# Towing a car with a motorhome?



## 91123

Does anyone have any experience good or bad of towing a small car with their motorhome? What are the extra costs with ferry charges etc and also what problems have you encountered? Do campsites charge extra and how do you go on about indicator lights etc. How do you get the indicators to work in conjuction with your motorhome on a towed car? Any tips would be welcomed.

Thanks.

Sonesta


----------



## Maxonian

Hi Sonesta,

We have towed a small car (Fiat Seicento) on an ‘A’ frame behind our MH for 3 years, and almost 10k miles, with zero problems. We would not go away without it, if only for the convenience of having transport small enough to park anywhere.

We have never towed in Europe, but I believe Ferry charges are based on length.

CC and C&CC sites have never charged extra for the tow car, but some commercial sites have. 

The lights on our car are connected to, and powered by, the MH. A connector, permanently wired into car lighting system, plugs into the MH tow bar receptacle.

Be aware of the legal ambiguities regarding towing on an ‘A’ frame.


----------



## 91142

*car towing*

hi maxoian

You said that you tow a car. Could you please tell me where you got the connector and tow bar receptable from, as we need to start doing the same thing.


----------



## camoyboy

*Towing a car behind*

Hi,
I towed my Panda with our previous Motorhome, and will do the same with our new one when I can sort out fitting a towbar.
I use a "Car-a-tow" A frame which are advertised in most of the magazines. A bracket is premernantly attached to the front of the car to be towed, to which the A frame can quickly be coupled to. The other end goes on to a normal tow ball on the back of the motorhome.
The way I connect my electrics is to wire a female 7 pin socket into the appropriate wires on the tow car, so that the original rear lights, indicators and brake lights work as normal. Then you just need a male to male link lead from the standard motorhome socket to the one in the towcar.
All that is left to do then is to put a pair of red triangles on the back of the tow car to show it is a towed vehicle (trailer) and the registration plate of the motorhome to cover the tow car plate. There are lots of ways to do this, Car-a-tow supply some nice brackets for this.
There are many differing opinions on towing cars in this way, I have never had any problems in the UK, but this method is not approved of by most of the continent.
The only legal way to tow abroad is with your car on a trailer. I can assure you, and any one else who trys the " its legal in the UK so it must be legal here" attidude, it doesn't work, as the guy I bought my Car-a-tow off told me. (His tow car was impounded and cost a fortune to sort out getting it home).
Hope this may help,
Colin


----------



## 91142

thanks Colin

what a great help! sounds pretty easy to do. GREAT


----------



## 90374

*Towing*

Personally I would only ever use a trailer, I have towed racing cars all over the UK and Europe and never had a problem except the odd puncture (hence 4 wheel trailers are safest). Also with atrailer you have additional braking.

I have used A frames for recovery purposes only and am not a fan of them. You also must check if the car weight requires you to have a braked trailer.

Yet I know some people are fine with with A frames it really is down to personal taste I even prefer my scooter on a trailer rather than on a rack it just feels better to me.

Be careful if you want to go abroad the Laws are different, they do not like A frames, as a mate once found out as he was departing the ferry port on his way into France.

Regards,

Pete


----------



## Maxonian

Hi Sonesta,

We use an 'A' frame supplied by Car-a-Tow (Dorset). They generally advertise in MMM classifieds. They also fitted the tow bar to the tow car.

Also, check out this thread http://www.motorhomefacts.com/postt1421.html

Raymond


----------



## bozzer

Hi Sue

We have a C3 which we tow on an A frame with a brake buddy.

MPG goes down by approx 4mpg.

On the ferry it's treated as a trailer and you can look at the difference on the Ferry websites. We looked at taking the car on separately and it was going to be more expensive.

Only problem we have had and it's well documented on here under towing on an A frame. Spain, both times we've been stopped and first time made to separate the car.

Hope this helps.

Jan


----------



## aultymer

> Be careful if you want to go abroad the Laws are different, they do not like A frames, as a mate once found out as he was departing the ferry port on his way into France.


and hundreds, including us, get off the ferries in France with 'A' frames every year and have no problem.

We did 3500 miles through France and Italy a couple of months ago with no problems. We were looked at by all kinds of police from local to Motorway and never stopped.


----------



## wp1234

Watching this thread with avid interest but I'm still in the ' is it worth the bother' camp. Having just taken delivery of a dinky Toyota IQ it seems to be the ideal car to tow on a trailer or get an A Frame fitted to it. 
I guess the advantages are only obvious if you intend to exclusively use campsites as base camp ,which I try very hard not to be honest i.e leave the motorhome where it is and use the car to explore . If this is the case then logic tells me I should have bought a caravan and saved myself a buddle of cash . 
As for towing abroad again is it worth it since a lot of aires would be too small or at best more navigationally difficult to handle a 7.5 mt motorhome plus trailer i.e would it be a lot more hassle.

Given the manouvering / storage challenges a trailer would give an A frame tow solution is the obvious half way house answer should I decide I need to tow a car ( assuming I don't go to Spain of course ) but then I'm given to understand that fitting an A Frame might void my 5 year IQ warranty , does anybody know if it would ? 

I'm sure forumite towing experts can tell me if its worth the bother or not , are the downsides really worth it I wonder ?

Would love to hear why you decided to tow a car .


----------



## EJB

Not bad for a 6 year old thread 8O


----------



## Rosbotham

There's an element of "if you need to ask if it's worthwhile, it probably isn't".

The "buy a caravan" argument is a bit tiresome for me. I tow a car, currently on an A-frame. However that's when we're away in the UK at sites with poor public transport and roads that aren't the most conducive to manouevring the motorhome. If I'm at a city centre location, or overseas where public transport works, then we don't take the car (although NB I've towed the car through Belgium/Germany/Switzerland with no problems). In the alternative of "buy a caravan", it would be pretty difficult to take that across to Europe without the car on the front of it...so a motorhome+car is far more flexible than car+caravan.

Others may use bikes or a moped to get around. However neither I nor Mrs R are exactly built for either of those, plus perching the dog on wouldn't really work.

I've used an a-frame and trailer. Far prefer a-frame and have sold my trailer. Trailer may be more black & white legal and doesn't impact car warranty, but for me the killer was it's inherently less stable on the road and a relative prize pain in the a*se to load/unload (Relative as in 5 mins for A-frame, 20 minutes for trailer, usually when someone's waiting to get past, and once it's on it's not exactly easy to move 1.3 tonnes around by hand to get it out of way). There's the argument about reversing with A-frames, but my own experience is that it's easier said than done reversing a trailer with a motorhome anyway, because of the large rear overhang really amplifies any steering movement. Also for me because I'm probably pushing the limits of my van (only 100Bhp 2.2 Peugeot), the difference between 1 tonne for a-framed and 1.3 tonnes for trailered was noticeable.

I've now got a Chris Cox frame on Fiat 500C. His latest generation frame means that when it's taken off, you really can barely see the mounting points. That was important for me as I didn't want to spoil looks of the car.

Paul


----------



## Pollik

I, too, am following this thread with interest.

We are about to but a 10 yr old Bessecar on a Fiat Chassis and take off for the hills...but towing our car behind us.

Reluctantly I am beginning to realise that towing a car on an A-Frame is not going to work in Europe, so it will have to be a trailer.

Does anyone know if there are any legal constraints on what size of car can be towed (ours is a Mitsubishi Colt CZC3) or the method of restraint on the trailer? I was thinking to use something like http://www.haywoodproducts.com/Text/1186400010171-5458/ which seem easy enough to use, but are they OK for Europe, that is the question!

Polly


----------



## asprn

bozzer said:


> Hope this helps.


Hope she didn't hold her breath. :lol: Her question is now 6 years old.



Dougie.


----------



## schojac

Hi,

also have a braked A frame with Seicento behind an Autotrail 2006 Mohican. 2.8 JTD; check the garage for pictures.

Main points:

very convenient, especially in the UK
anything towed must be braked if over 750 Kgs
Little impact on MPG, 1 or 2
May need to drop a gear on some hills - biggest impact on MPG
towed vehicle is only covered for £1000 max; check with your insurer.
Weight, must mot exceed max gross train weight - mine is 5500 Kgs which leaves a margin of 1650Kgs. To be honest I wouldn't like to push my MH to anywhere near this limit anyway.
I can hitch up and be ready to go in well under 10 mins.
Reversing - not a chance. Anyone who says they can I will pay for lessons please.
Continental touring; France is okay, Spain and Portugal can be problematic according to some.
If you use the Toad as your main car then fine otherwise the additional car can be a little expensive, MOT, insurance tax maintenance etc.

Is it worth it - absolutely, we love the freedom and it allows us to stay on many CL sites.
No need to take the Toad everytime so still benefit from the advantages the MH has to offer.


----------



## Zozzer

I simply can't understand the logic of towing a car behind a motorhome. Makes more sense towing a caravan behind a car.


----------



## teemyob

*car - a van*



Zozzer said:


> I simply can't understand the logic of towing a car behind a motorhome. Makes more sense towing a caravan behind a car.


A good response to answer that is above from Rosbotham

"The "buy a caravan" argument is a bit tiresome for me. I tow a car, currently on an A-frame. However that's when we're away in the UK at sites with poor public transport and roads that aren't the most conducive to manouevring the motorhome. If I'm at a city centre location, or overseas where public transport works, then we don't take the car (although NB I've towed the car through Belgium/Germany/Switzerland with no problems). In the alternative of "buy a caravan", it would be pretty difficult to take that across to Europe without the car on the front of it...so a motorhome+car is far more flexible than car+caravan."


----------



## teemyob

*Re: Towing a car behind*



camoyboy said:


> Hi,
> I towed my Panda with our previous Motorhome, and will do the same with our new one when I can sort out fitting a towbar.
> I use a "Car-a-tow" A frame which are advertised in most of the magazines. A bracket is premernantly attached to the front of the car to be towed, to which the A frame can quickly be coupled to. The other end goes on to a normal tow ball on the back of the motorhome.
> The way I connect my electrics is to wire a female 7 pin socket into the appropriate wires on the tow car, so that the original rear lights, indicators and brake lights work as normal. Then you just need a male to male link lead from the standard motorhome socket to the one in the towcar.
> All that is left to do then is to put a pair of red triangles on the back of the tow car to show it is a towed vehicle (trailer) and the registration plate of the motorhome to cover the tow car plate. There are lots of ways to do this, Car-a-tow supply some nice brackets for this.
> There are many differing opinions on towing cars in this way, I have never had any problems in the UK, but this method is not approved of by most of the continent.
> The only legal way to tow abroad is with your car on a trailer. I can assure you, and any one else who trys the " its legal in the UK so it must be legal here" attidude, it doesn't work, as the guy I bought my Car-a-tow off told me. (His tow car was impounded and cost a fortune to sort out getting it home).
> Hope this may help,
> Colin


Where and Who Impounded his car?


----------



## raynipper

Hi Sue.
We have towed a couple of small Citroens behind many large RVs using a Car-A-Tow frame and we didn't know they were there. Never had a problem in UK, France and Spain.

We have towed a couple of Jeeps around the states with even larger RVs and again never knew they were there.

But recently I have been towing our ZX behind a 2000 Hobby with a 2.8L engine and it does let you know it's there. Not only the acceleration and deceleration but the fuel consumption.

I'm not complaining but but I am considering a scooter now. I wouldn't worry about the odd report of difficult police in Spain. Just do as they say and unhook.

Ray.


----------



## Rosbotham

Pollik said:


> Does anyone know if there are any legal constraints on what size of car can be towed (ours is a Mitsubishi Colt CZC3) or the method of restraint on the trailer? I was thinking to use something like http://www.haywoodproducts.com/Text/1186400010171-5458/ which seem easy enough to use, but are they OK for Europe, that is the question!
> Polly


Hi Polly

If you buy something like a Bantam, they come with the type of tie down kit that you linked to. Handbrake on, those type of straps on all four wheels, the car's going nowhere. Size-wise, trailers like the Bantam are rated to carry 1 tonne : biggest problem is keeping the noseweight down to a reasonable level.

Personally, I couldn't get on with using a trailer. Too much hassle to load/unload (if everything goes right 20 mins, but something...twisted strap, jammed ramps or whatever...always slows that down. Versus 5 mins to do the frame. Other thing is I found trailers nowhere near as stable on the road as use of an a-frame - that's with a 2 wheel; 4 would probably be better but then it's more weight on the back.

Paul


----------

