Hi all, Trying to get everything sorted for my first drift car and now comes one of the final parts...transportation. I was planning on using a dolly thingy but read on a forum somewhere that this wasnt an option and was illegal unless you were just recovering the vehicle. No A-to-B-back to-A type stuff. This means that i would need to purchase a trailer, get my trailer license and of course pay for some lessons having never towed a trailer. Can anyone shed any light on the situation with using a dolly or offer any suggestions? Is my only option to dip in my drifting funds and spend whats looking to be around 1k with all the stuff added up just to transport >.< Im looking at getting an MX5 and dont want to have to mess about having to MOT/TAX/Insure 2 cars. I have kids so cant have the hairdryer as my 1 and only road car either making me sad
With a Dolly the car needs to be road legal ie tax mot etc and can be used in breakdown situ Either; Buy 3.5t transit type recovery truck £1500 will get you an ok one for the job and can be driven on car license. Pros; easier to drive than trailer, cheaper on fuel than trailer, easier to load with winch etc Cons; it's another vehicle to tax, insure and mot etc, you have to load all tools tyres etc in skid car which can put you over weight.. Old and dingy Or get trailer and tow vehicle Pros; more space to load tools tyres etc, can use it daily, 4x4, BMW touring etc, more comfy etc Cons; have to get license, buy or rent trailer average £600-1000 for decent trailer (mx5 dont need a big one), harder to drive especially on country lanes, takes some practice to get good imo, fuel economy towing is shit I have used both several times and I prefer a 3.5t but only with a tyre rack. That being said I still actually trailer stuff simply because I don't need a 3.5t that badly Really
Cheers fella. Unsure what to do now. Its an aweful lot of spondoolies to find out its not something i can get into.... I might just go buy an MX5, insure it while its under MOT and see how i get on with. If it goes well i guess buy a trailer and get my license sorted. Thanks for the input
Following on from the above question. Im sure noone knows how much what ill be using to tow etc will weight but my question is, how do the police know? I mean, what is to stop someone from just towing? i wouldnt as i fear too much for my license and my insurance costs but it made me wonder...its not like they carry a bit set of scales around. Whats to say that car towing the stripped out MX5 is just over the weight limit? or am i way off and a ford mondeo towing a small trailer with stripped out MX5 would put me waaaaay over the limit? Looking into my options, trailer is the only way forward. Although, trailer £800, lessons for trailoring (lets imagine)£200 then the actual test £150, over a grand before i even get the car >.<
i was using a removal company who are very reasonable cost me 120 to get my 13 from kent to oxford would recommend them :]
i believe if you get pulled over they can make you got to a weighbridge to check if it's legal. i reckon you would need a pretty damn light trailer and seriously stripped mx5 for it to not weigh more than a mondeo
They go off the ID plates, so they only need to look at the plate on the toe vehicle and plate on the trailer to see if you're legal, THATS why everything goes off plates and not the actual weight. So if you're towing a 3.5t gross plated trailer behind something that can only tow below that weight, you'll get done even if the trailer is empty. They'll only drag you to a weigh bridge if the trailer looks overloaded. Alex B
Going on an '03 130bhp diesel Mondeo, it has the towing weight of 1.8t, you will be hard pushed to get a car transporter trailer that has a plated weight of below that. You cannot legally tow a 2t trailer, either empty, with a stripped out MX5 or fully loaded. Alex B
It goes on tyre ratings or something, it was posted in another thread where someone looked it up, as I thought non plated/homemade trailers were illegal. Alex B
Thanks for the input guys. Looking at just hiring a recovery style transporter van for the days when we want to take the car out. Looking like its around the £100 mark for the day, which is better than paying that a month on insurance then with the added tax and moting e.t.c. this should be ok, shouldnt it? lol
you could use a A Braked A frame and be perfectly legal in the regualtions it states once a a frame is attached to the vehicle it becomes a trailer and subject to trailer regulations so as long s the car is lit and the brakes function being a MX5 it will be under way 1800KG and you could tow it behind your mondeo for example Car-a-tow towing frames specialists | For the modern motorcaravan owner here are the regulations http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/dft-information-sheets/a-frames-and-dollies.pdf
Ive been emailing the dvla to get an answer from them and their support is useless. They keep avoiding the question. Ffs
U can rent trailers or transporters cheap enough if u shop around, do that a couple of times and see if drifting is for u or not before spending 2k on towing stuff
Does the towed car need to be road-legal? If so you're back in the position of needing to keep two cars taxed/insured.
Absolute bollocks, VOSA take the towing capacity of the tow vehicle the gvw of the trailer is niether here nor there, a trailer with a plated wieght of 3500Kgs wieghs 600Kgs empty, so you can tow that with any car/van that has a towing capacity of at least 600Kgs
Department for Transport website says on the subject: Requirements regarding trailers used on the road are given in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended and the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, as amended. The following is a summary of the main requirements. Weight In the case of light trailers, that is less than 3500kg maximum laden weight, there is not any specified relationship in UK law between the weight of the towing vehicle and the weight of the trailer. For M1 category vehicles (motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat) the maximum permissible trailer weight is quoted by the vehicle manufacturer. Alternatively, the vehicle manufacturer may provide a maximum gross train weight (the laden weight of the trailer plus the laden weight of the towing vehicle). If this is exceeded it is possible that the Courts or Insurance Companies may take the view that this constitutes a danger. The maximum laden weight of a trailer which may be towed by a light goods vehicle depends on both the stated gross train weight of the towing vehicle (GTW) and the vehicle manufacturer's recommended maximum permissible trailer weight. Neither the maximum permissible trailer weight or the maximum gross train weight (the laden weight of the trailer plus the laden weight of the towing vehicle) should be exceeded. It is possible that the stated gross train weight is less than the sum of the stated maximum permissible laden weight of the towing vehicle and the stated maximum permissible laden trailer weight. In this case the towing vehicle and the trailer must be loaded such that each does not exceed its individual maximum limit and the sum of both does not exceed the maximum gross train weight. It is not a requirement to display a notice of the unladen weight of the trailer or the towing vehicle, unless the towing vehicle is either a motor tractor or a locomotive, as defined in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
I would be very interested also to know if a braked a-framed car will constitute as a trailer and be exempt from tax test etc.
Well this is off the direct gov website.... "When an "A" frame is attached to a vehicle (e.g. a motor car) and towed by a motor vehicle (e.g. motorhome) we believe the "A" frame and car become a single unit and as such are classified in legislation as a trailer." I was going to get a dolly as I've just passed my trailers license, towing with a Renault trafic, but now I've read this, I didn't realise it was only supposed to be used for recovery only, or the whole unit had to be braked. I've read that even if the dolly is braked, the whole of the trailer (dolly and car) needs to be braked, not just the front wheels, so means connecting brakes of car to dolly which is not going to happen, so therefore its just as good as not being braked at all, so max weight is then 750kgs, and I've read, max speed is 40mph on highway 20mph on b roads but not too sure about that one. Looks like a trailer or trailer hire every time I think. Cos once you've got a trailer you need somewhere safe to store it.
