Hello, anyone know how I can overcome the problem of being told i cannot fit a tow bar to my 2012 BMW 320ED. All tow bar fitting services say this vehicle cannot tow but some people seem to have overcome the issue somehow, maybe thay have 'upgraded' the car ? any help very much appreciated
Unable to fit towbar BMW 320ed
- Thread starter Martin_374355885
- Start date
Maybe this will help you to check if your's can tow ....
What does your V5 give under item ' O.1 ' & ' O.2 ' ?
What does your V5 give under item ' O.1 ' & ' O.2 ' ?
what is the significance of these numbers please ? I have seen on the web that because the vin plate doesnt show a laden vehicle weight it cant tow ? One web site men tions changing an engine mount but it all seems unclear .
Parksy
Moderator
Martin_374355885 said:
If your vin plate does not give you a max train weight ( as in the second line of text ) on the image shown on this web site then imo you can't tow with the car....
Also if your V5 does not give you a weight in ' O.1 ' then again you can't tow with the car....
unfortunatly you cannot tow with every car. the list used to be very small the ka and smart ect. because these cars were well just too small. many cars however had huge restrictions applied to the towing weights. because of the vehicle design. the more technology that goes into new cars, this list will get bigger looks like yours is one of these.
just to add a little to sprockets answer the legislation governing towing that has come in over the last few years makes some common practice illegal, everything has to be type approved and laid down in the specifications of the vehicle by the manufacturers. these are set in stone and cannot be altered. modifications to these spec's would deem the outfit illegal and would possibly invalidate your insurance and warranty.
the bottom line is, if BMW have not designed that model for towing you cannot tow with it.
in order to tow with any car it has to have the following
1. type approval yours has none.
2. if your car has no approval then the manufacturer deletes the gross train weight from the VIN plate.
3. with no G,T,W, there is no way to establish a max trailer weight. and therefore tow bar manufactures cannot make a type approved bar for it.
4 without a type approved tow bar fitted. you cannot use it to tow with. simple as that really.
even if you did the engine mount modification there is no type approved bar for it,
so this would mean using a bar from a different model that is not Approved. [illegal]
and even if you went ahead and did all this [as reported] the outfit would still be illegal as you have no max trailer weight specification. something VOSA would pick up straight away if you were ever stopped.
and we know where that would lead. heavy fine, points, invalidation of insurance. confiscation of unit ect,ect,
dont do it, just accept this is not a towcar and move on, sorry.
just to add a little to sprockets answer the legislation governing towing that has come in over the last few years makes some common practice illegal, everything has to be type approved and laid down in the specifications of the vehicle by the manufacturers. these are set in stone and cannot be altered. modifications to these spec's would deem the outfit illegal and would possibly invalidate your insurance and warranty.
the bottom line is, if BMW have not designed that model for towing you cannot tow with it.
in order to tow with any car it has to have the following
1. type approval yours has none.
2. if your car has no approval then the manufacturer deletes the gross train weight from the VIN plate.
3. with no G,T,W, there is no way to establish a max trailer weight. and therefore tow bar manufactures cannot make a type approved bar for it.
4 without a type approved tow bar fitted. you cannot use it to tow with. simple as that really.
even if you did the engine mount modification there is no type approved bar for it,
so this would mean using a bar from a different model that is not Approved. [illegal]
and even if you went ahead and did all this [as reported] the outfit would still be illegal as you have no max trailer weight specification. something VOSA would pick up straight away if you were ever stopped.
and we know where that would lead. heavy fine, points, invalidation of insurance. confiscation of unit ect,ect,
dont do it, just accept this is not a towcar and move on, sorry.
Hi this might help you?
http://www.pfjones.co.uk/blog/?q=bmw-3-series-efficient-dynamics-towing-capabilities
http://www.pfjones.co.uk/blog/?q=bmw-3-series-efficient-dynamics-towing-capabilities
I must comment here , some excellent answers given on this subject , facts and figures to prove the correct advice too . Sometimes even caravanning experience is outdated by information technologies .
rosies said:
yes this is very true, as a veteran of 40+ years, I had a break from touring of just over 10years while we had the motorhome, it seems that 10years was crucial, as it was during this period that great deal of legislation was altered.
I sold M/H and bought another tourer in 2005, WTF you can't do what!!! most of what I knew about towing was obsolete.
had to learn it all again plus find out what was new and what was coming through internet searches, articles ect. and it is still changing as new technology and legislation comes along.
it seems the OP has been unfortunate to fall into this catagory of super new technological cars that are designed for the new age, but are not so capable of doing the things we expect cars to do like towing a caravan,
I believe this is going to be a growing problem as time goes on, with the new generation of cars being designed..
so dont sell that old gas guzzler just yet in a few years they may be the only ones left that can tow your van.
Excellent posts Colin
You deserve a set of Milencos B)
This may also help but imo confirms Colin's comments
http://www.pfjones.co.uk/blog/?q=bmw-3-series-efficient-dynamics-towing-capabilities
You deserve a set of Milencos B)
This may also help but imo confirms Colin's comments
http://www.pfjones.co.uk/blog/?q=bmw-3-series-efficient-dynamics-towing-capabilities
Dustydog said:
Thankyou very much DD. unfortunatly. I now have no use for them.
hmy: unless I put them on my motorbike to get a better view of my elbows :lol: :lol:Agrees with DD as regards Colins post , especially keeping the older vehicle . The day of doing all our own towbar and electrics fitting , caravan maintenance and many other things seem to be long gone . You can't even change the wattage of 12v bulbs on new cars nowdays without the canbus system shaking its finger at you and slapping your hand :lol: .
Hi back from the place with no WiFi,
I agree with Colin's post, quite simply the car is not type approved for towing, and no amounts of modifications will change that fact - except, if the modifications were made, the car would then have to be submitted to VOSA under the individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) scheme, and there's no guarantee VOSA would accept the towing solution.
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/individual-vehicle-approval
MichaelE's suggestion of the mods would only work if the cars VIN plate carried a GTW figure - otherwise it would not be legal in the UK.
I agree with Colin's post, quite simply the car is not type approved for towing, and no amounts of modifications will change that fact - except, if the modifications were made, the car would then have to be submitted to VOSA under the individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) scheme, and there's no guarantee VOSA would accept the towing solution.
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/individual-vehicle-approval
MichaelE's suggestion of the mods would only work if the cars VIN plate carried a GTW figure - otherwise it would not be legal in the UK.
It does make you wonder what the car manufactures priorities are? Apart from LR, Toyota, Mitsubishi i wouldn't say any of them regard towing as high on their lists? The quest for low co2 emissions and high mpg all lead to weight saving in a big way?
My friend who has worked for Porsche for 6 years has never sold a new Cayenne with a towbar!
My friend who has worked for Porsche for 6 years has never sold a new Cayenne with a towbar!
MichaelE said:
:lol: :lol: :lol: ha ha. dont suppose they sell many Vayrons with them on either.
fact of the matter it manufacturers make cars that people who buy them want. thats their job. and as it stands that is high economy and low emissions, the ability to tow a huge caravan is not one of them. apart from manufacturers who build tow cars period.
the time will come when these are the only vehicles you can legally tow with. sad but thats is how it is going.
colin-yorkshire said:
Bit of a strange comment as they dont actually make a towbar for the Veyron whereas they do for the Cayenne which is in effect a Q7, Toureg . My point being its a car you would expect to tow, a Veyron you wouldnt or want to a bit like the 3 series you see lots of them towing?
Why would you want to change wattage anyway?
In answer to Woodhead Camper , eerrrrrrrr To change to LED bulbs !!!
In answer to Woodhead Camper , eerrrrrrrr To change to LED bulbs !!!
rosies said:
Your original comment and my reply were about car bulbs. Legally you can't change the wattage of any of the car lights.
not really, the point I was jokingly making was that purchases of such cars are not likely buying them to tow with. wether they are capable of doing so or not.MichaelE said:
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