Front mounted A Frames

[goingbush]

Does anybody still use A frames for hooking two vehicles together to essentially make an 8x8 like we used to do in the old days,
tho they were usually used for bringing a broken truck home more often than hard 4 wheeling .

I remember a lot of club trips list of gear included solid tows & wheelchains but never see them nowadays

like on the front of this


Just about every car in the CCJC had one fitted !!

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Don't know about Queensland or Victoria, but in NSW the RTA made it almost impossible to use them.

The A frame had to be an approved type from an approved manufacturer, the attachments on the towed vehicle had to be engineer approved. It also needed to be able to couple and uncouple at any alignment between the vehicles.

The attachment on the towing vehicle had to be engineer approved and the combination of tow vehicle, A frame and towed vehicle had to be engineer approved for the particular vehicles (not substitutes) and certified for weight limits GCM etc.

Then if the towed vehicle weighs over 750 kg the brakes on the towed vehicle had to be operated by the towed vehicle or coupling and if the towed vehicle weighed over 2 tonnes over-ride brakes from the coupling was insufficient and the brakes had to be operated from the drivers position of the tow vehicle with a breakaway function that would automatically apply the brakes and hold them on for 15 minutes.

You could have an operator in the towed vehicle to operate the brakes. See: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrati...g_nov_2007.pdf

[goingbush]

Ok thanks, wow , no wonder they have become extinct.

[Tank]

That would be if you were towing on the tarmac, but it would be possible off-road if no one was around. I know that road rules apply off road (except private property), but it would be a good way of getting a couple of less well equipped vehicles through a tough spot. A couple of Lockers would be better though, Regards Frank.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I don't think the RTA ever considered the off road use, but yes they can be usefull to negotiate obstacles but coordination is still needed between the two drivers. Having a driver in the towed vehicle will negate lots of the approval requirements and I would far prefer an A frame tow than a rope tow.

[123rover50]

Not the same but we often used a solid bar with a single tow point each end. Did the same job but the driver of the towed vehicle had to steer. Not like the A frame.
I thought the Army still use the single point ones.
Didiman

[MR LR]

Arthur had one on his 2 door Rangie when they did the Simpson dessert, he built it himself, but never used it, so they never put it on the car again. There are distinct advantages, but the coordination required would be massive i would think, thats why a lot of people just use standard recovery gear and fit lockers, would definitely help with momentum, but you'd be flat out mounting it to a modern 4wd and it would have to come off on the road for airbags etc. the only vehicles that could have them now are really the Defender and Land Cruiser as well as older cars. i think people just invest more in the cars and on't need them as much, not to mention a lot of people tow now so their use would be negated.

Cheers
Will

[goingbush]

I remember towing a bloke home from a LROCV trip that had a slipping steering arm on his relay box. (Series 2A swb) . All the way from Licola to Melbourne, There wasn't much co-ordination needed He could just sit there with his arms folded but he would also put his foot down to help us up hills & use the brake if he thought I wasn't stopping fast enough. He did mention it was the fastest his Landy had ever gone

Driver co-ordination is not an problem at all like it needs to be on a rope.

I have used them, I just wondered why they had gone out of fashion.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

No I was talking about coordination whilst in soup, it is possible for the driver of the following vehicle to counter steer to the direction of travel of the front (steering) vehicle and effectively act as an anchor. It is also possible for the rear driver to apply too much power and jack knife the combination.

On highway towing, you are correct the rear vehicle follows without steering input from the towed vehicle.

I have always wondered if you could acquire one of the Army "A" frames designed for the Land Rover and used it on ex-army Land Rovers which have the appropriate connections would the RTA consider it "Engineered"?

[MR LR]

I don't have a lot of knowledge in the area and am only going off what i've read, but i believe a lot of the military gear is not complianced for use by the public, this would probably include things like A frames, there was talk about some of the Perenties not being complianced, which is why i assume that may be the case. I don't think anyone would have a prblem with you using them offroad though, are they ging to try and follow the 'train' of Land Rovers in their Ford Rangers? Don't think so, its getting there that is the prbolem and the laws on protrusions from bullbars