Hi everyone,

So tempted to do some further afield track days (cadwell, donnington etc) but just dont want to risk driving 200 odd miles, sometime more, plus track time, and then the return leg in the R1 Indy.

Anyone know of a way of transporting your car by hiring a trialer and tow car/hire car with a tow bar fitted?

Thanks

Chris

Might be more cost effective/simpler to look at hiring a beaver tail transit so you can just load the car on and drive off. Less to go wrong and easier than towing, especially if you're not practised at it.

I found it easier to find companies who will hire out small vans with towbars rather than cars. Most of the hire car companies don't even do them.

Not a cheap do though, if you're going to do more than a few I would say try buy a beavertail or similar as just to get my Indy to the DVLA check ended up costing me the best part of £170!!

for that price (£170) you can get a towbar fitted to your tin top, then just hire a trailer per day. £35/day.

Buy a £200 diesel mondeo with towbar pre-fitted. It'll pay for itself.

And if you are hiring a car specifically with a tow bar then the firm may (read as WILL) charge you for making up a rear number plate, often at an inflated price. How do I know? My mate found out the hardway, there was an extra £25 on the bill.

do you have a tintop? Can you fit a towbar to it?

There are detachable ones which help if your bothered about how it looks during normal driving.

I bought a trailer for less than £500, I have used it about 6 times, which would have cost approx £300 to hire (some would have had to be overnight hires), plus I dont have to drive 50 miles to go and get it. I will need to use it another 4 or 5 times I think, meaning it would have cost me best part of £600 to hire, yet when I sell it, I will get all my money back - therefore making it cost nuetral. So its certainly worth considering.

as above if you have a tintop just buy a towbar
i got a fixed towbar with electrics,towball and bumper protector for my vito from towquip(ebay)
£99 all in
that included next day delivery
HTH

My tin top is a 199 Clio 1.2 8v 3 door

Really think i would kill it pulling a trailer!

Hired a van with a towbar and trailer for DVLA inspection

No extra no plate charge just £5 insurance surcharge for towing .

All in all about £90 to get the car to dvla including trailer hire etc.

If its going to be a regular thing I would go with either of the 2 previous suggestion either buy a beaver tail, can be had on the bay quite cheap I think. Or buy a cheap diesel motor with towbar fitted and hire a trailer as and when required or if youre feeling flush buy one of them too. That way the stuff you need is there when you want it and you can decide at the last minute to go to a track day.

There is always the risk with hiring that what you want isnt available cos someone else has got in before you.

Oh and try hiring a beavertail outside london. its nearly impossible.

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Originally posted by Kriss
My tin top is a 199 Clio 1.2 8v 3 door

Really think i would kill it pulling a trailer!

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Guessing from your car and the fact that you are 26, that you passed your test after 1999, so you would have to get a trailer licence...

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Originally posted by frodo_monkey

Here refers:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

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Originally posted by blakep82

quote:

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Originally posted by frodo_monkey

Here refers:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

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very intersting link! it certainly goes against everything i've heard before, but its there on the government site!

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Originally posted by frodo_monkey

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Guessing from your car and the fact that you are 26, that you passed your test after 1999, so you would have to get a trailer licence...

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Incorrect (firstly the year was 1997) - you are covered on a std UK full licence (wth Cat B) for an unbraked trailer up to 750kgs (unlikely in this case no matter how lightweight your BEC!). If however you are using a braked trailer, you are covered up to a max of 3500kgs MAM...

This implies that the max laden weight of your towcar and your trailer - it doesn't matter what you are ACTUALLY carrying, but what you can POTENTIALLY carry - must be less than 3500kgs i.e. something like an estate car plus lightweight-ish trailer such as a Brian James. Be aware that if towing with a 4x4 or Tranny van equivalent then you are almost certainly over the limit!

Here refers:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

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Very simply put, anyone who passed their test after 1997 must only take a trailer test if they are towing more than the weight of the vehicle on a braked trailer.

So if your trailer weighs 400kg, and your kit car weighs 500kg, you are entitled to tow this with a car that weighs 900kg (unladen) or above.

This is true right up until the point where the tow car and the total towing load combined exceed 3.5 tonnes.

So for virtually anyone towing a kit car, no towing licence will be required.

Damn I thought that 750kg thing was for an unladen trailer...

Well seeing as this is Locostbuilders, how about building a half trailer, just to life the front wheels (the AA guy that last rescued me had one of these) and then maybe you're saving enough weight for your clio to take it... Mind you my 106 had a max towing weight of 500kg... Sounds like the cheapo mondeo is a good option, my last one had 240k on the clock before some belt snapped