11 replies to this topic

[mini1955]

Hi

 

Has anyone towed a mini with an a frame

If so was it ok

 

Thanks

 

[DeadSquare]

Yes, no problems.

[nicklouse]

the rules have changed. it now needs to have  working brakes, be road legal and by working brakes i mean activated when the towing car brakes.

 

some reading

http://www.theminifo...-to-tow-a-mini/

http://www.theminifo...-towing-a-mini/

 

i would also add you will be making a bearing in the gearbox work harder than designed if it is not a front wheel lift type.

Edited by nicklouse, 21 January 2019 - 09:10 PM.

[whistler]

the rules have changed. it now needs to have  working brakes, be road legal and by working brakes i mean activated when the towing car brakes.
 
some reading
http://www.theminifo...-to-tow-a-mini/
http://www.theminifo...-towing-a-mini/
 
i would also add you will be making a bearing in the gearbox work harder than designed if it is not a front wheel lift type.

Think that only applies if the towed part is over 750kg. In the UK an A frame towed car is classed as a trailer and I believe the same regs apply as 'proper' trailers.

[nicklouse]

 

the rules have changed. it now needs to have  working brakes, be road legal and by working brakes i mean activated when the towing car brakes.
 
some reading
http://www.theminifo...-to-tow-a-mini/
http://www.theminifo...-towing-a-mini/
 
i would also add you will be making a bearing in the gearbox work harder than designed if it is not a front wheel lift type.

Think that only applies if the towed part is over 750kg. In the UK an A frame towed car is classed as a trailer and I believe the same regs apply as 'proper' trailers.

 

it needs to be road legal. and if it has brakes they have to work and operate. remove the cars brakes then it may become an un braked trailer but then it might just be a car that is not road worthy.

read the regs.

https://www.gov.uk/g...-van-the-basics

 

3. The brakes on the trailer

This depends on the weight capacity of the trailer.

A trailer with a GVW of 750kg or lower, is not required to have brakes, but if brakes are fitted they must be in full working order.

A trailer with a GVW from 751kg up to 3,500kg is required to have brakes, normally over-run (inertia) brakes that operate automatically are fitted.

 

[Ethel]

Sounds like potential for an expensive argument in court. Are brakes fitted if there was never a means of activating them while being towed? There might also be an engine and transmission that ought to make it a motor vehicle by the same reasoning. What about trailers made from rear subframes or axles that retain drums and possible other bits of the donor's braking system?

[nicklouse]

Sounds like potential for an expensive argument in court. Are brakes fitted if there was never a means of activating them while being towed? There might also be an engine and transmission that ought to make it a motor vehicle by the same reasoning. What about trailers made from rear subframes or axles that retain drums and possible other bits of the donor's braking system?

easy make them braked it aint hard. see links already given. and for the trailers made out of the back of a Mini just don't fit back plates or drums. no probs.

[DeadSquare]

 I went to the 1961 Paris motor show. 

 

On one of the peripheral stand there was what I thought was a very clever brake coupling.

 

By the car's tow hitch, fed from the car's hydraulic brakes, there was a captive end cylinder with a bayonet fitting (like a light socket), into which a flexible hydraulic pipe with the spring-loaded corresponding piston in the other half of the coupling (the light bulb) could be plugged.

 

When the car brake was applied, the piston in the car's half (the equivalent of a wheel cylinder) pushed the piston in the trailer's half (the equivalent of a master cylinder) and applied the trailer brakes.

 

No fluid passed from car to trailer, and unlike an over-run hydraulic master cylinder on the drawbar, there was no unwanted braking action when backing up.

 

Oh how I wish that I had bought one !

[panky]

There's a guy who tows his Mini Wildgoose with a frame, I noticed he had a device that attached to the Mini brake pedal that reacts to the tow vehicle braking. Not sure about the rest of the system but there are attachments out there that work. It only took him minutes to fit it so very little faffing about.

[Ethel]

I think the context dictates here.

 

If you're talking about a one off trip, say to take your project a few miles to be painted before you build it up and MoT it ,an A frame could be a credible option (legalities permitting).

 

I take Nick's point about gearbox needle bearings, but at what point do you step far enough out of the envelope of what they see when you're driving along in any gear other than 4th, or idling in neutral?

 

Quite agree A framing half way up a motorway is a bad idea compared to the other options.

[DeadSquare]

I think that the problem, without getting anywhere near the legal problems, of just using an A frame from ball hitch to say, the front subframe bolts,  is that there is nothing to stop the towed car if it should become unhitched   ....    nasty thought.

[Spider]

 

I take Nick's point about gearbox needle bearings, but at what point do you step far enough out of the envelope of what they see when you're driving along in any gear other than 4th, or idling in neutral?

 

 

If it's only a short trip and speeds are no more than about 40 mph, the gearbox (particularly the A+) will be ~ OK ~ but I wouldn't recommend making a habit of it.

 

The issue is the Bearing on the Nose of the Mainshaft to the 1st Motion Shaft. In Neutral, The Mainshaft spins over and the 1st Motion shaft is stationary. 1st Motion Shaft and the Bearing itself seem to 'stand up' to this , but the Hard Nose on the Mainshaft itself doesn't.

 

At 50 mph, the typical speed here is just over 3000 RPM. at 60 mph, this is nearer to 4000 RPM.

 

Because of where this is in the gearbox, they are just not rated for this all day, after all, how many cars drive around in any other gear, other than top gear, for extended periods. Usually, it might be 5 or 10 minutes at a long stretch, not hour after hour.

 

Keep in mind, while doing this, the Oil Level will be higher than when the engine is running and the oil itself will be stone cold for the entire journey.

 

I've seen a few Mainshafts ruined from this.

 

There is also 3 more bearings under 1st, 2md and 3rd gears, but these seem to stand up to it.