out of the definition of m veh and as such even if towed with the wheels on the road Insurance and MOT and Excise apply.
dvd
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