TERRANO to Bulgaria towing

Hi All,Didn't know where to put this message but,...

Everything went great travelling and towing 2000 miles to Bulgaria,German police weren't happy with the A-frame towing device and threatened us with 500 euro fine,said second vehicle should be on trailor !managed to get away with it and detached a-frame and mrs drove the other 100 miles into Austrian border and then hitched up again,no bother in Austria,Hungary,Romania or Bulgaria unless we were just lucky :smile:
4 days of mainly motorway driving sent me a bit stir crazy though,the Romanian roadworks for 100 miles and the peasoup fog that made me drive 20 mile an hour in BG really p****d me off,last leg of journey took 22 hours non stop as i wanted to get 'home'and not sleep in the terano another night :roll:
So there we are,safe and sound,could have sold both 4x4's the following day as the Bulgarians loved them,but after that trip i think i'll keep em for a while... :

[Thermostat]

Good to hear you made it safe with little problems (apart from GERMAN POLICE).

:smile:

[Deleted Member D]

Glad your back safe and well done bud. -welldone-
Glad the motor worked well for you too. :smile:
Which was the most scenic place to travel thru for you ?

Wow,that's a hard one,as they all have fantastic scenery albiet from the motorway!Latter half of Germany was stunning and the services were outstanding,even had self cleaning toilet seats !!! 8O
Austria was much the same,Romania had stunning mountain passes and so into Bulgaria at the top end near Vidin/Montana towards Sophia.
I cant believe what a beautiful country i am know living in,i thought Wales was pretty good and Devon/Cornwall but Bulgaria....wow,oh and its nothing like sunny beach etc(like when you go on holiday to BG)reminds me of Blackpool or Torromolinos some places on the coast are typical beer/booze etc while others are still natural dunes etc,inland its proper countryside with donkey's and carts,bears and wolves in the forests !No polution or chemicals,just back to basics.. 8)
Surprising how many Brits we met on the way...going there...emigrating or going to do some work on thier second home.
I'm sorry to say but nearly 2 weeks back in UK was enough for me,especially when paying the prices (£40 for 5 ltr oil)!!!! 8O seeing the weather and the traffic.........

[Deleted Member D]

So av I got it right ? Your now living in Bulgaria ? :?

Pics would be great,ya lucky sod!! :wink: : :

[zippy656]

its a long way to come for some chips though Cosmic..

Yep,been there 14 months and loving it,can still get chips at Mcdonalds (not the same as the ones me Mrs cooks though) :
Will try and post pics,did have a go earlier but failed will try tom,ok

[zippy656]

look forwards to teh pics mate

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

a frame? on what?

afaik thats illegal here unless the 'trailer' is <750 kg gross / no brakes.

reckon you were more than lucky as they say.

bit like dollies, only legit for towing broken down vehicles.

Yeh!Guess i was lucky then,i tried to get the A-frame with the brake mech that fits the towed car but no luck,what's the defenition of a broken down car,oh and i towed suzi grand vitara 2000 soft-top 8)

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

probably one that is broken down, being recovered to a garage by a tow truck, aa van etc.

braked ones scarse, plus reliably linking into brakes difficult. even then would it activate all wheels or be just hand brake, break away cables etc
really trying to make into a trailer. hence easier to stick on real trailer.

must of these motor homes tugging are illegal unless tiny cars.

[Terranosaurus]

Even motorholmes towing micro cars are illegal, if a trailer is fitted with brakes they must all be operational regards less of weight, so the A frames that link into the hand brake mechanism don't comply either as tey don't operate on both axles.

I've heard of 2 ways of doing it "more" legally. One is an electro mechanical device that presses the brake pedal for you, these are common (and legal) in the US apparently but it is not plain whether this complies with the mechanical linkage rules for UK construction and use.

The other method goes attaches to the brake fluid resevoir and pressurises the brake system directly from the coupling head. It all needs bleeding up properly to work but I am told these are truely legal. It would also be possible to use "dry break connectors" (comon in high end motorsport) these would allow you to couple te braking system into the A frame coupling in a similar way to how HGV air brakes are connected into the tractor unit.

[floyd500b]

Originally Posted by rbrt

a frame? on what?

afaik thats illegal here unless the 'trailer' is <750 kg gross / no brakes.

reckon you were more than lucky as they say.

bit like dollies, only legit for towing broken down vehicles.

You could probably tow any LR legitimately then :smile:

[wildbri]

drove a split screen vw camper to bulgaria in the sixties, what a sad place it was in those days, nothing in the shops, people trying to buy your clothes from you, no public transport, secret police lurking everywhere, every thing and every one looking so sad. I am glad to hear that things have changed.

Regards towing with a A frame, there is a hughe thread on the motorhome forum www.motorhomefacts.com the consensus seems to be that it is legal
in the uk but not in europe...... and this is why. In the uk a thing is legal unless it is declared illegal in germany a thing is only legal when it has been declared legal i.e illegal if not declared legal..... rest of europe illegal to tow
a vehicle unless garage or motoring recovery agents... these are not my opinions. regards..bri