Can't afford a car trailer at the moment. Is it legal to use a towing dolly and are they expensive and do they fit any car or do I need a special one for a Locost?
Cheers
Jon

NEVER MENTION DOLLIES!!!

There are hundreds of people towing cars/buggies/4x4's all over the country every weekend and, unless the towed vehicle is road legal, they are breaking the law.
Chances are that most plod don't know the regs or can't be bothered to find out because I have one that I use often and i have never been stopped. Unlike several peoples who got stopped leaving an off-road event up the road from me in a 'crack down'. About a dozen people were reported and charged.
You can try all the excuses you want but it helps to have a good convincing story ready if you do get pulled in the hopes that you can out shull bit the plod!! And have all the correct lights working and showing the tow vehicles (BS approved) number plate

AW Bugger!

It is actually quite complex, the law surrounding towing dollies, but owelly's description is not too wide of the mark in reality!

I think it comes down to - any vehicle with wheels on the public highway must be taxed, insured and road-legal. Even if it's only the back wheels!

rgds,
David

quote:

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
I think it comes down to - any vehicle with wheels on the public highway must be taxed, insured and road-legal. Even if it's only the back wheels!

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I'm not sure on the law actually, mark allanson knows a bit about this one, but I am not entirely sure that the car being towed has to be road legal in terms of tax and insurance etc as it is really a trailer at that point.

I know that recovery companies have various allowances within the law (for example a "recovery vehicle" does not have to be MOT'd technically.

I think "normal" people like you or I are best to assume that a towing dolly is not a good idea to use on a regualr basis, but probably worth the risk if it is only ever going to be an occasional thing.

RE: towing dollies - towing in general: I recall being towed in my mazda (which had a BW T5 gearbox) and the gearbox quickly began to make grumbling noises. I worked out this was due to when being towed in neutral, the gearbox output shaft rotates but nothing else does, so no oil is being supplied to all the bearings on the mainshaft. And sure enough, press the clutch & stick it in 4th for a couple of seconds to spin the cogs and the noise goes away for the subsequent 5 minutes.
Point is, you're not necessarily doing the gearbox any favours if you tow a car in neutral for a long way with the driving wheels turning. Just a thought.
Bob

a towing dolly is only legal for recovery, and up to a max speed of 40mph on motorways and dual carriageways, and 20mph everywhere else(Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 (Schedule 6).

hope this clears things up

Ray

You are OK as long as the dolly and towed vehicle have a combined weight of no more than 750KG. The problem is that over this weight all wheels of the towed rig must have either an automatic over-run or coupled brake system. As the dragged wheels of your car have neither, and I suspect the whole lot is more than 750KG then it's a no no...I was going to do the same!

Aw bugger again!

Are we talking 'Dolly' as in the thing that lifts the wheels in a spectacle frame or an A-frame?
The dolly that lifts the wheels are the ones for 'recovery only' and are subject to a host of regs that make them impractical for general towing jobs (distance/speed limits etc)
I group dollies and A-frames in the same basket and so do the law when it comes to paperwork!! The towed (and tow) vehicle/driver needs to have valid insurance cover. Nearly all insurance policies state that the vehicle has to comply with the Road Traffic Act(s) which comes back to having MoT and VED (unless travelling to/from a pre-booked MoT)