French Translation & Single wheel trailer Question

I have one of these trailers in the barn I am going to start renovating this week to stick behind me split. Pics off EBAY as mine is buried under stuff.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-...rentrq:a834267d1750a0f10eb53264ffe5e6c0|iid:1

It has two pistons as towing arms. There are tabs with wing nuts that lock the pistons. The pistons move about 50mm. Can anyone imagine why you would lock the pistons. I would imagine it is for reversing or going foreward????????

 

In the fifth picture the top towing arm has the lock on.

 

It's French. That explains it.

 

Talking of French I did a search in French and found this, problem is it might as well be in Greek, well French!!
http://c.papy.free.fr/autotitre/original/Fixation Remorque MonoroueMOC.pdf

 

I’d imagine the pistons are actually dampers, as that thing would oscillate like mad I’d imagine. Locking screws for reversing sounds reasonable.

 

The advice this person gives is that it's best to unhook the trailer if you want to reverse:
"Il est conseillé de se faire aider en marche arrière, et de soulever la remorque"
It seems to be written by someone doing a DIY job because he didn't have the original attachments.
In the bit about bumpy roads he advises aiming the car so that the single wheel doesn't get caught in any holes.
I can't see anything about locking the piston, but I'm stretching my 1986 French A level to the limit - there were no single-wheel trailers in the poetry of Beaudelaire or the plays of Racine and Molière...

 

Those levers aren’t just for quick attachment/release from the bar mounts are they?

 

Could be.

 

I have changed the title to snare in some French types

 

They really knew how to do a write up in 1960, it would appear they really went to town testing it. By all accounts as I cant tell what it says.

 

OK. Just found the brochure photocopy below. It seems that the trailer fixed rigidly is the normal way to use it, and they claim this will improve the stability of your car. If called on to use twisty mountainous roads you can pull the pins to allow the telescopic attachment to let the trailer move, and simply reinsert the pins when you've done the mountainous bit to get your rigidity back:

 

@Jean-François ?

 

Many Thanks for that, I cant wait to get it done and give it a run, I will do a renovation thread I think. When the pandemic is over I fancy a trip in the split over the Pico's so the pin may well be out!

 

The french owner seems to be saying its stable enough with the solid single central twin cascaded pivot arrangement to not need locking even on normal roads, so he doesnt even bother with the other "stiff" fixings.

If you like I could have a go at translating more - I have done a few technical French documents over the years.

But it is bolted up to something solid, not a bendy bumper ....

 

Yea I will have to fab a tow bar, I dont want to carve holes in the bumper, a route past the exhaust is a problem, might take a bit of head scratching yet!!

 

That must have been in the magazine article, in the instructions it would seem that they say in normal use lock it. Would be easier to leave the pistons free to move though, it would stop it scuffing when reversing

 

Let's give a try.
My apologises for spellings...

"The fixed trailer improve your vehicle road handling.
However, if you have to do a lot's of mountains driving, we advice you this accessorie that will allow your trailer to steer (not sure how to translate that.). When your twisty road drive is done, by locking the the trailer's coupling levers, you'll get back to a fixed trailer."