Tow Bar removable or fixed

[Jonesy68]

I have read through various threads on here as I'm looking to get a tow bar fitted for a bike rack and possibly a trailer very rarely. The prices I've been quoted are £650 ish fitted for a detachable Tow Trust bar. But for a fixed one it's only £380.

Apart from the obvious, being able to remove it when not in use. Is there any other real benifit for a detachable one for such a big de difference.

 

[Paynewright]

Have you got parking sensors? Some towbars trigger them which could get annoying if its fixed!

 

[AdL]

I got a detachable Tow Trust bar fitted. It is very neat and completely invisible when not in place. I paid a bit more than £650 for it but my Van did not have the tow bar electrics pre-prepared so there was some other wiring and coding to do. What's the advantage of detachable? Well I guess not that much but it is not in the way of the spare wheel and I suppose there might be other things that could be attached (like bike racks) directly to the tow bar.

 

[Jonesy68]

Have you got parking sensors? Some towbars trigger them which could get annoying if its fixed!

I got a detachable Tow Trust bar fitted. It is very neat and completely invisible when not in place. I paid a bit more than £650 for it but my Van did not have the tow bar electrics pre-prepared so there was some other wiring and coding to do. What's the advantage of detachable? Well I guess not that much but it is not in the way of the spare wheel and I suppose there might be other things that could be attached (like bike racks) directly to the tow bar.

Yes I do have sensors and a spare so that could be an issue. It's been lowered so getting the spare out as it is can be difficult. Tow bar and 4 bike rack... So much cash just to take the bikes out.

 

[Greybeard]

Apart from the obvious, being able to remove it when not in use. Is there any other real benifit for a detachable one for such a big de difference.

Hi @Jonesy68 .
I too had a removable swan-neck towbar fitted. I wanted to keep the clean lines of the rear.
The electrics socket even swings up out of sight when not in use.
It doesn’t interfere with removing the spare. Just slightly more awkward as mine is lowered 50mm.
The biggest bonus though;
Not bashing your shin(s) every blummun time you access the rear!
Andy

 

[Jonesy68]

Hi @Jonesy68 .
I too had a removable swan-neck towbar fitted. I wanted to keep the clean lines of the rear.
The electrics socket even swings up out of sight when not in use.
It doesn’t interfere with removing the spare. Just slightly more awkward as mine is lowered 50mm.
The biggest bonus though;
Not bashing your shin(s) every blummun time you access the rear!
Andy

Yeah that is my worry, I know I'm going to forget it and hit my shins and then teach my kids some new words

 

[AdL]

Yes that's a point I had forgotten but we considered at the time. If you ever want to put a rear awning on the van then the fixed tow bar will be a nuisance.

 

[roadtripper]

If you have a fixed one also keep in mind that if your parking sensors are not recalibrated then you may well find you collide with stuff that previously you had a couple of inches spare.

 

[Salty Spuds]

We have a fixed factory fit bar & I wouldn’t swap it for a removable one. The bar is a great deterrent for parking numpties, it’s rigid, doesn’t rattle & im confident towing a 2t boat. No problem with the parking sensors & I can see it in the reversing camera view.

 

[ChrisBell]

I had a plate on my fixed one which played havoc with sensors. Removing this helped. Fixed on lowered van does make me think when reversing against kerbs, very close to top at times, but then rear mud flaps get anyways. If a lwb then will add a small amount of length, does stop people parking as close I guess as well.

 

[Jonwm]

I've got a fixed one, I rarely use it and only for a bike rack and I've considered swapping it for a detachable one but can't justify the 650 just because of how it looks.
Parking sensors are fine with it and it's never caused me any issues, it's sometimes handy to chuck the dogs lead around when parked up.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

I’ve chosen to transport the bikes inside my LWB Shuttle using a Bike Stow. Cheaper than having a tow bar fitted plus wiring and a rack. Can carry 6 people and 4 adult bikes. Probably room to squeeze another couple of bikes between those in the rack.

 

[SamD]

I've got the westfalia vw removable towbar on mine and you cant see it when its removed.

 

[Drive Wayne]

I've got a detachable TowTrust tow bar with the electrics that swing up under the bumper, the reversing sensor on the RHS of the tow bar objects to the towbar being there. One of our dogs tennis balls has been repurposed as a towball cover which makes it softer for the shins with the inevitable contact!

 

[Crazymind]

Bike rack on tailgate?