Bailey Approach 745 towbar wanted
morning, we have just purchased a 745 and am looking around for a decent towbar for it. does anyone have any good suggestions as to which is best ie supplier. i am happy to fit myself. also cheap as possible as we have a budget.
thx
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hopefully, someone else will give a local recommendation...however, adding a hefty towbar onto a vehicle with vary long overhang, will in itself, add more thsn its own weight to the rear axle loading.
im not trying to scare/put you off but the following are all seriously relevant questions.....especially on a van with such a long rear bias....
do you have the license groups for over 3500kg?
what is the vehicle plated at?
do you know the axle limits?
do you know the current available margin on the rear axle, ie have you weighed the van.
what are you thinking of putting on the towbar, an A-frame or towball mounted rack.....if a rack, what is going to be carried?
sorry about the questions, especially of you have weighed the van, but any van of these proportions will already be marginal on the rear axle and increasing the MTPLM (say to 3650kg) will have done nothing to increase the permitted loading on either of the
two axles.without a doubt, the rear axle will go overweight way before you reach your MTPLM.....
i would definitely weigh the van fully loaded before fitting the towbar, you might already be very close to axle limits.
not understanding or knowing your weights isnt an excuse at a roadside check.....
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on this example of a relatively short van, the towbar plus fittings will add
around 168 kg to the rear axle BEFORE any load is further added
see http://www.pwsacc.co.uk/motorcaravan-faq.htm#carry for more details...
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morning, we have just purchased a 745 and am looking around for a decent towbar for it. does anyone have any good suggestions as to which is best ie supplier. i am happy to fit myself. also cheap as possible as we have a budget.
thx
,...Some friends of ours have a 745 and your dealer should be able to sort it as the chassis is already manufactured to take one,our friends fitted their own it was that simple,and the wiring loom was just plug
into the already fitted plugs0 -
That may well be true (most vans with an ALKO chassis can be fitted in this way...however, the issue is still whether the van has the capacity to carry it and whatever is going to be fitted to it...
im sure any dealer would be delighted to sell one....but it's not their responsibility to ensure the van remains within its allowed loadIngs....that's down to the customer, I'm afraid.
your friends' van may well be overweight for all we know... As above, nearly
170 kg added to rear axle on a shorter van, a 745 will be far more due to the longer overhang.
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That may well be true (most vans with an ALKO chassis can be fitted in this way...however, the issue is still whether the van has the capacity to carry it and whatever is going to be fitted to it...
im sure any dealer would be delighted to sell one....but it's not their responsibility to ensure the van remains within its allowed loadIngs....that's down to the customer, I'm afraid.
your friends' van may well be overweight for all we know... As above, nearly
170 kg added to rear axle on a shorter van, a 745 will be far more due to the longer overhang.
...Not according to weighbridge certificate for each axle and overal weight
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as the 745 has only a paltry 371kg of payload (quite possibly calculated these day without a drop of water included in the MIRO) and most of that is likely to be spare in the front axle, rather than the rear one.....its perfectly possible for the rear axle to be at (or close to) its limit once a second passenger, their 'stuff' and a tank of water is added....and thats before anyone thinks about adding another 170kg to that rear axle....
id be very interested in getting the figures from your friends weighbridge certificate with them and their kit and water all aboard.
so, what is their towbar for?
is it for adding a trailer, so as to put in all their stuff, because the van itself would be overweight if used without the trailer?
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as the 745 has only a paltry 371kg of payload (quite possibly calculated these day without a drop of water included in the MIRO) and most of that is likely to be spare in the front axle, rather than the rear one.....its perfectly possible for the rear axle
to be at (or close to) its limit once a second passenger, their 'stuff' and a tank of water is added....and thats before anyone thinks about adding another 170kg to that rear axle....id be very interested in getting the figures from your friends weighbridge certificate with them and their kit and water all aboard.
so, what is their towbar for?
is it for adding a trailer, so as to put in all their stuff, because the van itself would be overweight if used without the trailer?
...They tow a car on an A frame,and if you new his OH the weight could be a problem hence the weighbridge visit
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so, what does it weigh?....
see if you can borrow the weighbridge slip and post it...id be very interested to see what his weight is?
is he still running on a 3500kg chassis? if so, this must be very tight with water on board.
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As they are at the moment in the north east that is a problem and i have no address to post it and stamps are now too expensive all i know its below 3500kg,
ps i do know they can run at below the 70psi teeth chattering of most sevil based vehicles
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dont you have voice or data comms with all your (many) friends. why dont you call or email them, im happy to wait a couple of hours....i am genuinely interested in what axle weights they run at....
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morning, we have just purchased a 745 and am looking around for a decent towbar for it. does anyone have any good suggestions as to which is best ie supplier. i am happy to fit myself. also cheap as possible as we have a budget.
thx
If you would accept a second hand one they come up from time to time on the Bailey Motorhome Owners Group on Facebook.
David
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dont you have voice or data comms with all your (many) friends. why dont you call or email them, im happy to wait a couple of hours....i am genuinely interested in what axle weights they run at....
..We ring each other when at home with our "free" hour
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dont you have voice or data comms with all your (many) friends. why dont you call or email them, im happy to wait a couple of hours....i am genuinely interested in what axle weights they run at....
..We ring each other when at home with our "free" hour
ok, put it in your diary and get the numbers..
...im sure it would be enlightening for those who have similarly proportioned vans (7.5m ish with large rear overhang), run them at 3500kg, and have never weighed them....
happy to 'weight'
of course, adding the towbar will, in itself, add roughly 170kg to the rear axle, to then add an extra A-frame will put further pressure on said towbar...
poor old rear axle....
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but, of course, TG's 625 is a much lighter van, so much more payload and a much shorter rear axle than the 725.
its the heavier, longer overhung vans that are 'difficult' at 3500kg....and it's always the rear axle that gets overloaded before reaching MTPLM....its just physics an mechanics, I'm afraid
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but, of course, TG's 625 is a much lighter van, so much more payload and a much shorter rear axle than the 725.
its the heavier, longer overhung vans that are 'difficult' at 3500kg....and it's always the rear axle that gets overloaded before reaching MTPLM....its just physics an mechanics, I'm afraid
Its true that ours is lighter and less overhang but there are lots of 740/745 that have towbars fitted, which is why I suggested the OP join the Bailey facebook group. The OP didn't say which version of the 745 he has got, not sure if there is any differance between the SE model and the Autograph Re payloads. Using an A frame puts very little weight on the rear axle.
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