Mikein France Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Is there anybody out there who has toured Italy in a motorhome, towing a small car with an A-frame. The frame is 2014 Europe compliant, but I'd love to hear from somebody who has experienced it, good or bad many thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Here we go again :-D MiKien welcome if you do a search you will find loads on A frames not sure about Italy though but someone will have done it and let you know. Good luck Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, Mike. This earlier forum thread touches on the legaility in Italy of motorhome A-frame towing (which I'm guessing is what you are interested in) http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/A-frame-towing-in-Italy/30587/ (I don't think the fact that your A-frame system is 2014-compliant will be relevant as, even when the 2014 regulations come into force, it's unlikely that they will be applied retroactively to systems that fail to conform.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Hi Mike and welcome. As above - click on " Search our Forums " at the top of the page - enter keywords " a frame in Italy " and click on a time frame of one year - and you will see previous threads on the subject. Legality of a-frames around Europe has come up many times on the forum, but never with any definite conclusions. Good luck with it. p.s looks like Derek beat me to it. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 malc d - 2013-08-09 12:36 PM Hi Mike and welcome. As above - click on " Search our Forums " at the top of the page - enter keywords " a frame in Italy " and click on a time frame of one year - and you will see previous threads on the subject. Legality of a-frames around Europe has come up many times on the forum, but never with any definite conclusions. Good luck with it. p.s looks like Derek beat me to it. ;-) Slight correction: the legality (illegality) of such a practice is utterly not in doubt in several mainland European countries. For example, it is and always has been specifically illegal on any public roads throughout Spain, and Portugal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 This link retrieves a webpage belonging to a UK A-frame manufacturer that also sells A-frames abroad: http://www.caratow.com/legal.php The manufacturer says that they began to produce folding towing A-frames in 1990 and "Since then we have sold over 7,000 towing frames, including over 1000 in France, and in recent months 6 in Belgium, 5 in Holland, 8 in Italy and even 4 in Germany." The Spanish legal position is mentioned, pointing out that "...what is not legal in Spain, and elsewhere in Europe, is one motor vehicle towing another motor vehicle". What I find interesting is the "...elsewhere in Europe..." reference. I understand why motorcaravanners want to tow a car on an A-frame and it seems a perfectly reasonable thing to do as far as I'm concerned. But what I've always found odd is that, after over 20 years of A-frames being available in the UK, nobody within the UK A-framing community (manufacturer or user) seems to have bothered to research which European countries have laws that directly conflict with the "It's not a car - it's a trailer" argument for the practice's legality in the UK and which don't. This is a list of European countries. Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia & Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City (Holy See) Which of them has (like Spain) regulations that specifically forbid one motor vehicle towing another (except in an emergency) and which don't? Which have no such regulations, or would accept an A-frame towed car as a 'trailer'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 hello Mikein, welcome to the forum ! well you picked a 'Hot topic' for your first post, the whole forum is probably split right down the middle on this one, the 'Fors' and the 'againsts' I'm in the 'For' camp by the way, I don't have one, but can see the perfect sense of them (especially in the UK where anti motorhome sentiment and restrictions are high) I don't tour the rest of Europe, so don't know about 'Over There'. I'm sure many others will give the 'Lowdown' on A-Frames abroad. I am waiting for the 2014 rules to be clarified before buying and using one, it's either that or a return to 'The Dark side' which I would not do 'lightly'. Good luck Whatever I do or choose, i will NEVER put up another awning or a frame tent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikein France Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 Very many thanks for all of your replies. There is certainly a bit of reading there for me. I had the frame fitted in the UK in May to a Fiat 500. It took 2 days .We toured the UK with it on tow and then returned to France (where we live) and have toured here since. A total so far of 2,000 kms under tow. The French Police haven't given us a second glance, so far. Incidentally for anyone contemplating an A-frame, costwise on the ferries it is cheaper to un-couple and travel as 2 vehicles. But on toll roads you only pay for the motorhome (usual price). And no, the barrier dosen't come down and give the car a nasty smack. We shall head for the Italian Lakes towards the end of September and come back to the Forum with our findings. cheers Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Rayjsj - 2013-08-10 8:53 AM hello Mikein, welcome to the forum ! well you picked a 'Hot topic' for your first post, the whole forum is probably split right down the middle on this one, the 'Fors' and the 'againsts' I'm in the 'For' camp by the way, I don't have one, but can see the perfect sense of them (especially in the UK where anti motorhome sentiment and restrictions are high) I don't tour the rest of Europe, so don't know about 'Over There'. I'm sure many others will give the 'Lowdown' on A-Frames abroad. I am waiting for the 2014 rules to be clarified before buying and using one, it's either that or a return to 'The Dark side' which I would not do 'lightly'. Good luck Whatever I do or choose, i will NEVER put up another awning or a frame tent. No need to return to 'the dark side' Ray, if you would like/need a small car with you then put it on a small trailer. Not nearly as convenient or compact (on site) as an A-frame but rules out all the uncertainty. We have had caravans, Motorhomes with an A-frame and even a caravan with a camper as the tow vehicle but now happily tour Europe for long periods in winter in just a 6m panel van conversion with electric bikes on the back. Not sure now why we thought we needed all the space and a car as well before! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Mikein France - 2013-08-10 10:58 AM Very many thanks for all of your replies. There is certainly a bit of reading there for me. I had the frame fitted in the UK in May to a Fiat 500. It took 2 days .We toured the UK with it on tow and then returned to France (where we live) and have toured here since. A total so far of 2,000 kms under tow. The French Police haven't given us a second glance, so far. Incidentally for anyone contemplating an A-frame, costwise on the ferries it is cheaper to un-couple and travel as 2 vehicles. But on toll roads you only pay for the motorhome (usual price). And no, the barrier dosen't come down and give the car a nasty smack. We shall head for the Italian Lakes towards the end of September and come back to the Forum with our findings. cheers Mike As you live in France, your best bet for information on A-framing in Italy might be to ask about it on French motorhome forums, as Italy is in easier reach for French motorcaravanners than for UK ones. This earlier forum thread discussed the legality of A-framing in France: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/What-is-the-law-on-A-Frame-Towing-in-France-/28292/ Regarding contacting "poffel", the user-name was first registered on 13 March 2013. Poffel posted 6 times during March and last logged-on on 12 May 2013. Consequently, I think you'll be out of luck getting feedback about Italy from him/her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.