We get lots with questions from customers regarding buying a tow bar, so here’s our top ten tow bar questions and the answers.
10. Do I need to tell my insurance company that I’ve had a tow bar fitted?
Yes, we reccomend telling your insurace company. A tow bar is classed as a vehicle modification and as such needs to be added on to the insurance details. It shouldn’t cost any more and in some cases we have had customers have a lower insurance premium after having a tow bar fitted.
9. I’m buying a new car, can the tow bar from my old car be removed and fitted to my one?
This depends if the new car is the same make and model as the old one. It also depends if there are any differences in the chasis and body of the new vehicle. In many cases it is no cheaper than having a new tow bar fitted, as the fitters would need to remove the old tow bar and then fit to the new vehicle, you would be paying for the tow bar removal and also for fitting to the new car.
8. Can I fit my own towbar?
Yes, you certainly can, and we have supplied many people with tow bars for home fitting. The legal requirement is that you must fit the tow bar abiding by the manufacturer’s fitting instructions. This includes making sure that all bolts and nuts are tightened to the legal torque settings. Fitting a tow bar isn’t easy. In most cases you will need to remove the rear lights, the bumper, drop the exhaust system and any adblue tank. If you’re a confident mechanic and have the required tools then go for it, if not then get a professional in to complete the tow bar fitting it for you.
7. What are dedicated towing electrics?
Dedicared tow bar electrics, or vehicle specific tow bar wiring is a wiring loom that has been specifically designed to fit your vehilce’s wiring. Mostly this will include CANBus connections that read and write information to your cars complex electronic controls. As the dedicated wiring is an approved part it will not affect your vehicle’s warranty.
6. Can you fit universal bypass wiring to my car?
In most cases we only fit approved wiring, this is due to safety, reliability and vehicle warranty reasons.
Universal bypass wiring by-passes your vehicle’s towing safety features and can wreak havock with your cars complex electronics. Any vehicle warranty will be unvalid if you have bypass wiring fitted, this is because you have added an unapproved modification to your vehilce. If your vehicle is over 20 years old then it may be possible to fit universal bypass wiring. however, for reliability and safety we would reccomend approved dedicated electrics where possible.
5. Does the mechanic check the tow bar when my car goes for an MOT test?
Yes, the tow bar and electrics are part of the MOT test. The MOT tester will check that the tow bar is fitted correctly, that there is no rust around the tow bar mounting points and that the tow ball does not obstruct the rear fog light or number plate. (one reason why you may need a detachable tow bar) The mechanic will look at the tow bar wiring, to check for any chaffing or loose. They will also check the trailer lights connection is working correctly on the 13 pin plug.
4. Will the tow bar be picked up by my reverse sensors?
This depends on a coupld of things, firstly the type of tow bar. The fixed flange tow bar is more likely to be picked up by the sensors as it has a much larger area for the sensors to pick up on. Swan neck tow bars are less likely to interfer with the sensors, in most cases they will not be picked up at all. The other common issue we find with tow bars that are picked up by reverse sensors is if they are not factiry fitted. Dealer fit and aftermarket parking sensors are likely to pick up on the tow bar as in many cases the parking sensors are not positioned in the bumper with the same spacing as factiry fit sensors. Having the sensors positioned nearer to the centre of the bumper makes picking up the tow bar a lot more liekely.
3. What guarantee do I get when I buy a tow bar?
If you buy your tow bar from us we guarantee both the electrics and the tow bar for the lifetime that you own the vehicle that we fit the tow bar to. Many tow bar fitters offer 3, 6 or 12 months for guarantee for electrics and a lifetime guaratee for the tow bar. Always check what your guarantee is before you book a tow bar fitting.
2. Can I tow with an electric vehicle?
In most cases electric vehilces have a zero towing allowance. To see if your electric vehicle has a tow weight have a look at the weights plate, usually located on the drivers door pillar. if the gross train weight is 0 then you will not be able to tow with the vehilce. (You will still be able to have a tow bar mounted cycle carrier or tow box.)
And the number one question that we get….
- I’ve been given a cheaper quote by another company, will you match the price?
In many cases we will match the price for a tow bar fitting quote that is like for like.
We can’t match prices for cheap imported tow bars or for a tow bar fitting that uses universal bypass wiring. We also can’t match prices from companies that are not VAT registered or insured. If the quote comes from a registered company then email in the quote and include the name of the company that provided the quote.
As a professional tow bar fitting company we are continually assessing prices and keeping our prices in-line with those of our competitors. We only fit vehicle specific approved parts and you get them fitted by highly trained techicians.
If you have any tow bar related questions then email them across and we will get tham answered for you.
email us info@ultimatetowbars.co.uk
To get a tow bar fitting quote please use our online tow bar fitting quote form > https://www.ultimatetowbars.co.uk/towbar-fitting-quote/