towing a V70 with a V70

[Bernard333]

I bought a V70 auto to use for spares for my V70 D5 , I have it near Liverpool at the moment and would like to take it to Ireland , would need to tow it about 12 miles to the ferry in Birkenhead and then about 80 miles within Ireland . I would like to use an A frame towing dolly possibly needing a braked version because of the weight which can be bought second hand on ebay for about £250 . Is the weight too much for the V70 to tow or maybe there is a legal issue . The car to be towed is motd for one year and the last owner had it taxed to the end of November but has now applied for a tax refund from December onwards , I think you are not supposed to use these A frames on motorways ? If the advice is that its not legal or possible then I will leave the car where it is , can still use it for spares but its in such good condition I want to repair it and can only do that in Ireland .

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

your 1st problem is its an auto.... your not ment to tow an auto over a certain distance / speed, you say you're thinking of buying an A frame, well for the price of that A frame there's guys over here that would collect the car and deliver it for that sort of money, maybe a better an easier option.

[Bernard333]

yes your right , in the V70 handbook it says 50 miles , I have already had it towed 15 miles since I bought it . I will take the risk to go over the limit , I suspect the auto box is completely goosed but would a shame if it wernt to damage it by towing it too far . I never mind buying stuff like A frames and special tools because if I buy them at a good second hand price then theres always a chance to sell them again and get the money back but I will have a look around to see if theres any service available to get the car over on a transporter , I think I will end up towing it but need some advice on the wether or not its legal ? In the past over the years I have asked several different traffic cops about various things like towing and usually havnt had a definite answer .

[saturnuranus]

Do you not have any breakdown cover you can "utilise"?

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Originally Posted by saturnuranus

Do you not have any breakdown cover you can "utilise"?

LOL'd at that, nice idea

The answer i got was:

With an A Frame the car becomes a trailer, and being as its over 750kg it needs to be breaked. I said would someone in the car using the brakes be sufficent, he said yes. But in my view, and i know its stupid, but the car has brakes, the law doesnt state they have to work :?

Now i have towed many's a car accross NI with an a frame, with police behind me, passing me and stopping me, with no issues at all.

Just out of curiousity, where are you coming from, going to?

[Bernard333]

thanks to both of you , wrt breakdown cover I was thinking of that but the last time I took out cover was in 1988 and my 216D Rover clutch cable snapped in France , the AA five star cover was excellent and paid for a hire car for a week plus getting a new cable sent by courier from England and fitted , must have cost them more than my car was worth at the time but since about 2005 when my 1 year free Volvo breakdown cover ran out I have not had any cover at all which thinking about it is getting more risky by the day considering the high mileage I do if you saw the state my V70 D5 is in , its a breakdown waiting to happen but I am ready for it so carry the necessary tools and parts now just in case . I am coming from St Helens to Liverpool probably Birkenhead on the Norfolkline ferry then from Belfast to Ramelton , I am just a bit worried about the 20 odd mile stretch of motorway out of Belfast but from what you have said I will take the risk , should be able to get to Londonderry by 8am so hope the police will be having a rest around that time .

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

The reason i ask, WT plant hire in strabane hire out flat bed trailers / car transporters for £20 a day, might be worth looking into??
Where the hell is Rambelton lol

[Bernard333]

Strabane is 20 minutes away for me so thats worth thinking about , when I first heard about Ramelton I imagined it was an Irish town famous for making pork pies but that ones in England somewhere , if you turn right just before going into Letterkenny you go through Ramelton , its a really quaint little place but then you head on out to Rathmullan and Fanad , it would make a brilliant drive if there was ever VOC meet planned for this area in the summer .

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Right, think i know where you are. The trailer would be handy, down side is you'd be paying to take the trailer accross on the boat, unless you can arrange to leave it this side of the water somewhere handy.
PM DarrenK about that meet idea, its him and Brendon that arrange them, and he's planning one now for mid december.
I live just outside Strabane, so any help or advice give me a shout lad

[uncle shreck]

hi, we use an a frame to recover nearly all our vehicles. legally the vehicle being towed has to be mot,d taxd and covered by insurance as well as the towing vehicle. with regard to the auto box id have to say dont do it. tow it and itll be buggered mate. even keeping the speed down doesnt do them any favours at all... if you havnt towed using an a frame, then it takes a little gettin used too . but its far superior to towing with a trailer.
to get around the legal side of things ,a towing dolly that has the front 2 wheels of the road, can be used to tow a vehicle with out mot or tax as it then is classed as a trailer. hope this helps.
towing on the motorway is not an issue with an a frame or dolly. the law changed to say that you could not legally tow with a rope on the motorway. hence the tow-bar now available.
BRAKING...do not have anyone sat in the towed vehicle if it is attached to an a frame or dolly as this is totally against the law mate.
hope this helps... regards dave