I had an R reg vectra 1.8 with the same problen. I have been rowed on a rope (without any power assist) and was told that braking should be mostly done by the towed car, thus keeping the rope taut
Malcolm
Because the bar tow was from an AA man who'd done it a lot before and had other stuff to do, but the rope was from a friend who'd not done it nearly as much (if at all) but could afford to take his time about it.
I think the lack of visibility was the main difference - all I could see was the back of a yellow van with flashing lights.
Load of nancies - try being towed by a car when riding a motorbike. Now that's scary! Last time I tried that was in about 1964. AFAICR it was legal.
Pete
If that were the case, I would not expect major companies like Halfords to sell tow ropes.
It has become more unpopular due to a general cluelessness and lack of DIY in the motoring population.
If a car breaks down people now use the AA to take it to a garage for repair. The days have gone where you would have phoned a mate who would then tow you home so that you could DIY the repairs.
I still frequently tow cars with my brother down to his garage, however the distances are not great.
In article , Pete Shew writes
LOL, that brings back memories, I remember my dad towing a guy on a motorbike when I was a nipper. Can't remember whether it was a tie on or hold on for grim death number. I think he survived.
I don't think it is legal now, nor was it then.
If the tower forgets that, the towee's brakes can end up overheating so badly they fail. The result is predictable.
NT
I suspect it is also more theory than practice. The risk of a vehicle sitting on the hard shoulder getting hit by another vehicle is sufficiently high that I suspect that the authorities would summon a recovery truck as soon as they spot one, rather than wait for a friend of the driver to turn up with a tow rope.
Colin Bignell
The loss of power steering is trivial. But the loss of braking isn't far off 100% on some popular brake designs.
NT
If you put the engine in high gear, with ignition switched off, you get power brakes and electricity.
NT
One reason I chose nylon when I made up a tow rope for my first car. It was probably the most expensive rope available, but it had a lot of stretch, which avoided most of the snatching.
Colin Bignell
I dont see how an emergency stop is possible when rope towing. A towing driver that doesnt realise that is a liability IMHO.
NT
That's something I dislike about modern cars. With oldies one can always use the handbrake if the main brake fails.
NT
AFAIK you can only tow a bike from another bike.
Interestingly the highway code now merely says "In the event of a breakdown, be aware that towing a vehicle on a tow rope is potentially dangerous. You should consider professional recovery." And nothing else at all.
Andy
You are allowed 2 hours on the hard shoulder and then the police will have the car removed for you.
That depends on how heavy the steering is without the power assistance. On the old Mondeo it wasn't to bad, heavy certainly but you didn't need almost every bit of upper body strength and heave the wheel round with both hands on the same side like my current car needs.
Depends on the "oldie" some have transmission brakes rather than a brake that acts on the wheels. One has to be very cautious how one applies it if moving, same applies to modern cars that also have transmission brakes.
You could always use an off-road kinetic rope (carefully!!).
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