Bus towbar-Made so you can use a regular car to TOW your Bus

[Anonymous]

I noticed a lot of British VW fanatics are either unaware of this....

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?submit=yes&keywords=bus+tow+bar&type=text&stype=all&username=&yearfrom=&yearto=&pricefrom=&priceto=&model" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[]=&section[]=&wanted=show&zip=&zipdist=0&state[]=&usaregion=&country=&sort=date&sort_order=DESC&submitButton=Search

Those in the "know" back home use them all the time.

Using a regular car, you can tow your non-running Bus to a mechanics shop without having to hire a trailer.

Just make sure the tow bar you select accepts a 2" ball.

They make them to tow Bugs too.

Best thing is that works for both Bays and Splitties.

Imagine picking up your Splitty/Bay from the dock without the hassle of hiring a trailer!

Also, don't forget to hang a light bar at the back of the Bus.

http://espimages.biz/2145/I/790/04/smboard.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[rockandrollcamper]

Ive got an "A" frame which works a treat

Not a great picture but you get the idea

 

[Anonymous]

Looks like you're leaving Kingstown in Felixstowe there! How much did the A-frame cost you?

 

[rockandrollcamper]

Its actually just outside my dads business premises. I stopped to lock the gates and thought it was a decent photo opp.

I'm sure mine was £150 delivered but I might be wrong. This is where I got it from

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-RECOVERY-A-FRAME-TOWING-DOLLY-FROM-G-M-V_W0QQitemZ130346768347QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item1e5945d7db" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Loxy]

Don't think you can use these on the motorway (or dual carriage way?) over here though.

 

[mcvw]

Don't think you can use these on the motorway (or dual carriage way?) over here though.

I'm also not sure if these are 100% legal anymore. They were used all the time by the drag-racing guys, but then almost overnight nobody was using them anymore. Think it's something to do with the vehicle being towed being roadworthy, or you can only use them to recover a broken down vehicle :?

Anybody know?

 

[stagger lee]

as far as i'm aware in the u.k any vehicle that is towed, i.e. it's wheels touch the road surface has to be, or supposed to be road legal?

 

[slammedresto]

There is alot of legal jargon behind the use of an A frame for the towing of cars

If you thinking of buying one of these then you may want to think again after reading this guide

The use of tow dollys and A frames are only intended for the recovery of broken down vehicles

The vehicle you are recovering must be road legal ,ie have an mot,road tax and be fully insured

The vehicle you are using to pull the tow dolly is also legally required to be able to tow the weight of your towed vehicle and your tow dolly must be able to carry the weight of said towed vehicle ,now where it gets tricky is that not all of the weight of the towed vehicle is on the tow dolly ,but it does not matter are your are still towing the whole car using this device

In other words you cant turn up with Clio and tow dolly and expect to tow a volvo estate ,where as the other way round and your tow dolly can carry the full weight of a Clio then its not a problem ,providing both cars are legal ,mot'd road taxed and insured and of course only if the Clio has broken down ,However if you tell " Mr Policeman its broken down" then theres nothing he can do to tell you otherwise , after all he is a policeman not a car mechanic how is he going to know

Most of the tow dolly's are plated ,you get some home made efforts that you really should avoid

If you are using a tow dolly to move a track car,autotest,rallycar or a car that is not road legal then you are breaking the law

The best option is use a car trailer ,ok these are expensive but its saves a lot of hassle and you can tow what you like depending on the weight limit of the trailer etc

You se a lot of large camper vans towing these micro cars ,again believe it or not they are breaking the law as they are not Recovering a broken down vehicle .

Its madness i know and i think a lot of police turn a blind eye if they think that your set up looks to be safe and alot of them just dont know the law with regards to tow dolly's

I think the whole law should be changed as a tow dolly is far easier to have sitting about than a muckle great car trailer and there are lighter and easier to use ,but until the law is changed Tow dolly's and A frames are for the use of recovery purposes only .

Hope this helps

 

[Anonymous]

You are allowed to use it to recover a broken down car.

You are not allowed to use it for any other purpose unless the running vehicle weighs less than 750kg (a quadricycle).

 

[wilgartw]

if i wanted to tow a bay with another bay or split, what size engine would i need?

 

[Anonymous]

if i wanted to tow a bay with another bay or split, what size engine would i need?

Dunno, but you can tow a Bus with a Bus. It's not the HP but the torque you need. So the bigger the size of the engine, or the higher torque multiplication in the gearing, the better.

 

[Graham L]

I've posted about this before but heres a summary

As Gary has corrected pointed out they are illegal to use in this country unless it is for recovery purposes only and the vehicle being towed has to be Taxed, insured and MOT'd, which is why people like the AA can use them for short recovery purposes.

If they are not road legal then in essense you are towing a 4 wheel trailer which once it exceeds 750kg requires its own brakes to operate once the towing vehicle slows down and clearly a bus just collected from the shippers doesn't meet this criteria :lol:

A lot of the towing hitches that work with micro cars behind motorhomes have an adaption that links to the cars braking system to operate the brakes on the towed car and are obviously taxed/MOT'd and insured but are treated as trailers.

Hope that helps.

 

[Anonymous]

unless it is for recovery purposes only and the vehicle being towed has to be Taxed, insured and MOT'd

Or put in another way...

It is legal for recovery purposes so long as the vehicle being towed is be taxed, insured and MOTd or on foreign registration.

Hence this device is useful for 99% of us. :mrgreen:

 

[Graham L]

I'm not getting into another argument with you but once again your post is misleading, they are illegal in most circumstances bus owners would use them, ie collecting buses from the docks, delivering to a paintshop etc.

Recovery means you have broken down somewhere and need to have it recovered, not delivering it to your local garage for repairs, that is not counted as recovery in the eyes of the law.

So therefore they are 99% useless to most of us!.

I'm just intrigued why you insist on making posts that clearly flout the law in this country, first it was importing buses through the back door, now its towing buses illegally, whats the next item your going to suggest?

 

[Anonymous]

99% of the time, I am not picking up my Bus from the dock, nor is it going to be painted. Maybe that's what you would require it for. How many dock visits or paint shop runs does my vehicle need in course of my ownership??

When I do use this device, it is for when my VW decides to break down, hence I would carry this item onboard with me (then call my neighbor to pick me up or drive my other vehicle to tow it away).

Once again, Grahame, you're finding it difficult understanding me (shall I call you again?) I have no desire to do anything illegal here. I never advised anyone to do anything illegal, so please stop insinuating that I have.

It is perfectly legal to use this device to recover a broken down vehicle in the UK.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not getting into another argument with you... <snip>

...I'm just intrigued why you insist on making posts that clearly flout the law in this country, first it was importing buses through the back door, now its towing buses illegally, whats the next item your going to suggest?

Sounds like you ARE trying to start an argument to me!

 

[Guest]

so what your trying to say is that because your bus is insured on US plates that you 'could' pretend that your towing it on recovery when you are actually picking it up from the dock? i'm confused what your trying to infer?

Anyway this thread is pointless because to 99.9% of us this device is useless, unless we are towing our van home after a break down which means we would have to have another vehicle at hand and the bar which cost @£200. A waste of time and money.

I much prefer to get the AA or RAC to tow my van safely and i would only pay £75 a year for the pleasure, and cheaper if you mention your a VW club (like earlybay.com) member. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

so what your trying to say is that because your bus is insured on US plates that you 'could' pretend that your towing it on recovery when you are actually picking it up from the dock? i'm confused what your trying to infer?

Anyway this thread is pointless because to 99.9% of us this device is useless, unless we are towing our van home after a break down which means we would have to have another vehicle at hand and the bar which cost @£200. A waste of time and money.

I much prefer to get the AA or RAC to tow my van safely and i would only pay £75 a year for the pleasure, and cheaper if you mention your a VW club (like earlybay.com) member. :roll:

My bus (Splitty) is on UK plates and is registered here. If it breaks down, I can tow it with this device legally. That is what I am saying.

I disagree. If my vehicle is broken down (eg at my job and won't start) I can use this device to tow it to a local garage. This is useful to 99.9% of us.

Problem with AA, RAC, etc. is that there is a limit per year on how many times you can call them out. After that, they won't help you.

 

[flynster]

there may be trouble ahead me thinks :evil:

 

[Guest]

Imagine picking up your Splitty/Bay from the dock without the hassle of hiring a trailer!

so what did you mean by this? surely its illegal unless of course your name is Vanagonman?

Your wrong about AA/RAC cover, it depends on your level of cover and if you go for the cheap option they will charge you a small fee which isn't that much, thats assuming you've broken down more than 3 times depending on distance from your house/nearist mechanic.

So in summary i have to go hire a car with a bar, or go get my car which i've payed @£150 for a towbar ball to have fitted, i then have to splash out on the light bar for the back of the van probably @£100ish? i've got to get home get my car get back to my van, I've also bought the towing A frame @£200ish new? seems pretty expensive compared to calling the AA/RAC.

i think in the case of most breakdowns they would be fixable on the spot (AA/RAC figures show 90% of breakdowns are fixed on the spot) thus not using up any of your yearly tows. Makes a good case to get cover.

In the majority of cases van towed from home to the work shop would not normally have MOT and tax as they were probably non-running in the first place.

Maybe i'm being a little harsh but it seems like an awful waste of money? of course i could have US citizenship, have the van on US plates and insurance and tow it to and from the dock/mechanics as and when i please?

dont think that you wont get nicked. I was stopped for nearly an hour by two coppers who didnt quite know if i was legal or not. I was towing the van with a landrover on a twin axled and breaked trailer, because the van was over 750kgs, some sweet talking and pointing out that i was legal they made me aware that by UK law i had to have an extra addendum on my licence just to two the van due to the weigh of the vehicle on tow. This means going for an extra towing trailer test.