Tow bar (Empi or what ever) - Legal or Not in EUOPE ?

[GreenTom]

Hi,

I'm getting prepared for EBI and I started to wonder if towing a bug using "the" tow bar is legal i Europe (Gemany, Holland, Belgium, France) - I exclude Poland cuz our country is specifick

I've lots of campervans towing a smart in Germany and in England. I've got car trailer but don't know if I'll get it ready for EBI.

I would be grateful for any info.
all best in Ner Year by the way.

cheers
Tom.

[speedwell]

there's no real rules about the tow bar in belgium  for sure don't use it on the highway and some said it's illegal and some said it's like towing a trailer

i 've done that several time with no problem , ....but one time tehh cops see me and gave a ticket for towing a car on a highway

[henk]

in belgium it is NOT legal.
fiirst off al i think it is not legal to make a trailer of a car i think.
and if you tow a something over 750KG(if i'm right) you have to have a trailer with a brake.
so when you brake the trailer arm get compressed and stops the trailer.
no idea how this is called in english but i guess you know what i mean.

henk!!!

[GreenTom]

My car weight less than 750kg


here in Poland all trailers over 750kg have to have brake.

[Neil Davies]

Tom, I know it's not all relevant, but there is a lot of information on towing in the UK here: http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/topic/overview-towing-62484

Basically if you wanted to tow on an A-frame, you would need to have the towed vehicle road legal. I think this is pretty much Europe-wide, but don't take my word for it!

[GreenTom]

Yes my car is road legal, I don't bother about Poland but mostly Germany and their hard law. We are going for a trip before EBI s we won't see  hi ways.
I also have B+E licence so should be cool with that.

Thank you for any informations.

[Ole]

Hi Tom,

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but in Germany it's not legal. I spent some time discussing with a friend of mine, he's a TÜV-engineer. First of all you'd have to have a driver's license for trucks, because your "trailer" has more than one axle. Then you won't find any A-frames for beetles with a certificate the TÜV or any other supervisory authority will accept...

A legal way is to use a trailing axle.



You'd still need a driver's license for trucks, and the weight of the "trailer" and the tow vehicle has to fit. I wonder myself why only very few people use these axles.

Saludos,
Ole

[GreenTom]

Hi Tom,

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but in Germany it's not legal. I spent some time discussing with a friend of mine, he's a TÜV-engineer. First of all you'd have to have a driver's license for trucks, because your "trailer" has more than one axle. Then you won't find any A-frames for beetles with a certificate the TÜV or any other supervisory authority will accept...

A legal way is to use a trailing axle.



You'd still need a driver's license for trucks, and the weight of the "trailer" and the tow vehicle has to fit. I wonder myself why only very few people use these axles.

Saludos,
Ole

Thaknx for info.
This kind of stuff is illegal in Poland.
I've got a licence B+E (for car and trailer over 3,5tons)
So I just have to get may trailer redy and running.

[jaqo]

Ole I'm pretty sure my A-frame for a beetle has a TUV cert on it. Using a tow bar (at least in Poland) counts as towing a car not a trailer so you can do this but there are some speed limits and you can't do this on highways

[Muroc]

I had an accident with my oval in tow (tow-bar).
A children crossed the street on his skateboard in front of me without looking at the traffic.
Fortunately I was driving slowly but I hit him with the left of the car (a Defender).
The cops came by and I went to the police station to make a statement about the accident, they noticed in their deposit that I was towing a car with a tow-bar (I had to spell the word to them) but I never had any problem because of the tow bar ( luckily either about the accident for which I was cleared).

In Belgium there is nothing in the law speaking about a Tow-bar, but a dolly is forbidden.....