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Topic: Swan neck towbar

sparky69

15/5/2010 at 9:50pm
Location: west yorks
Outfit: Bailey Senator California

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Have just picked up my new Toyota Avensis estate and had the tow bar fitted at dealers . The tow ball is a swan neck and looks neat , however it is not a great distance from the bumper and i have an Alko stabiliser fitted to the van ! after measuring when the van is hitched up there is only 15mm clearance from the bumper to the front of the hitch is this ok?.I wondered if there are any longer swan neck tow balls that i could replace the original with . The tow ball is bolted to the tow bar and not a removable one.

Phil

andrew1109

16/5/2010 at 8:29am
Location: West Yorkshire
Outfit: Swift Freestyle S-Twin & Sante-Fe

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Towsure does a extended towball, its one where you use 2 bolts to bolt to the bar. Not sure if that's the same one as you have. You might want to have a look at it. LINK HERE

I am in the process of changing my car and having a dealer fitted towbar and was wondering about the very same thing. Hence I have been looking for solutions...just in case.

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Andrew

Opensauce

16/5/2010 at 10:25am
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I can't see how the small clearance could be a problem once hitched up. You will need care hitching up to avoid scratching your bumper tho. Cut out a sheet of ply with a slot in the bottom which is a tight push fit over swan neck. Put this on while hitching up to make a 'bash plate' & keep in boot.

The link is for an Alko compatable flange ball. Nothing to do with a swan neck which is Alko compatable anyway.

The Folding Man

16/5/2010 at 7:40pm
Location: Derbyshire
Outfit: Swift Compact C205

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I have a 59 plate Avensis Estate with a Toyota fitted swan neck towbar. I tow my caravan with a Alko 1300 hitch with no clearance problem. I was worried when I got the car but compared the distance from the bumper to the swan neck ball with the distance on my old flange mounted tow ball from the back of the flange to the ball and this was OK. I knew that the distance to the back of the flange was a safe datum since I had a bike rack plate mounted behind it and clearance was no problem.

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The Folding Man

sparky69

17/5/2010 at 10:07pm
Location: west yorks
Outfit: Bailey Senator California

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Thanks for the replies , i have had a look on Alko's website and according to their data i should be ok with the measurements of clearance . They state that from the centre of the tow ball to nearest obstruction ie bumper is 68mm , my measurement is 75mm .

Phil

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