Picked up my 2012 Freelander 2 today and had a more in depth look at it

found that it had a detachable towbar that looks as if it hasnt been removed for years, so doused it in penetration fluid
One of the features I looked for when purchasing but dont know if I can trust its efficiency

I am in the same position, on mine the lock barrel is completely seized despite many efforts. It is permanently locked on now! Might look into a replacement but unsure of best way forward.

Priced a new detachable towball not towbar at Landrover £380 + VAT

Brand new Witter or Tow trust detachable towbars on Ebay around the £220 -£230 mark.

Some good ideas, will see what my local place says

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175224843123?mk...media=COPY

Never got the removable tow bar thing. Is it really so unsightly that you have to hide it away? Personally I like a big chunk of steel at the back of my cars. Saved significant damage to my cars on 3 occasions, the offending vehicles were not so fortunate 😆 Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

At least you don’t have to wear shin pads.🤬🤬🤬

I have had a similar experience, took it to the local garage who freed it for a few quid, worth a try.

Bobupndown wrote:

Never got the removable tow bar thing. Is it really so unsightly that you have to hide it away? Personally I like a big chunk of steel at the back of my cars. Saved significant damage to my cars on 3 occasions, the offending vehicles were not so fortunate 😆

Much prefer the removable tow bar for the reasons you mention, I use mine to tow a caravan and the tow bar lives in the front locker when not needed.

Hi,

does the Removable receiver part not bolt into the main towbar?

another alternative is

remove the removable part and bolt in a standard swan neck,
you can even unbolt the fixed bar if you want to just when needed,
it only takes 5 minutes and if you only tow 2 or 3 times a year in the scheme of things its not much of an issue.

just a thought as I unbolted the swan neck type to fit a flange type for the bike rack  .
my first ever FL2 and I did keep it longer than most other cars!
But its now gone way up Norf

Good thinking. That's what I would do if I was only towing a few times a year but Mine gets a lot of use so the removable bar is more convenient and takes 4-5 seconds to fit. Its surprising how long 5 minutes is if you are fitting in the middle of winter or when its blowing a gale and or raining. Also a removable bar is better when turning up at a caravan site and constantly going to and from the boot loading and unloading, caught my shins so many times in the past when I had a fixed bar.

Talking of whacking your shins, I was always doing it with the fixed bar on my Trany, but for some reason haven’t done it with the removable swan neck on my Freelander

Should you go off road then the removable tow ball gives you back the rear ground clearence LR designed in.