How many of you know that when your car has its MOT that the tow bar is now checked ! found this link from another site i use hope it helps ?http://www.x-trail-uk.co.uk/download/file.php?id=243 try copy past the link or check the vosa site for mor information.
Vosa tow bar test
- Thread starter cava55
- Start date
Had this been brought in 12months earlier someone who i know was on his way back Scotland on a nice potholed road with his van on the back when a bolt sheared between the towbar & body of the car luckily there where no injuries or damage to his van as the jocky wheel saved the day.
Corrosion would have been spotted as the towbar had been on the car for years....
As he said when i posted him the link he was glad when it happened that they were not on the motorway.......
Corrosion would have been spotted as the towbar had been on the car for years....
As he said when i posted him the link he was glad when it happened that they were not on the motorway.......
The VOSA test as usual just give's the tow bar a visual check for secure fitting to the car.
They don't test the lighting socket as primarily they are testing only the car's road lights. A pitty realy, as an awfull lot of cars have dodgy sockets and don't realise it as they either only check one light function at a time, instead of putting all the lights, indicators and brake lights on to max load the circuit. Or worse still, they simply don't check it at all.
Atb Steve L.
They don't test the lighting socket as primarily they are testing only the car's road lights. A pitty realy, as an awfull lot of cars have dodgy sockets and don't realise it as they either only check one light function at a time, instead of putting all the lights, indicators and brake lights on to max load the circuit. Or worse still, they simply don't check it at all.
Atb Steve L.
i have a removeable tow bar which is only fitted when towing. When my car had it's MOT last December it wasn't fitted and i wasn't asked for it to be, should it have been? I agree with the principle of checking its safe to tow with and would have put it on if I had thought about it. i always check it myself before i use it and to be honest what's the point in including the tow bar in the mot when there are so many caravans on the road that are not safe to be there? My caravan is always well maintained and I welcome testing for caravans.
- Mar 14, 2005
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In the case of a detachable towball, it is only the towball that is detachable. The towbar itself remains in place and it is only the towbar and its attachment to the car that is of concern for the test. There really isn't anything worth checking on the towball. As Steve says, the test is only a visual check for secure fitting to the car.
I have read the dft/vosa/towbar document and it says 'Towbars with a quick release mechanism will be checked for excessive play between the detachable tow ball and its receiver socket. Free play in the tapered swan neck fitting of up to 3mm movement measured at the ball end is acceptable. The check will also include that the release mechanism secures the tow ball as intended.'
So presumably the towball needs to be on the car at the time of mot, to check for movement. Is it up to me to inform the garage that i have a detachable towbar or up to them to look for one? When its not on the car you can't see the fitting socket unless you are looking for one or are under the rear end of the car. Electrics only show if european adapter is left in, which it generally isn't.
So presumably the towball needs to be on the car at the time of mot, to check for movement. Is it up to me to inform the garage that i have a detachable towbar or up to them to look for one? When its not on the car you can't see the fitting socket unless you are looking for one or are under the rear end of the car. Electrics only show if european adapter is left in, which it generally isn't.
- Mar 14, 2005
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If they have a look under the car, which they do anyway, they will see that it has a towbar, so there is no need to point out, but from the information that you supplied it looks as though the towball should be in place, or at least the inspector should be able to locate it readily.
If the car is presented without the detachable towball fitted then it is treated as any other car without a towbar/towball,the item is not tested. There is no need to make it available to the MOT tester.
As far as I remember it's a similar rule for spare wheels at an MOT. If there is no spare wheel fitted that's fine, it's not tested, if there is a spare wheel it is tested and must be servicable with correct tread etc. So if your spare wheel is borderline, remove it before the test!
Lutz, I think the logic is that as there is no towball fitted the vehicle is incapable of towing anything and therefore can't be tested as a towing vehicle. However, if the bracket was found to be in such a poor state that it is likely to fall off solo then a failure would be recorded as it would with any other insecure bodywork etc.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Yes, but the likelihood of the bracket and its attachment to the car being a safety hazard is so much greater than the (detachable) towball. If the towball was OK to start with, then it's highly unlikely that it would become loose during the life of the vehicle.
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