Topic

Bum.

Might just put a rope round the front chassis bar in front of the rad then. Have no other way of moving it than a tow rope...

Anyone ever rope towed an F?

For a short distance the 2 lower tie down points on the front subframe will do the job no problem (as per the images in Daveszed post above)

Fit a couple of 'D' link shackles to them as the edges are sharp and will cut into the rope, make a bridal between the 2 points for a central pull, make sure the towing point from the other vehicle is at the lowest point that you can find and the rope length is enough so it's no pushing upward on the underside of the front bumper.

According to the hand book the TF Stepspeed should not be towed.
However: the text below is from the Rave TF electronic manual, the same text is in Brooklands TF manual.

LIFTING AND TOWING
TOWING
General
Use the front lashing/towing eyes (8) for towing the
vehicle on all four wheels from the front.


WARNING: To ensure that the steering does not
lock when the vehicle is being towed, it is essential
that the ignition key is turned to position 'I’, and
remains there while the vehicle is moving.
Ensure the following precautions are observed:
Do not tow if the gearbox or a drive shaft is faulty.
Do not tow if a wheel or drive shafts are touching
the body or frame.
Ensure the gear lever is in neutral and the
handbrake is released.
Remember that greater effort than normal will be
necessary to apply the brakes if the vehicle is
being towed without the engine running.


Stepspeed (Em-CVT) gearbox models
When a car with automatic gearbox is to be towed on
four wheels from the front, the following precautions
must be observed:
The gearbox fluid level must be correct before starting
to tow.
The selector must be at 'N’
The car must not be towed at speeds greater than 30
mph, 50 km/h or for distances which exceed 30 miles,
50 km.


CAUTION: A front suspended tow must not be
attempted as serious damage will be caused to the
automatic transmission.


NOTE: A vehicle fitted with an automatic gearbox
cannot be started by towing or pushing.

Brian.

Ozzy wrote: wrote:

I don't have a bar, only rope...

No trailer either... Was more asking about towing points and towing eyes... Will have to be from the front...

Any advice appreciated, car is fully working but not tax or mot hence need to tow it to its mot (where the engine is being run in first), hence can't start the engine... Needs a very specific first start procedure.

Thanks!

I'm probably wrong and stand to be corrected but I thought you were allowed to drive a non-MOT'd vehicle to a nearby test centre for a test provided it was booked in?

Richard

Richard, it must be insured, but you can buy insurance by the day,
(that's how I got my Trophy to the ferry, (and the VW))

That is correct you can drive the car to a test as long as it's booked in as long as it has tax & insured also as far as i can remember it's not legal to use a rope anymore it has to be a bar but i could be wrong

This link confirms that you can drive your car to an MOT centre if its MOT has expired provided you are booked-in:

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/the-mot-test

As Yellow Peril points out you need to be insured of course. I'm not sure though about vehicle tax as you can't get a tax certificate without an MOT - I guess you would be OK taking the car to a pre-booked MOT.

It is logical really as why would a towed vehicle be any safer on the road than one that is being drived apart from the obvious conclusion to a brake failure?

Richard

The original thread was asking about the practical element of how to; not the legality aspect, but good to know anyway.

Badger wrote: wrote:

The original thread was asking about the practical element of how to; not the legality aspect, but good to know anyway.

True enough.

I think we have concluded that towing a F/TF is not straight forward. However, the originator did say in a later post that it was 'not tax or mot hence the need to tow it to the MOT'. He also said that it needed a very specific first start procedure for a run-in. I'm curious to what this might be?

Richard

IT IS LEGAL TO TAKE A CAR TO A PRE-BOOKED MOT AS LONG AS IT IS INSURED.

IT DOES NOT NEED A CURRENT MOT.

IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE TAXED.

IT HAS TO BE BOOKED.

It can also be driven from the MOT station back to it's registered keepers address OR place of repair if it fails.

TC speaks words of truth and wisdom.

All I'd add is that if the testing station deems that a fault is too serious to allow the vehicle back on the road they have an impound right where, if the vehicle is not to be repaired at their premises they can insist that the vehicle has to removed by safe means. Usually trailer as if its not safe to drive its not safe to tow.

May have changed since I were a bairn, but it used to be called a VF1 Form.
New details are on mottesting.org.
Which sounds like a strange site for deviant practices tbh......

Jumping about a bit here but I'm pretty sure mgf bus devil is right you are not allowed to tow with a rope anymore must be a solid bar. To be fair I can see why I bet there has been a few poor buggers rear ended from towing with a rope!

Also keen to find out what the specific start procedure is?

thanks guys...

its is an auto, so will tow it the 4 miles i need to go very slowly via a rope...

dont see any issue with this if the cars in N, and think its ok as i was towed out of the hindhead tunnel by the police last week when the elise ran out of fuel just near the exit of the tunnel!!! DOH!

cant drive it initially as the engine is brand new, and needs a special first start proceedure that requires national speed limit road, so will tow to there, then drive it direct to the MOT center it is booked into on friday. shouldnt be any issues with that...
car is fully insured.

cheers
Oz