Towbar - can you identify the difference?

[Errol62]

I have played with tow bars on sedan, ute and van, and not seen one like that. I wonder if it is an adaptation from another model.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Harv]

I suspect it is a towbar to suit FE through EK. I bought the towbar off Ed Ho many years ago. He had it running on his FE wagon before lopping the roof off it.

The FE-EK towbars are identical. They are split between sedan (M35573), wagon (M35575) and van/ute (M35571).

The design (with the unusual end plate welds) is as per the Hayman advert earlier in the thread. That one has the auxilliary brackets though where mine does not. Hayman became Hayman Reese in the 70's.

Cheers,
Harv

[Blacky]

Holy crap Harv, that could have ended VERY badly

[spanners]

You dodged a bullet there. When I had the FJ ute I tacked the towbar together and then had a certified welder do the welds. I had that ute on the road for 14 years or so and towed my racecar to Queensland and central NSW many times without any issues. If the car on the trailer had no engine I'd put it on backwards because the majority of weight is to the rear of the car or at least only run the car onto the trailer until the front of the trailer drops a bit. If I sound like a smartarse it's because I've driven trucks most of my life and you get a hang for correct weight distribution. Actually, possibly an obsession.
When I bought my latest single axle trailer I had the whole shebang weighed by that travelling caravan weighing bloke and then using a towball scale I moved the axle on the trailer until I had 10% on the towball. I just finished a 3,200 klm round trip including over the ranges between Glen Inness and Grafton and didn't even know the trailer was there most of the time.
That's enough crapping on for now. Heading out to shed to do a compression test on the Grey motor in the HAMBster as it's got a bit of blowby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwvnfpJowUw

[EK283]

Yes the towball wieght and load distribution is all key here.
Ive owned a couple of caravans and one of the best i had was a JAYCO, 18 footer, it weighed 2200kgs and had a towball downforce of 170kgs.
That van could do 100kmh hour and more all day long and didn't get excited about it.
On my last trip to the WA nats my car trailer and car weighed about the same, 2200kgs. I positioned the car on the trailer so the tow ball weight finished up at 175kgs.
I did over 10000kms without incident or trailer sway nothing and above the speed limit on ocasion
The other important factor in trailer design is drawbar length, the longer it is the better it tows if the above variables are adhered to.
Most trailer manufactures do stick by the 10% rule of thumb these days but I choose the ball weight as a priority, I never like to go beyond 200Kg's.
You may have seen this demo before, i love it !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Dgxe584Ss
Greg

[Errol62]

I’ve got the stronger ones for ute and van. Regardless, I wouldn’t tow more than 750kg. Landcruiser for that.


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