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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
563 Posts |
 Posted - 07/03/2017 : 16:16:41
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Question, has anybody experience of towing their Triple M car using a two wheeled towing dolley ?.This is the sort of thing that the AA , for example, use to recover a broken down car. Generally much too big & wide for our narrow tracked cars but the same principle.
What are the problems both towing a car on its rear wheels only & the legal implications?
A normal trailer is too much for me to handle now so l thought a small two wheeled dolley would be easier.
Any advice much appreciated.
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George Eagle
United Kingdom
3227 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2017 : 16:42:36
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Hi Ray
OK so long as you do not have an ENV75 gearbox!
I have seen quite a lot of small cars towed on a 2 wheel dolly behind motorised caravans, they seem to be very stable.
Regards
George
L2023 |
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sullivan
USA
423 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2017 : 16:51:11
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Hi Ray,
This may not be the right solution for you but is interesting & perhaps may help you. The previous owner of my car devised a custom trailer hitch that attaches and is removable from the car. With this you do not need a trailer at all. Pictures of the hitch provided. Note: HE must not have realized that knock off hub cars cannot be towed backward, so the hitch would need to be placed on front.
Best,
Brian W Sullivan |
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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
563 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2017 : 20:35:09
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Thank you George & Brian. My P type has the standard gearbox so no problem there.
Interesting point Brian about towing the car backwards with knock-on hubs. I never thought of that.
The tow hitch directly on the car is good but would have to be specially made & fitted .
Looking for something ' off the shelf' if possible. |
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Oz34
United Kingdom
2494 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2017 : 21:12:18
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Would not towing it backwards also cause the castor angle to send the steering to full lock unless you in some way locked it fore & aft?
Dave |
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mgptype
United Kingdom
709 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2017 : 00:43:27
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Hi Ray.
What about a towing "A" frame. I towed a car on my own from March Cambridgeshire to home in Suffolk. So easy as the car just follows you.
Fred.
EX PA 0788
PA 2081 |
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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
563 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2017 : 09:18:05
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Fred. Thanks, that is certainly an alternative solution. Presumably it fastens to the front axle which would mean a specially designed one to curve below the front number plate & apron.
Anyone got anything suitable for sale?. |
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SV4670
United Kingdom
299 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2017 : 10:21:41
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DO NOT TOW THE CAR BACKWARDS This could result in a serious accident. It could cause great confusion to a driver of vehicle coming up behind the towed car; first thoughts would most likely be the car is on the wrong side of the road and he might swerve to avoid it. Bad idea.
Next thing - and I have first hand experience of this - if you tow with an A frame my advice is disconnect the propshaft at the diff. Otherwise the gearbox main shaft is spinning and the first motion shaft stationary. This can ruin the bearing between the two shafts. It is worse with a towing dolly because the car is inclined and the oil runs to the back of the gearbox. There will be plenty who say they have towed thousands of miles like this without problems, maybe they have. I have ruined one box and my friend did the same. we got rid of the towing dolly and used an A frame but disconnected the prop. |
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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
563 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2017 : 11:09:58
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Derek. Rest assured I have no intention of towing the car backwards for the very reasons you point out.
Thank you also for the good advice in relation to the gearbox/propshaft. I had heard of the problems caused before but it was a timely reminder. |
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David R
United Kingdom
289 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2017 : 13:43:26
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Reently I had 2 offside punctures on my MG TF135,and obviously having only one spare wheel I resorted to the AA. The AA van had a very interesting dolly which could be lowered and the rear doors then shut. The patrolman put the rear wheels of the MG onto the dolly and secured the steering in a straight ahead position with tie-down straps. He explained this way of recovery was preferable to avoid running the rear wheel drive set-up.
He did,however,have a very large trailer board fixed to the front of the car.
David
J 3355 |
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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
563 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2017 : 14:31:18
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David. I'm sure the AA man knew what he was doing. However , as has been pointed out , with knock-off wire wheels the spinners could loosen if towed backwards for long distances.
Thanks for your input. |
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agn178
United Kingdom
57 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2017 : 04:17:19
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| I think this topic has been covered pretty thoroughly before? The use of a two wheel dolly is permissible technically to recover broken down vehicles from the roadside over short distances. A trailer board is also necessary. If A Frames are used the towed vehicle must be road legal and have its braking system coupled to the towing one. This works for hydraulic systems but for cable brakes could be a problem? |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
5985 Posts |
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Gordon
United Kingdom
689 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2017 : 10:30:24
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I think that the information contained in Simon's post effectively means that a mechanical braked functioning car cannot be transported using an 'A' frame due to the inability to contrive a method of having the cars brakes operate when the towing cars brakes operate. I see no other solution to using a braked trailer for transportation.
Gordon
ex owner of PB 0331, MG4473
Derby |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
5985 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2017 : 11:34:17
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My reading of the information sheet is that if the weight is less than 750kgs, no braking system is needed. According to the Model Profiles on this site, a J2 weighs in at 647.7 kegs, and a P Type at 724, so should be OK. Six cylinder cars are well over 750 kegs, so they wouldn't be acceptable. It all depends on whether a car would be considered to be a trailer with a braking system.
Simon J
J3437 |
Edited by - Simon Johnston on 09/03/2017 11:36:00 |
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Nick Feakes
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2017 : 12:28:53
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I tow a small car behind my motorhome and it uses compressed air to actuate a piston that operates the brake pedal in the car. There is a proportioning valve in the hydraulic brake line of the coach and a 12v compressor to supply the air. There are also electrically powered devices that press the brake pedal when they sense deceleration. These devices also have a breakaway cable which if triggered applies the brakes on the towed vehicle to stop it. So braking a four wheels down towed car (called a toad over here) is quite possible.
Nick |
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