jxedwards Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 I intend to tow a Morris 1000 traveller from UK to SW France in Sept. It is my intention to use 1 of those 2 wheel 'dolly' trolley trailers whereby the front wheels sit on the trailer and the cars rear wheels are on the ground.Car will be fully insured, no tax as it is tax exempt and of course full UK MOT. It is my intention to register the vehicle in France once we have safely arrived.So to my question as the topic title states is this type of trailer/towing arrangement legal in France? Can I expect to encounter (apart from curious glances) any issues with the gendarmes?SD your imput would grately appreciated as the 'guru' of this section.Thanks in advanceJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 For the UK part of your trip, the Dept of Transport has this to say regarding the use of two wheeled dollies:The use of "dollies" is intended for the recovery of broken down vehicles, not for the transportation of a vehicle from "A" to "B". Under Regulation 83 of C&U a motor car is permitted to tow two trailers when one of them is a towing implement and the other is secured to and either rests on or is suspended from the implement. Therefore as a trailer if the maximum laden weight of the dolly exceeds 750 kg it must be fitted with operational brakes, additionally the brakes on the wheels of the second trailer (the towed car) must work and meet the specified requirements. Again this would be very difficult for the rear brakes of a motor car, on their own, to meet the 50% braking efficiency required for a trailer. The dolly would also be required by Regulation 22 of C&U to be fitted with suspension. Regulations 19 and 22 in C&U permit a broken down vehicle to be recovered without complying with these requirements. However, there is further legislation under the Road Traffic Act that introduces a limitation on the maximum speed that the combination can be driven; this is 40mph on motorways and 20mph on other roads. In terms of France, I've not been able to find any reference to the use of dollies in the code de la route. I've also looked at a lot of 'depannage' company websites and not one of them mentions using this type of device. I suspect that they're covered by the same type of limitations covering the use of towbars/A-frames (ie, for emergency recovery only).Given that you're not likely even to get to France legally with that setup, I suppose the rest is irrelevant. [:(]Best try and hire a proper trailer.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 We used one of these for our winter trips to Spain from the UK, before we moved here permanently. Towing a small Fiat behind a 36' Winnebago Adventurer. They were 'viewed' by the police many times but we never had a problem. The only drawback is that you cannot reverse them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 I've been stopped twice in the past by the Gendarmes while towing race cars in France, once with a home made unbraked towing A - frame (UK registered towing car), and once with a home made twin axle basculant trailer with only brakes on the front axle, this time the the tow car was registered in France and the trailer carried the cars reg plate although it should have been a matriculated and insured trailer.On both occasions all they asked for was my driving licence and to have a nose at the race cars.The trailer is now in France with my Lotus Elan stored on it, I would not want to regularly use it in France but would have no hesitation to use it to take the car back to the UK for example.I take on board what SD has said about the UK legislation but in my experience it has never been enforced by the Police, I have been towing using A-frames and dollies of various types in the UK for many years, I was actually stopped once because as a gag in the drivers seat of the open 2 seater I was pulling we had sat an inflatable "Anne summers" type doll, dressed in bra and panties, wearing a blindfold with her arms tied to the steering wheel, the Police thought it was very funny, took some photos then asked me to deflate and pack her away as she was causing a distraction!If I were in the position of the poster, and the tow car was still UK registered I would not be overly worried using it for Moggies maiden voyage to France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jxedwards Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 Gents,Thanks for all the replies, very informative.A friend of mine will actually tow the vehicle in exchange for 4/5 nights accomodation with his wife and a gift of the 'dolly' trolly.It appears that to use one of these to use a phrase I heard in Brasil once 'It is not legal, but also it is not really illegal!'.For instance if you live in lands end and your vehicle breaks down in John O'Groats then you have to get it home! Providing you obey the legal speed limits and documentation should be ok.The tow the French side will probably be during night time so hopefully all the Gendarmes snoozing somewhere.Anyway will let you now whn the vehicle has arrived safely and fine free in FranceJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jxedwards Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 All,Just to let you know the Moggie 1000 was duly towed using a 2 wheel trolley bought off E-bay. Fitted new hubs and tyres and travelled 650 miles from south wales via ferry to the Lot. No problems encountered along the route except for inquisitive persons. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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