tow bar fitting

[westonwarrior]

I fitted a towbar last weekend and took some picsso here is a step by step guide to fitting a Towsure Towbar

First remove the rear bumper 4 bolts on back and 2 small bots at the side top and remove the rear inner trim.


next remove the towing eye on the offside 4 bolts looks a bit dirty on the pic


Attach the mounting plate on the near side with bolts provided holes already there


next offer up tow bar and realise spare wheel is in the way so remove that too
offer up towbar and secure to toweye bolt holes and mounting plate loosly to begin with
Drill up through support bar with long drill bit then from the top open up the hole to allow spacer bar to be put in place

and secure with long bolt and washer

put bar with nut on in gap by towing eye section and secure with bolt


Tighten up all bolts to required tourque and refit trim spare wheel and bumper
then attach towball and cover


quite easy to do, specialist tool required are long drill bit for the spacer and a hole opener but a file wil do I suppose
And a tourque wrench,

The electrics were done after and were easy as well as instructions are with the kit.

I hope this helps any one thinking of getting a towbar.
I found no real problems

[vanvliet]

Nice job .Good pics /clear instructions . Do you have a pic of the towbar in place ? Is it well tucked up out of sight ? Might be worth waxoyling the lot before refitting the bumper.
Finally quest - -How much was the Towbar Rob?

[westonwarrior]

£112ish from bongo bits or club shop

yes to the waxoiling having fitted it I may remove and waxoil around the area as its not that difficult

and yes its tucked away nicely as the last pic shows but will take one from lower for you (if I don't forget)

[mister munkey]

For those in the North West, Wheelquick will supply & fit (including electrics) a towbar for £150.

Wise investment there.

[lizard]

Yes, the towsure one fits very well and is concealed by the bumper. Only the tow ball is showing.

[westonwarrior]

For those in the North West, Wheelquick will supply & fit (including electrics) a towbar for £150.

Wise investment there.

Yes thats a very good price and recomended and if I was nearer I would have gone there

However there is a sense of pride of standing back and saying "I did that"

[brorabongo]

Nice work, westonwarrior.
For the drilling, you could used a 16mm flat wood bit, (cheapie) I did, as thats all I had at the time. It went through easier than expected. I then used a mallet to tap (hard) the tube into the hole, making it a nice tight fit. 17mm bit might of been a better?

[missfixit70]

Seems a bit simpler than the A1 (I think) towbar I fitted, & there's no visible bits, nice one WW, I agree with you, it's great to be able to say "I did that", even if no-one else gives a stuff

[vanvliet]

i give a stuff!! as soon as I get a few spare bucks I will be giving it a go

[lizard]

I also give a stuff, excellent pics.

I have also fitted the towsure bar and It looks just like the westonwarrior bar.

[David Edwards]

Well you make it seem so simple, problem with mine is, the tow bar was fitted for me four years ago, I have tried for the last four days to remove one of the bumper holding bolts and a tow bar bolt to try and attach a reversing warning device. The bolts will not budge. The bumper bolt just turns completely within itself, anyone going to attempt removal should look carefully at them first and they may need soaking or gentle heat on em to get em to budge.

[madmile]

I have fitted 'Towtrust / Equipe' and 'Towsure' bars and have not had to remove the bumper to fit any . I will say that with the towsure bar the 2 bolts are a little bit fiddly to get the nuts on as they are in the angles tube with only an inch of access - the o/s one has a nut welded to a plate to allow it to be pushed in from below and thus not requiring a spanner on the inside either. This is a strange ommission as the towtrust one which is identical in other respects has the n/s twin bolt fixings made by a length of bar with 2 holes and 2 nuts welded. If you have access to a welder then its a 5 minute job, but cant see why they havent done it - hence I buy towtrust now .
Obviously taking the bumper off gets around this, but its not uncommon for the bolts to be too rusted as David Edwards has pointed out.

[westonwarrior]

I had no problems with rusted bolts at all
and removing the bumper took about 4 or 5 minutes

just as well really

[Griffalo]

I too fitted my tow bar today and didn't have to remove the bumper as like madmile the awkward to get to nuts were welded to a small bar which made the whole process very straight forward.

I painted mine with silver hammerite before fitting to match my bumper (not that you can see much of the tow bar once fitted) and pushed a tennis ball over the tow ball to make it more visible when reversing. Also, when removing the towing bracket I painted the area behind it with some hammerite before fitting the tow bar as this was a little rusty.

Darryl