front tow bar

hi

got a rear and front tow bar sitting in my shed and think its about time i got them fitted

was wondering has anyone fitted a front tow bar, this one comes in two sections and it looks as though u unbolt the towing eye then a box goes in its place, the front section u can just slide on when u need it and been held on my a pin

the back one and the electrics im not worried about as there seems to be a simple plug and play loom for the rear

i will declare them to my ins company

just wondered if anyone has fitted one yet

had an offer to borrow my brother in laws caravan and also thought it would be handy for off road in recovery situations, yeh i know me, lol, or cheating in postioning the caravan into a space using the front towbar,

thks guys

gary

good idea the plugs for the back are under the drives side rear plastic panel.

Normally front tow bars are just for manovering caravans and boats etc. I wouldn't put toouch faith in it for recovery purposes. You would be better off just using the towing eye alone.

cheers guys

one of the main reasons i was going to put the front tow bar on was manoeuvring the caravan back into spaces etc, i know its cheating , but thought as ive never towed it would just make life a bit easier until i get experiance under my belt

appreciate the heads up regarding recovery and see what u mean when u compare the much larger chassis on the rear apposed to the front

hopefully shouldnt be to bad to fit, the back looks very straight forward, famous last words

long as i remember boat end first

I find it easier to tow from the back than the front, especially with a caravan because of what you can see. When reversing you are using the mirrors which are on the outside of the vehicle so you can see past the caravan. If you have it hooked on the front you will just see the front of the caravan and not much more.

The principles of reversing a trailer is very easy, I have taught many people who "couldn't reverse" but it just takes practise to do it well

Kizzeh said:

I find it easier to tow from the back than the front, especially with a caravan because of what you can see. When reversing you are using the mirrors which are on the outside of the vehicle so you can see past the caravan. If you have it hooked on the front you will just see the front of the caravan and not much more.

The principles of reversing a trailer is very easy, I have taught many people who "couldn't reverse" but it just takes practise to do it well

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I.m the same. I find it much easier to control were the caravan / trailer or boat goes when you can see it from a wider field of view.
If you fit the front tow bar, check with your insurers first. Not all insures like them!!

Nodge68 said:

I.m the same. I find it much easier to control were the caravan / trailer or boat goes when you can see it from a wider field of view.
If you fit the front tow bar, check with your insurers first. Not all insures like them!!

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My tractor has two shiney things called mirrors, and when you turn the steering opposite lock the caravan goes other way- how hard can it be.

its easier to reverse a trailer with front tow bar mostly because the steering wheels are closer, any correction is immediate rather than having to manoeuvre the whole vehicle

i checked with my insurance company and first of all to which i didnt realise they made sure i had the relavant code on my licence as i didnt know as they informed me new drivers have to take a different tests for entitlement to tow a caravan

my daughter also has a caravan as keeps it on site up in hertfordshire and offered me to practice with that around the site, as in sep its very quite

by then should hopefully have both towbars fitted , towed trailers in the past, doesnt worry me in the least but always nerve racking when ur trying to reverse and got aload of people watching u

am thinking of seeing if i can find an instructor up hertfordshire way to come and give me some pointers etc , even though it doesn't worry me in the least towing a caravan feel i have a responsibility to other road users in being a safe driver

It's just practice.... You do somthing enough and it doesn't matter how many people are around, and don't forget on a camp site everyone is in the same boat and will be tolerant of someone taking 50 shunts to get pitched!

As a truck driver I have been known to comment on a fellow HGV drivers attempts to get on a bay or in a parking space. But we tend to be more tollerant of part time towers!

A point of note is the longer the overhang of the trailer behind the wheels the easier it is to position due to the way it moves. A small trailer with the wheels close to the rear is a lot tougher.

and tis easier with a caravan, cos you can see what it's doing unlike the little erde trailers, you can only see them when it's gone tit's up.

I towed a caravan with my td4 auto Gary, it was an absolute peach.

thks for the advice guys, appreciated as always

did wonder how the hippo auto would tow to be honest

thought now that its got all new rear suspension and finished the interior it was time to get the smaller jobs done

got tow bars, spots, fogs now left to do , oh yes and some decent waterproof seat covers as i don't want the dogs slobbering over the freshly cleaned seats, lol