Types of tow hook

[Bungee]

Moderator please move message if under wrong thread....

I am about to purchase a 2nd hand Mondeo and as part of the deal with the garage they are fitting a tow hook with twin electrics, I do not know what sort but could do with some advice to get the best option, are there different types of tow hooks or are they all standard. Do they all work with the friction type hitchs?

Any advice would me most appreciated

many thanks

B

 

[Lutz]

There are several options available, the cheapest being a towbar with a bolt-on towball. If you intend to tow a caravan with an integrated stabiliser like the AlKo or Winterhoff you will need to watch that the towball has at least 60mm clearance to the bumper. More often than not this will call for a specific towball with a slightly longer neck.

The second option is a fixed towbar with a swan neck - slightly more expensive but it looks better because there are no visible bolts. All swan neck towbars already have enough clearance between towball and bumper, so there is nothing to worry about in that respect.

The third option is a detachable towbar - by far the most elegant because nothing sticks out of the back of the car when not towing and you can't hurt your shins when loading the boot but it's obviously more expensive.

The absolute top-of-the range towbars are retractable rather than detachable so you won't get you hands dirty when fitting or removing the towball. However, these are only available for a few models and to my knowledge, the Mondeo is not one of them.

 

[SBS]

As the towbar will be type approved you should have no problems. If it is a swan-neck towball this will be OK with a friction stabiliser. If it's a bolt-on you will need an Alko extended towball (find them on e-Bay).

 

[Bungee]

As the towbar will be type approved you should have no problems. If it is a swan-neck towball this will be OK with a friction stabiliser. If it's a bolt-on you will need an Alko extended towball (find them on e-Bay).

Many thanks for the info, I will take it to the dealer and see how it goes. So as long as I get 60mm clearance to bumper I can use both friction and non friction type hitches.

Many thanks

B