# Towing on an A frame in Germany



## martynj (May 14, 2009)

I am aware of the Spanish issue with A frames but can anyone please advise me of any problems now with travelling in Germany.
Thank you in anticipation

Martyn


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

Funny you should ask.......

A recent thread.

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-140484-fined.html+towiing+germany


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

have a look at this recent thread

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftoptitle-140484-fined-towing-in-germany.html

and elsewhere in the MotorhomeTowing forum


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

More and more countries are clamping down on "A" frames these days.

The only CERTAIN way to avoid grief is to use a trailer, HOWEVER you need to check on what the maximum train weight of your MH is. For example Autotrails are limited to just over 1000Kg, and there are VERY few small cars that weigh less than that, so even on an "A" frame its very easy to exceed your train weight if you use the wrong car !!

As a guide Smart cars are about 750Kg to which must be added the weight of a trailer, so as you can see you really do need to be very careful!!


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi,

just a few days the same discussion came up in a German MH forum. A German motorhomer had seen British MHs towing cars on an A frame in France.

*I have therefore checked German legislation and found that it is clearly illegal to use an A frame!*

This is regulated by §33 of the StVZO, one of the German bye-laws regulating road traffic. The first sentence of this paragraph translates into English approximately like:

_"Vehicles which are designed to be used as motor vehicles may not be operated as a trailer."_

There is an exception, but this is only valid for professional car towing companies, which need a special permission and may yet only tow broken down cars to the nearest garage.

This has nothing to do with the driving licence.

Some people claim that because A-frames are legal in UK and UK is an EU member, they must be legal all over the EU, but this is not correct. Fact is that EU regulations allow only one kind of registration for a vehicle, either as motor vehicle or as trailer. UK authorities may feel free to accept such double use of a car, but this is then valid only within the UK. Such acceptance by the UK authorities does not provide any legal claim in any other country.

Sorry, but these are the facts. This regulation in fact already exists for decades, so any occasions in which German police has tolerated the use of A-frames in the past can only be explained by lack of knowledge. Which is understandable as most German police officers have never seen an A-frame behind an MH in their life.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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