Tow bar fitting at a fair price

snodarico
snodarico Forum Participant Posts: 1
edited April 2016 in Motorhomes #1

Hi i'm new to motorhoming and its been a nightmare to soucre a tow bar at a fair price.  Its for a 2003 Fiat Ducato Sea Dinghy. 2.0 JTD . Not Knowing about chassis got no docs on it. it looks like it has had an extension from new coach built. this makes it untouchable to most standard fitting shops . so most likely need a bespoke one which cost starts from £626 -£900 . Thats in the north east off only 2 local dealers only quote off phone . not even seen it yet.      Any advice would be much appreciated .

also trying to source a bike trailer thats not cheap too them easylifters are £1200 so looks like its pedellers for now lol

Thanks Ian

 

Thanks 

Comments

  • Whittakerr
    Whittakerr Club Member Posts: 3,474 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited April 2016 #2

    My towbar cost north of £800 factory fitted from new so the price you have been quoted for a custom job dosent sound unreasonable.

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
    1000 Comments
    edited April 2016 #3

    Considering that towcar ones are around £4-500, which I think are overpriced anyway, that sounds a ridiculous amount of money for a few bits of angle iron.

  • huskydog
    huskydog Club Member Posts: 5,460 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited April 2016 #4

    Considering that towcar ones are around £4-500, which I think are overpriced anyway, that sounds a ridiculous amount of money for a few bits of angle iron.

    Yes ,but it's type-approved angle iron........................

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited April 2016 #5

    it sounds like you might have Al-Ko (or similar) chassis extensions, in which case the company makes their own rack called a Sawiko.

    the mounting is not via a towball but by slotting two side pieces directly onto each side of your existing chassis extensions.

    the rack can be flipped up when not in use (or removed completely) and will take two electric bikes, total capacity is 75kg from memory..

    check out the al-ko Sawiko site to see it in action...

  • TonyIshUK
    TonyIshUK Forum Participant Posts: 296
    100 Comments
    edited April 2016 #6

    If you have not already done so, it would pay to look at the weight / axle loading to see what train weight you have (Ours is 5.5 ton on a 3.5 ton m/home, allowing us to tow 2 tons)  then take a look at your engine torque / bhp ratings and apply the same
    logic in power to weight ratio as a car to caravan.  

    Sometimes, I hope not yours, it is not wise to think about towing in an underpowered vehicle. 

    Also forgotten some times is the bu@@ering about with tow bar electrics and the canbus systems on m/homes. Ok when it goes well, but can be areal sod if you have light failure indicator problems at MOT time

    That said,  Watling tow bars at St Albans did a fine job in building and fitting our tow bar.

    Rgds

  • Mitsi Fendt
    Mitsi Fendt Forum Participant Posts: 484
    100 Comments
    edited April 2016 #7

    Considering that towcar ones are around £4-500, which I think are overpriced anyway, that sounds a ridiculous amount of money for a few bits of angle iron.

    The real time consumer and therefore cost consumer in fitting a towbar is the electrics. 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,146 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2016 #8

    Al-Ko used to say that it was not permissible to drill holes in their chassis and if the chassis was not pre-drilled it was not possible to fit a towbar. The towing limit on an Al-Ko chassis is normally about half that for the base vehicle on a standard/non-modified
    chassis and often even less due to the rear overhang of the body.

    I would suggest you make a few enquiries to find out if your vehicle is considered suitable for towing as the above may be the reason that many towbar fitters are unwilling to get involved. Depending on the age of your vehicle, the towbar may require a certificate
    of conformity/test to be legal.

  • QFour
    QFour Forum Participant Posts: 442
    edited April 2016 #9

    The converters buy the cab and chassis as a unit or the cab and have the Alco chassis added. They then add any extension pieces they need to support what they are going to add. This is the point at which the towbar should be added. If not then someone has to sit down and work out how to beef up what's there to meet safety requirements upto the maximum permissable limit just in case some one decides to tow something really BIG. It's not just a case of adding bits of steel to the back because it has already got bits of steel added and the joints were made for what was fitted. If it's your first MH I would not bother because you will find that you need something different in a couple of years time anyway. Fit a bike rack and convert a couple of bikes to electric power.

  • Grumblewagon
    Grumblewagon Forum Participant Posts: 246
    edited April 2016 #10

    My van's previous owner had a towbar fitted in 2013. I don't think it was ever used except to mount a bike rack.  Looking at the invoice, the towbar + fitting was £340 and the bike rack was £300!!  The towbar might be OK, but the stardard of the electrics
    was so bad that I'm completely re-doing them, even though I don't tow anything..

    I certainly wouldn't recommend that firm.

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