My parents are considering buy another tourer after 25 years away from them, since then they've had statics and cottage holidays, now both retired they fancy another go, I've been pricing up towbars for their car, I'll be fitting it, nothing to them, I've done many, but my question is is there really much difference between manufactoring standards or quality of bars, I can get 1 bar delivered to their house for £80, or for one of the premium brands deliered for £120, now all bars have to fit to stress points on the car and are all bs standard and kite marked do they really need to fork out on the more expensive bar, or could that extra cash be used for other caravan equipment?
Towbar manufacturers
- Thread starter Mikey_74
- Start date
- Mar 14, 2005
- 10,030
- 859
- 40,935
Although all towbars must fulfil minimum standards of durability, as laid down in the respective EU Directive, manufacturers still have leeway regarding quality of their products, for example in the degree of corrosion protection and overall structural stiffness (not to be confused with strength which is covered by minimum legal requirements). Having worked for several years together with the engineer responsible for product design of factory fitted towbars for all GM Europe vehicles, I have come across some pretty hair raising designs offered to us by lesser known sources bidding for business, even though they claimed to meet EU minimum requirements.
A weakness of the EU Directive is that it only lays down requirements for the towbar itself, not in the way in which it transmits forces into the body sheet metal. The towbar, on its own, may be durable enough, but if the reinforcements supplied with it are too small, it may cause damage to the towcar's underbody, but the specification to cover that are set by the car manufacturer and will only be divulged to the approved source(s). An independent maker, however, can only rely on his own good (hopefully) engineering judgment.
A weakness of the EU Directive is that it only lays down requirements for the towbar itself, not in the way in which it transmits forces into the body sheet metal. The towbar, on its own, may be durable enough, but if the reinforcements supplied with it are too small, it may cause damage to the towcar's underbody, but the specification to cover that are set by the car manufacturer and will only be divulged to the approved source(s). An independent maker, however, can only rely on his own good (hopefully) engineering judgment.
Thanks Lutz, I hadn't tought of it like that, for the sake of £40 I will not tell them about the cheaper bar, I'll just go for a better quality bar, am I allowed to mention brands on here, is there much between the likes of Bos**l or Wit**r or Brin#?
- Mar 14, 2005
- 10,030
- 859
- 40,935
I don't think that there is anything to stop you mentioning the makes by name as you aren't critising nor do you have any business interest in any. AlKo, Bosal, Brinks (now Thule) and Westfalia are all respected names that we have worked and at various times shared business with. I can't comment on Witter because they have never been one of our nominated suppliers, but that's not meant to be a judgment of their products.
Not all Towbars are the same. The overall design and aesthetics of the fitted Towbar is down to the individual Towbar manufacturer. It is important to check the overall resilience of the Towbar's paint finish to corrosion since this will detract from the overall look of your vehicle in time if it is not to the highest standards. The quality, size and material of the fixings and stress dissipating plates supplied with a Towbar are again an area that should be considered when making a decision. In order to comply with the requirements of type approval, the minimum grade and size is defined through testing. However, for most situations we would suggest that Towbars and the mounting systems to the vehicle are over engineered. This adds to the overall manufacturing costs of the Towbar.
At Witter we are recognised as the leading Towbar manufacturer within the UK and are recognised as probably supply more than 1 in every 2 Towbars sold in the UK. The paint finish we use is designed and tested to achieve more than 1,500 hrs in an industry standard salt spray test. This in most cases is the same if not higher than most vehicle manufactures corrosion resistance for their paint systems. If you visit our WEB site (www.witter-towbars.co.uk) you can see the rigorous track testing we carry out which is far in excess of what the standard regulations require. All Witter Towbars are guaranteed for the lifetime of your ownership.
At Witter we are recognised as the leading Towbar manufacturer within the UK and are recognised as probably supply more than 1 in every 2 Towbars sold in the UK. The paint finish we use is designed and tested to achieve more than 1,500 hrs in an industry standard salt spray test. This in most cases is the same if not higher than most vehicle manufactures corrosion resistance for their paint systems. If you visit our WEB site (www.witter-towbars.co.uk) you can see the rigorous track testing we carry out which is far in excess of what the standard regulations require. All Witter Towbars are guaranteed for the lifetime of your ownership.
Facebook
Twitter