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Old Jul 30th, 2018, 07:52   #2
Clifford Pope
Not an expert but ...
 

Last Online: Apr 26th, 2024 12:45
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Boncath
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Yes, that's the one I've got.
It's not fitted at the moment, but I've salvaged it from a previous car, an estate. They fit either, the attachments are identical.

The centre bit can't contribute much actual towing strength because it only bolts to the sheet metal of the storage locker, but I think the point is it provides resistance to the tendency of a bar to twist, particularly if you have to use a drop-plate with the tow hitch mounted several holes up or down from the centre.

It is important for stability that a trailer sits with its chassis horizontal, so the tow hitch height has to be adjustable to accommodate that, as trailers can vary considerably in the height of their towing points.
My ex-army trailer has a very high hitch point, so when I had the bar fitted on the previous car I used a drop-plate as an "up-plate" to raise the towing height. When I pulled the caravan it needed a point only slightly below the basic holes, but a dinghy trailer sat very low so needed two holes down.
It also of course depends on the loading of the car.

The reinforced tow bar worked well, and even when occasionally I had the trailer grossly overloaded (short local journeys ) there was no apparent twist.
You see the same idea on LandRovers sometimes with a very deep drop-plate. There is usually extra bracing from the bottom of the drop-plate to resist twist.
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