Wanted to add a tow bar to the Freely, something more discreet and out of the way compared to the shin smacking swan neck I had on my last Freelander. Bought a Witter detachable and dedicated electrics which plug into a socket on the side of the boot, mine is a facelift car. Pre-facelift, the electrics are a bit more involved.

No bumper cuts needed and you can wriggle the tow bar cross member in place without removing the bumper. However, it is a right faff, working inside the bumper is difficult and awkward and one of the bolts is really difficult to torque up due to the limited access between the exhaust and the base of the bumper, I tightened it one click of the torque wrench at a time. I could not get enough leverage to fully torque this bolt up (rear most bolt, passenger side), so decided to remove the bumper after all. The drivers side bolt below the towing eye is also tricky, and has to be tightened with a spanner.

Took ages to remove the bumper, mainly due to a rusted screw behind the rear wheel, which I had to grind off with a Dremel carefully lowered down the rear lamp aperture. Having removed the bumper, I could get to the bolt from the side, it only needed nipping up to get to 150 Nm, so I had almost done it without removing the bumper

Pleased with the finished result, gave the exhaust rear can a spray with some heatproof black paint whilst I was at it. Saved about £350 to £400 compared to the last tow bar I had professionally fitted.













 2013 SD4 Auto HSE Luxury Firenze Red
2003 Defender 90 TD5 XS - gone.
2010 SD4 XS Auto - gone.

Yes, the Witter detachable is a neat installation although the guys who did mine for me didn’t need to take the bumper off and the instructions didn’t suggest it was necessary. They just had to remove one of the reflectors and drill a couple of holes to access a couple of nuts. Out of curiosity what S value is on the sticker on the removable ball?

Just been out to check, the S value is 125kg. I don’t know what that figure is, I think the nose weight limit is 150kg.

I nearly did it with the bumper in place, but couldn’t get enough torque on the rear most bolt. Taking the bumper off also allowed me to give it a good clean and apply some rust prevention, paint the exhaust silencer etc, so worth doing. 2013 SD4 Auto HSE Luxury Firenze Red
2003 Defender 90 TD5 XS - gone.
2010 SD4 XS Auto - gone.

Many thanks. You’ll find that the tow bar bracket - the bit you bolted to the car - has an S value of 150 kg which is what it should be as it’s sold with that value quoted. However, for reasons that I never quite got to the bottom of, despite lengthy letters and phone calls to the Vehicle Certification Agency and emails to Witter, the removable tow ball has a label with the lower figure of 125 kgs. According to both VCA and Witter, the correct figure for the assembly is 150 kg and the label can properly be removed from the tow ball.

Strange that they have two figures. I tend to only load the nose weight to 100kg anyway, so always leave a margin of safety. 2013 SD4 Auto HSE Luxury Firenze Red
2003 Defender 90 TD5 XS - gone.
2010 SD4 XS Auto - gone.

There is a 3 page thread on the discrepancy between weights marked on the witter detachable tow ball and receiver found here https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic34228.ht...bar+weight

Looks like we had exactly the same weekend, I fitted the same tow bar to my 2010 FL2. I managed to tweak it in with out removing the bumper.

The only issue I had was, the two M8 captive nuts behind the reflectors were not there, either never fitted or have rattled loose and the kit did not come with any, so ordered a couple or M8 nyloc flange nuts from ebay.

Also i did look as it does not feel that secure, a replacement cap for when the tow bar is not fitted is £20!!!!

It was bloody cold doing it, several trips into the house to make a brew.

well done in getting it to fit with the bumper on. I may put a black rubber band or strap around the receiver cover, just in case! £20 for a small bit of plastic  2013 SD4 Auto HSE Luxury Firenze Red
2003 Defender 90 TD5 XS - gone.
2010 SD4 XS Auto - gone.

Good thinking that man!

MrShirley wrote:

Looks like we had exactly the same weekend, I fitted the same tow bar to my 2010 FL2. I managed to tweak it in with out removing the bumper.

The only issue I had was, the two M8 captive nuts behind the reflectors were not there, either never fitted or have rattled loose and the kit did not come with any, so ordered a couple or M8 nyloc flange nuts from ebay.

Also i did look as it does not feel that secure, a replacement cap for when the tow bar is not fitted is £20!!!!

It was bloody cold doing it, several trips into the house to make a brew.

Thanks for the tips, guys.
I might just do this. I do like the low profile look. Guy Pensa
Cars with Personalities
Getting itchy. What's next?
2014 Land Rover HSE Lux (blend of practicality and aggressiveness)
2007 XKR (Jaguar Racing Green) (woo hoo!)
2004 XJR (Jaguar Racing Green) (deceased)
2002 S-Type R (British Racing Green, of course)
1951 Riley RMD (Black, time for that restoration)

nice tip, thanks. I'll get a few and dot them about the places I'm likely to need them..... god put my balls in a sack for a reason.

jules wrote:

MrShirley wrote:

Looks like we had exactly the same weekend, I fitted the same tow bar to my 2010 FL2. I managed to tweak it in with out removing the bumper.

The only issue I had was, the two M8 captive nuts behind the reflectors were not there, either never fitted or have rattled loose and the kit did not come with any, so ordered a couple or M8 nyloc flange nuts from ebay.

Also i did look as it does not feel that secure, a replacement cap for when the tow bar is not fitted is £20!!!!

It was bloody cold doing it, several trips into the house to make a brew.

Some extra info. Spare locking keys are available from ebay for a few quid -just check the key code on the lock- from Witter they are an outrageous price IMO

I got my keys from

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Witter-Towbar-K...SwsYpaRApq Jules