Tow Bar that cant take the strain!

[jimpearceuk]

I recently purchased and had fitted an Anker towbar and had The Tow Bar Man fit it.

Heres it is - this is my bongo (ignore the dent in the back, that bollard just jumped out on me )

http://www.towbarman.co.uk/vp/JS-Lib/Cu ... 3521948621

I then purchased a Mottez 4 bike rack to carry my bikes. Like this one ...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-BIKE-TOWBAL ... 627wt_1139

I had to change the ball as these racks are really meant for swan neck types but TowBarMan came to the rescue with the appropriate part.

This weekend I went off to Lymington and when I arrived the back of the rack was 4 inches off the ground, on inspection the tow bar has just bend under the weight of the rack.
I checked the bikes which are 8Kgs under the max rack weight, its just the Anker bar is just not strong enough.

I assume these long racks add a massive amount of strain in the wrong direction to the bar and I'm surprised its not mentioned in any documents with either device.

Anyone else got an Anker bar? I'm not sure what to do now, having paid to have the bar fitted and for the rack and I still can't take my bikes

If your thinking about taking this route be careful and don't buy this combination.

Jim

[lazyb5]

Hi Jim I bought an Anchor towbar earlier this year the only thing I thought was a little flimsy was the 2 pieces of U channel that come from the main bar to the towball. I have towed twice with it so far pulling a caravan weighing 1250kg. The 2nd time the van was in fully loaded trim ie. clothes and provisions for a two week holiday. I particularly checked the U channel to make sure nothing had bent before we came home this weekend. I tow with a towball weight of approx 65kg I think the limit is 75kg. Can you tell which part of the towbar bent. I remember there is a central connection which reqires some drilling through the rear strengthening beam and putting a spacer into the beam. This connection should stop any deflection of the towbar. Hope this helps sorry I have no pictures as I did it when it was cold and wanted to get it done and back in the warmth.

[jimpearceuk]

Yes cheers Lazy - the 2 U shaped parts you mention I to thought were not great but they are actually fine! The bar has actually bent away from the box section behind that. This part is a relatively thin piece of steel in comparison to the box section its connected to.
The Rack must way 25Kgs and with 55 or so in bikes pulling in the wrong direction the tow is curtains!

Will add some pics at the weekend,

Thanks Jim

[Griffin]

Sorry to hear your problem, did you havestraps fitted to the top of the tailgate? Both my racks and my backrak say it's a must to avoid the load 'bouncing'. They don't actually take the weight but act as a stabilising force keeping horizontal movement to a minimum. Says to use all the time but definitely for more than 2 bikes.

[wonkanoby]

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... oping+rear

sure its not this

[lazyb5]

Hi Jim just checked my towbar and its straight and level would be interested to see your photos.

[jpdridley]

Just returned from 3 weeks touring in Europe with thule back box and rack scraping on ground every time we went over a bump. Ended up having to gaffa tape the number plate on. Also now bumper has dropped just lime other post. Weight seemed too much for tow bar to deal with and it is too low. Lots of money down the drain. Beware.

[missfixit70]

Just returned from 3 weeks touring in Europe with thule back box and rack scraping on ground every time we went over a bump. Ended up having to gaffa tape the number plate on. Also now bumper has dropped just lime other post. Weight seemed too much for tow bar to deal with and it is too low. Lots of money down the drain. Beware.

Was it the same towbar as above?

[mikexgough]

Sorry to hear of your woes..... I wonder if it was poor design or perhaps a rogue batch.... I have a Tow Trust bar which has been fine..... just another note.... Tow Bars, their condition and mounting(s) are now part of the MOT test....

[jimpearceuk]

Just returned from 3 weeks touring in Europe with thule back box and rack scraping on ground every time we went over a bump. Ended up having to gaffa tape the number plate on. Also now bumper has dropped just lime other post. Weight seemed too much for tow bar to deal with and it is too low. Lots of money down the drain. Beware.

Would love to know if this is the same bar!
I emailed Anker and got this as a reply

Quote, Please confirm the weight of the bike rack on the bar and that the bike rack was fitted to the manufacturers specifications.

Odd, of course I make a habit of fitting things wrong, plus if I did do it wrong, how would I know? and plus it was still attached on arrival in sunny Lymington, just the bar had lost the battle with the bike rack!

I have changed my rack to one that is the r shaped bar so more weight is over the bar, and have had a mechanic weld another piece of metal across the flimsy piece of foil Anker call a tow bar - figured I wasn't going to get anywhere with Anker so just deal with it, even the new rack seems to have a fair bit of movement though, next time I'm feeling flush this things gotta go!

I can't stress enough to anyone please don't fit this or you will be suffering like me - PM if you want more details.

Jim

[missfixit70]

I would definitely recommend the A1 towbar, not the prettiest with the visible horizontal bar, but solid as a rock.

[levon]

Sorry to hear your woes.

I have just returned from a great trip around Europe with 4 bikes on a A1 towbar mounted bakrak.

The towbar has been fine and seems really strong, taking the pain of the road calming measures in France even with 4 bikes wieghing 65kg with the rack. (I did use top mounted webbing (as instructed) as well to stop bouncing).

Issues I did have though:
The electrics for the towbar had not been earthed to the vehicle when it was fitted so necessitated an emergency repair in Belgium, thanks to the Bongo fury website and an eventually helpful call to the fitters to talk through the wiring it went well.

The bakrak was a nightmare to put together, the insturctions were poor. I also had issues getting the thing over the clamshell, had to grind off some rogue casting detritus. It is still a right flaff putting the rack on and off though (actually getting the rack onto the towball) but once on and tightened it is solid, so perhaps its worth the effort!

[mikexgough]

I hired a Van Trailer this week, while there I asked about Tow Bars, this company uses Witter or Tow Trust mainly but sometimes Brink for unusual EU vehicles...... they had not heard of Anker Tow Bars...

[Simon Jones]

I used to have an Anker towbar & never had any issues, but I did upgrade it to an A1 model before I started using a Thule BackUp Box as I didn't want to risk it falling off anywhere.

[gmaczbongo]

Sounds like a rubbish towbar.
Bike rack and bikes and it bends, caravan fully loaded and it overtakes you down the motorway.
Take it back and get a refund.
Not fit for the purpose etc.
The small weight you are carrying should have no effect on any towbar.
A major redesign is in order or decent construction