Hi Guys,
I'm in the market for a towbar for my FL2 but i need a bit of help in selecting the right one. I only intend to tow a trailer (occasionally) but may have to tow a caravan at some point in the year (waiting with baited breather for a comment from Chicken George on this one )
The choices i believe would be:
Standard Fixed
Swan neck Fixed
Removable

Are there any particular advantage apart from the removable one? Can anyone help in persuading me towards one type?

Many thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris, as you might guess you will probably get a lot of advice, but i will just keep it simple. I only tow every now and again so i didnt want a tow bar sticking out the arse end of my car all the time. so i oppted for the removailble one that is provided by landrover.
I find this to work very well and when its not needed its stored away in the boot. Ive found with fixed towbars ive have in the past, that im always walking in to them, bloody hurts lol.
On the towing front i pull a small trailer and from time to time i take out the boat, which is 21 foot long on a 25 foot trailer with no problems at all.
Im guessing that a caravan would be a breese. the towbar is a quick release and is very easy to click in or take out,it also comes with keys to make it lockable, hope this helps

superspark wrote:

Hi Chris, as you might guess you will probably get a lot of advice, but i will just keep it simple. I only tow every now and again so i didnt want a tow bar sticking out the arse end of my car all the time. so i oppted for the removailble one that is provided by landrover.
I find this to work very well and when its not needed its stored away in the boot. Ive found with fixed towbars ive have in the past, that im always walking in to them, bloody hurts lol.
On the towing front i pull a small trailer and from time to time i take out the boat, which is 21 foot long on a 25 foot trailer with no problems at all.
Im guessing that a caravan would be a breese. the towbar is a quick release and is very easy to click in or take out,it also comes with keys to make it lockable, hope this helps

Thanks Superspark,
It looks like the detachable would be OK to tow a caravan although i think its about £150 more expensive than standard (but would have to check on the price).
Cheers,

If you get a modern-ish caravan with an Alko (or similar) stabiliser you must fit a special 'extended neck' ball in place of the standard bolt-on job. The fixed swan-neck and removable are both suitable. (See http://www.al-ko.co.uk/automotive-towballs.htm)

If you want to use the much older style 'blade' stabiliser it will probably need to be the bolt-on type (they make bits that attach to swan necks for blade stabilisers but they seem less than ideal to me. This will also be easier if you want to add bike carriers and the like.

The wiring sockets for caravans has changed in the past few years from 2 (black, 12N, road lights plus white/grey 12S fridge, 'van battery charging, reversing light etc.,) to 1 x 13-pin which does the lot. You will need to decide which variant to fit to your FL2. Plug-in adapters from 13-pin to 12N are readily available for simple trailers or light boards.

I went for the detachable on my FL2, but was disappointed to find the sockets were still highly visible when it was removed.

Firestar wrote:

I went for the detachable on my FL2, but was disappointed to find the sockets were still highly visible when it was removed.

Approx. £600 2 years ago (October) with twin electrics. LR 13 pin and twin electrics was the same price back then! Have a search on the towbar threads here as the prices can vary a bit and some go to towbar specialists rather than the dealer.

The 13pin plug adapter to 12N socket was around a fiver off ebay.

Thanks.
I got a price of £540 for a fixed one from a main dealer but didnt persue the detachable price as i almost threw up at the cost
Cheers

we paid half that at dealer for fixed (Stratstone Notts) The missus - SD4 HSE - Black - 2012
Me - BMW 330d Saloon - Black - 2011

www.hotels.com  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

chicken george wrote:

www.hotels.com

i knew it!!!

mattbridge wrote:

we paid half that at dealer for fixed (Stratstone Notts)

9 months ish The missus - SD4 HSE - Black - 2012
Me - BMW 330d Saloon - Black - 2011

chicken george wrote:

www.hotels.com

TonyJ wrote:

You stick to your hotels CG and I'll stick to my caravan. At least I can do what I want when I finally get there

 At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

chicken george wrote:

TonyJ wrote:

You stick to your hotels CG and I'll stick to my caravan. At least I can do what I want when I finally get there