Car trailers allowed on sites
Hi just need some advice before purchasing a car trailer. We have a Motorhome length around 6.5 metres. We have a Fiat Arbath that we plan on towing with the Motorhome to sites so we can explore the area in the car instead of moving the Motorhome. My question is. Do sites accept car trailers? Has anyone had any problems with storing their. At trailer on their pitch? Any advice would be very helpful as this is the first time we would have towed a trailer behind Motorhome. Thanks Sam
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Hi, Sam, and welcome.
Unless things have changed in recent years, it is allowable to place both car and trailer on the pitch along with your motorhome at no additional charge. Obviously, some pitches may not be physically capable of accommodating all 3 items and, in that event, you can park the car in the site car park. I would make sure you book a with-awning pitch to give yourself the best chance of a decent size pitch.
However, it is several years since we did this so I suggest you contact head office to check the current position. I would also carry a copy of the reply with you when you visit sites just in case some wardens aren't familiar with the situation.
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FYI.The elderly couple who were on the next pitch to us at Brecon,this week,had:Smart car,Motorhome and car trailer on their pitch(left to right).The MH was approx 6m long and the trailer was of a suitable size for the Smart car.No problems/issues with any of that for us-fire break distances were adhered to etc.as it all fitted on neatlyand within the hardstanding area.
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Ours fitted well on the HS on just about every site, Ken, and it was a sizeable lump. It's good to hear what's allowable hasn't changed.
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Hi Sam
We tow a Smart Car on a trailer behind our Autotrail Motorhome.
The Motorhome is 7.9 metres long and trailer inc towbar is a further 3.6 metres - I've experienced no issues from site staff so no worries there.
Space can be a limiting factor when it comes to loading/unloading the car from the trailer in terms of lining up the ramps- after much trial and error we generally find it easiest to find an open space (outside the toilet block is good) and unload/load the rig there. I am assuming you intend to use a trailer as opposed to the A frame style of towing - A frames are illegal in France and Spain etc.
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I'm honestly not knocking anyone's variation on touring but .... I can never understand why you'd tow a car on a trailer behind a motorhome. You restrict your speed on a motorway ... restrict yourself from the outside lane of the motorway and make things difficult reversing a small trailer with a large vehicle. 2 lots of road tax & insurance to have a small vehicle while on site ... I thought the idea of a motorhome was to visit as you tour ...a couple of days here & there on route.
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Everyone's entitled to their opinions on this - our Smart Car which we tow behind our MH can get down to beaches and and explore along single track roads that most Motorhomes could not! And emissions are so low we pay no road tax on it! In fact it's our main mode of transport at home. So we think we have the best of both worlds! Motorhomes can be put on SORN for the months not in use too.
We can cruise comfortably at 60 mph on motorways whilst towing too.
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Regarding towing a car behind a motorhome. Each to their own requirements obviously.
We may end up with a caravan at some time, especially if more serviced pitches become available but in the meantime a motorhome is required for example to go "wild camping" and to tour Europe on the excellent Aire system as caravans are not allowed. A car may be needed when using UK campsites, particularly those located rurally. Having both a motorhome and car gives the best of both worlds, and there is no extra cost particularly if it is a second car you have anyway (other than the cost of A frame or trailer). I used to have an A frame but now use a trailer as I cannot have one fitted to the current second car. I find using a trailer almost a quick to load as the A frame system, also I can reverse it easily (twin axle trailer) whereas it is impossible to reverse on an A frame. Never had any problem fitting all three on an awning pitch.
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"We can cruise comfortably at 60 mph on motorways whilst towing too."
But not in the outside lane. The outfit I pictured earlier was as restrictive as towing a caravan so it was just as well do that. Give me the sub 3050kg unladen 70mph vans any day with no toad needed. But, whatever does it for you is good.
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At a number of locations I have noticed those towing a trailer behind a motor caravan parking the trailer beside the caravan on site, and then parking the motor car on top of the trailer. Certainly less visually intrusive for the other occupants of the site.
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We never did that because it puts undue strain on the jockey wheel. Ours was a tilting trailer and you'd not want to be operating the tilting mechanism every time you nipped off site for something.
There always seemed to be room for the car beside the MH with the trailer to the rear.
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Who is bothered about that?
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I don't get the logic either. I wonder how many MH owners that tow a car behind them thought, at the time they bought the MH, "right, we've now got to fit a towbar and have a car small enough to tow behind us". Or is it a case of "We didn't realise until we bought our MH how restricting it is so we now need to get and tow a small car so that we can get to places". I don't suppose anyone will confess to this. If you're towing a car why not tow a caravan which gives much more living space and transport at your destination?
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It's no mystery why, Micky. A newcomer found it and posted and it was brought to the fore.
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You'll have read my earlier posts I expect John. In our case we bought the MH fully intending to tow the car on a trailer. We p/ex'd our cvan and towcar as part of the process. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it wasn't for all sorts of reasons and we got rid of the rig and returned to towing a caravan in less than a year.
Some years later we again swapped to a MH but we'd learnt our lesson and bought small and manageable and they've got smaller at every change since.
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From time to time there seems to be competition to resurrect the oldest post, but as you say there does seem to be a dearth of new posts, and that seems the same on other forums that I look at.
Maybe everyone spent so much time on such things in the last couple of years they are all 'posted out'?
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Having a tow bar on a motorhome is a useful addition for some, whether it's a car, a boat or even a caravan.
These older threads often seem to appear after web site maintenance. I've noticed quite a few recently.
Was it found in a search or did it just appear?
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I don't think "old posts" just reappear. They do require someone to reply to an old thread and I don't think it exclusively happens on CT, I have seen it on other forums as well. Perhaps we could ask ScreenName74C09E6685 how he found this thread?
David
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Sadly I have noticed that they tend, on occasions, to be resurrected by a rather controversial comment rather than a helpful question. I wondered why this is so, is it to generate a flurry of further opinions and criticism of members ways of enjoying our shared pastime?
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Oh, Micky, how could you possibly think so?🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have seen with my own eyes an old controversial post being liked to make it visible in Latest Activity and then the evidence being removed.
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🤣 Just so, this had prompted me recently to think about those early days of CT when some threads were quite edgy, to put it mildly, and responses from some a tad opinionated. They were interesting times though and forged the T&Cs we see today. Many of those early protagonists no longer contribute sadly (in some respects)!🤣
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Some might change "sadly" for "gladly" although it was more entertaining than the telly 😄
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When we changed from caravan to motorhome I knew at some point my wife would want the use of a car as well. I kept saying to her we already had the optimum set up with the coachman caravan and the Evoque but she still insisted on getting the Moho which cost us circa £50k more than we got for the coachman. Had to change the Evoque when she decided i should have a Smart for two ???? Had to get a towbar fitted to the Moho (almost £1700!!!!) and bought a secondhand trailer (another £1000). The rig worked well but I hated the smart so I changed and now have an Abarth. Now she wants me to have an A-frame fitted to the Abarth as she doesn’t believe all sites allow a trailer whereas I’d rather get another trailer….. my brain is now completely de-sensitised… Can anyone please advise if slightly bigger car and trailer are not a problem for getting on site?
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If you look at my earlier posts, I think I explained that the MH, car and trailer were all accommodated at no extra cost.
The subject was discussed again in another thread where a serving site manager confirmed the situation is still the same.
As for access to the site, you will know that sites vary and some are easier than others and each site's web page will show any access problems.
Use of an A-frame is not legal in some European countries.
Well done for making your wife happy 👏🏻
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