Has anyone ever considered using a dolly....
Turbo Mini Forums

.....For towing that is?

They look reasonably cheap compared to a trailor, reduce the amount of weight being towed, and easier to store. But what are the cons?

Something like this.

http://popular.ebay.co.uk/ns/Cars-Parts-Ve...wing-Dolly.html

Cheers
Matt

Edited by matty on 29th May, 2009.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fusion-Fabri..._homepage_panel

www.fusionfabs.co.uk



1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

1) they stretch
2)you cant use it in the bedroom anymore
3)the arms and legs come off
4)youll get arrested cos people will think its a real tart
5)the hands dont hold on tight enough (or so im told ahem)
6)somebody told me(ahem) they have a voice box and go ''ahh ahh'' when you squeeze them ....so you will have a constant ''ahh ahh'' every time you accelerate and brake ...


basically no it wont work .

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

I'd love a Dolly to tow with

I have one.

You cant tow minis that are low to the ground.

Cant tow minis with front splitters.

They look pretty sketchy!! Yor rear tyres will wear aswell i guess :(

Only as much as they would driving on the road.

Get an A frame. Job done.

It goes in the boot of the tow car when you're not towing.
The car being towed is on all four wheels, so the weight is not on your suspension.
The car being towed steers itself so the turning circle is better.
You don't need someone to push the car onto the dolly/a winch.
Hooks on your bottom arms in about 10 minutes, so you don't have to have friends (good for me).
The plod don't really care about a frames.
I've done at least 2000 miles on mine and never had any bother (apart from the brakes binding on the towed car and getting a bit warm, just once though).
You bairly notice that you are towing stuff, I forgot I had a metro on the back and did about 40 miles at 70 (piss poor observation ).

They're like this when you're towing:





The only downside is that everybody borrows it.

is it really safe to tow a motorway speeds with an a frame. i've used one for a few local bits but always thought they were a little sketchy compared t a trailer

I'd imagine that the car being towed needs to be road legal when using a dolly.

both highly illegal for private use - subject been done to death in the past

On 5th Sep, 2011 Vegard said:
I stand corrected. You should know

found this bit by a policed officer on a search on google ..
if a mini is under 700kg , it doresnt need to have its brakes working whilst being towed ,but it all sounds a biut like its only for emergencies ?-



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Found a previous thread check this out:

http://www.5ive-o.org/forum/showthre...hlight=A+frame

An A-frame attachment to a motor car can be used legally, but it is a device which is to be used to recover broken down vehicles to a place of safety, nothing else.

That doesn't include towing broken down vehicles from a place of safety.

'A-frame' attachments are regularly used by used car sales businesses to transport a vehicle back from auction. This is illegal and dangerous in many cases, given that the trailed vehicle may have a similar GVW to that of the towing vehicle, which have a dramatic effect on the braking distances. They also have no breakaway cables in most cases, so if the attachment should fail there is no additional control over the direction or speed of the vehicle.

Legally, if a trailer is over 750kgs GVW it must be braked. All cars apart from one have GVW over 750kgs. Even then, if the trailer is fitted with brakes, those fitted brakes must work on operation of the brake pedal of the towing vehicle.

Some motorhome users have fitted a system which allows the brakes of the towed car to be operated from the footbrake of the motorhome, but from what I understand, they still cannot achieve the required braking efficiencies.

If a towing vehicle weighs a lot more than the towed vehicle, and is being driven sensibly, I'd tend to offer advice, but if I see a car trailling a similarly sized car from one end of the motorway to the other, (usually at 80 or 90 mph), then I'll stop it, report the driver/owner, and make sure the car gets driven back to its destination or is stuck on a trailer.
__________________

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

It is based on kerb weight not unladen and construction and use regs apply!

On 5th Sep, 2011 Vegard said:
I stand corrected. You should know

has been discussed before and the way i see it its illegal due to the reasons scruffy has mentioned.

are these legal?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/braked-towing-dolly_...%3A1%7C294%3A50

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

The problem with what PC plod says above is that they are not specificaly mentioned in law. Trailers etc are. So it's a very grey area. I asked a police office face to face and he couldn't give me a specific answer.

As I've said above, I've towed cars many times with mine. The cars have been both road legal and not, but I have always made sure the cars being towed are safe to be towed. I've been seen by lots of police (side by side, followed in traffic etc etc) and not once have I had a tug. I'm sure if there was an easy prosecution then they would be all over me like a rash!

As for the dolly in the link above, make sure it's got a rating plate telling you how much weight it's rated to carry, manufacturer etc. If it's home made, it won't have one and you use it at your risk.

ive had a tug whilst towing with my a frame, the copper hadnt seen oe before and was well chuffed, so i gave him the website where i got it from.

i know its a bit different over here, but how is it different to a tow rope other then its got more control and safer?

if youre in doubt, just plonk someone int he car ebig towed then surely its perfectly legal?
(im sure a substitute could be aranged, i.e. sex doll/cardboard cut out lol)

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

This subject gets discussed a lot by the Motorhome community.

Supposedly illegal, but yesterday, on my way back from Devon on the M5/M42/M6, I saw at least three Motorhomes towing small cars on A Frames.

Now they are definately not in emergency use as the law allows.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

I'll bet you didn't see anybody stoped for using one...

So, its illegal except in some circumstances, but you may get away with it -more likely than not it seems.
Its still a risk and if there is an accident and the dolly is deemed to be part of the cause, you may well be uninsured.

a lot of the ones used by motorhomes are pretty clever, they are specially designed to connect to the braking system of the towed vehicle, (ie the towed car has had its brakes modified to enable it to become a "braked trailer") and also mount onto the towed car properly, not just with straps etc..... We have a sub-contracter i regularly visit, the next unit over does both these and solar panels for campers.......

And on the 7th day........... God created turbochargers!

Some interesting points here:



And here:



Basically, in the case of a Mini, if the dolly is not braked, then you can only use for recovery. They go on published laden weight rather than actual weight of the car.

You will probably get away with it unless you have an accident, then the poo will hit the fan.

I'm now looking for a Motorhome with a towbar as I've just got a trailer.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

i think those towing dollies people like that rac and aa use them, i would know lol

Currently building the new engine - 1312 t25 a series!

a mate of mine uses one regular, he's a policeman, he's had discussions with traffic police re the legality and they can't find anything wrong so he says he's going to carry on using it until told otherwise. He does only use it for the mini and removes the steering wheel turning it in essence into a trailer.

133.5 bhp 123 lb torque 116mph @6640rpm 9.5psi
Shakespear RWYB 14.995 91.83mph

And on the 7th day........... God created turbochargers!