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Topic: TOW BARS

SMARTBOY

14/5/2014 at 4:36pm
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Hi, has anybody has any experience with detachable towbars are they safe? are they easy to conect and disconect from the vehicle, at the moment I have a witter towbar on my vehicle but I propose to change the vehicle in September and was thinking of giving a detachable towbar a try, and advice would be helpful.

saxo1

14/5/2014 at 5:01pm
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I have a Bosal detachable no problems, the advantage is you don't bang your shin or get oil on your trousers when accessing the boot.
The only thing I found is you need to remove it and don't leave it in attached for too long, it can be stiff to unlock it if left for a long time.
saxo1

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Barbie Girl

14/5/2014 at 5:32pm
Location: Essex
Outfit: Eldiss Odyssey 534 & VW Touareg V10

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We have a detachable tow bar. Very secure and safe. Just dont lose the key for it.

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Live life to the full you are a long time dead

idmainian

14/5/2014 at 8:39pm
Location: Halifax West Yorkshire
Outfit: VW Amarok Crewcab Pickup Truck

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I was on a site two years ago and an outfit turned up and began sorting the van and pitch out it was a very warm day and after a while I could see that the car was still hooked up to the van and a crowd was gathering round the van then one of the chaps came over to our van to ask if I had a large socket set that they could borrow and off they went with my tool bag.After a while I went over to see what was going on it turned out the outfit was stuck together and no matter what they did they could not spite the two apart no matter what they did it stayed that way overnight and a mechanic came out the next day and it took him 3hours to split the two it was a detachable tow ball at fault.Ian

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Grampian91

14/5/2014 at 9:14pm
Location: Midlands
Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram

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There was one incident on one of the cop shows. Woman with a BMW X5 i think. Towing a horsebox and it came away.

Its not a common issue. If fitted properly and always take time to have a safety check before going on your way then it should be as safe as a fixed one.

I prefer fixed ones, But thats a personal choice.

LightFantastic

14/5/2014 at 9:34pm
Location: East Sussex
Outfit: Conway Crusader 2001 folding camper

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I have a Westfalia detachable towbar - it's brilliant. Very easy to remove and attach (that link is to a video of it). Didn't want a fixed towbar for looks and for cracking shins on when loading up car.

As long as it's attached properly they're perfectly secure. I don't know about other makes, but on the Westfalia one it has a mechanism/attaching system that I can't see how it could be misfitted i.e. come off.

As said above, just don't lose the key - especially when it's detached!

Quote: Originally posted by idmainian on 14/5/2014....it took him 3hours to split the two it was a detachable tow ball at fault.

But was it because it was a detachable towbar specifically, or something that could have happened with a fixed towbar?, like an issue with the hitch or lack of maintenance etc.

gould300

14/5/2014 at 9:46pm
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I've a Witter detachable and it's fairly straight forward to attach/detach. It slots into it's socket from underneath so I have to get down on one knee to look under the bumper but that means I can hear the clunk as the engagement pin locks it into place. It also has a red/green indicator so you know it's locked in attached properly before using the key to lock the whole thing. Removing is the reverse - unlock it with the key, twist the lock and it drops down and out.

The only slight niggle is the swing down 13 pin electrics. As they're tucked up inside the bumper and on a stiff pivot they can be tricky to grab hold of to pull down.

It's a detachable flanged ball too rather than a swan neck so it's a fairly weighty thing.

Andy JC

15/5/2014 at 5:09pm
Location: Clevedon
Outfit: CRV 2.2 i-DETEC & Bailey Pegasus 534

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Quote: Originally posted by LightFantastic on 14/5/2014

Quote: Originally posted by idmainian on 14/5/2014....it took him 3hours to split the two it was a detachable tow ball at fault.

But was it because it was a detachable towbar specifically, or something that could have happened with a fixed towbar?, like an issue with the hitch or lack of maintenance etc.

Totally agree. The fault would not likely to have been anything to do with the detachable part of the towbar because it's no where near the caravan hitch. Possibly a slightly miss-shapen towball or burr causing the problem.

I've had a Tow Trust detachable towbar for over 3 years and never had an issue. I went for this model as it was the only type that had a hidden receptor, underneath the bumper, when the hitch was removed. That said, I've stopped removing it when not in use as it offers some extra protection from rogue parkers!

LightFantastic

15/5/2014 at 7:04pm
Location: East Sussex
Outfit: Conway Crusader 2001 folding camper

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Quote: Originally posted by Andy JC on 15/5/2014
I went for this model as it was the only type that had a hidden receptor, underneath the bumper, when the hitch was removed. That said, I've stopped removing it when not in use as it offers some extra protection from rogue parkers!

The Westfalia one is also totally hidden once the swan neck was removed (for the OP's info more then anything). Because it inserts vertically there's nothing visible at all.

Last bit is true! Whenever I've left it on on occasions, it's amazing how you suddenly don't have people parked right up your chufter in car parks!

SMARTBOY

16/5/2014 at 9:29am
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THANKS FOR ALL YOUR INFO I HAVE TAKEN ON BOARD ALL YOUR COMMENTS AND I WILL NOW GET THE BEST PRICE.

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