Thread: A framing a vehicle

Anyone know what the rules and regs are on a framing a vehicle on public roads?

Every second grey nomad 'A' frames their beloved Suzuki behind their RV, so it cannot be too difficult to accomplish legally.

Fact sheet direct from the Horses mouth:

https://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/i...g_A-frames.pdf

I see a few offroaders being a framed around as well. Wondering if it has to be reg and wof? If so can it be reg as a trailer if its just being towed on public road?

I suspect that the rules around trailers would prohibit registering a self-propelled offroader as a trailer - but I haven't looked into it. It's one of those cases where it is likely simpler to just trailer the thing from a-b than try and to the butterknife job and slide between a non-existent gap in the rules.

You would also need to fit free wheeling hubs to each wheel to make it viable to tow a 1-2 tonne 4WD. If not there would be far less frictional losses to have it on a trailer I suspect

Don’t forget the unbraked towing capacity of your tow vehicle, it would be pretty tricky to get the towed vehicles brakes to work while being towed, unless it’s an air system.

and the main thing to remember is that a few 4x4s wouldn't be fit to be towed home after a big day out without the use of a trailer.

what Im looking at isn't very heavy 4 guys could lift it off the ground

The rules on what can be wof inspected as a trailer probably would prohibit something capable of self propulsion being registered as a trailer - might be wrong but i think the simplest and least stress solution would be to just get a trailer...

Get a dealers plate, we A framed a homemade hunting wagon without any rego or WOF for years, mainly in the dark and country roads

Originally Posted by Maca49

Get a dealers plate, we A framed a homemade hunting wagon without any rego or WOF for years, mainly in the dark and country roads

Might explore that option. Considering a hunting vehicle. Trailer just increases idea x5 and not in the budget (dont have a money tree out the back) making it un self propelled wont be hard if removing driveshafts is all thats involved...

Originally Posted by blip

Might explore that option. Considering a hunting vehicle. Trailer just increases idea x5 and not in the budget (dont have a money tree out the back) making it un self propelled wont be hard if removing driveshafts is all thats involved...

So what’s the rules for towing an unregistered vehicle with a tow rope?

Doesn't appear to have specific rules covering it apart from the tow vehicle must be reg and licenced, no more than 4m between and under 50Km/H with a red rear marker at night as a minimum. Also, it assumes that there is a warm bodied air breathing object in the front right seat applying the central (or left hand) pedal so that the towed vehicle does not collide with the one in front.

A frame (rigid towing connection) allows open road speed 90Km/H (but assumes that the towed vehicle is registered and warranted). Also, max unbraked tow weight of 750Kg (unless you can get the brakes to operate somehow on the towed vehicle???).

It's one of those grey area things, there is no specific rule I can find that says you can't tow an unregistered vehicle, but also nothing that says it is expressly legal to do it. Get the wrong person on the wrong day when they need to top up their quota and you might find yourself in a much lighter wallet situation. If it's a self propelled vehicle designed for off road use only, and the tyres and mechanical features aren't designed for highway use it's on you to explain how you are staying within the law regarding safety of the vehicles.

As with anything like this, you might have more luck in the sticks far from a city than one street off SH1 in an area with urban sprawl encroaching, but it is still more than I would be comfortable doing on a regular basis. I'd be looking for a cheap tandem trailer and running that reg and warranted, avoid the entire trap. I wouldn't be bothered with stripping mechanical parts off like driveshafts, as it doesn't get around the point that the vehicle is designed to be self propelled and removing and replacing mechanical components doesn't change that fact that if complete it could still be driven. There are carve-outs where you don't have to register and licence your vehicle, but a lot of it is specific to construction and agriculture machinery and not toys. Also, if you are crossing a road between paddocks or driving only on a private road you don't need reg/license as well.

@blip Sounds like you need to talk to Mr Luxon and get it on the fast track to remove the bull shite concerning a very simple thing, towing a register vehicle behind your camper van. Red tape everywhere