Tow Bars <3

[ELtim]

I now love tow bars. On the way home from work today I ran up the back of a VR commo. And the tow bar saved both of us from damage.

Luckily the guy was really chilled out about it, took my details and shook my hand.

It was a bad experience but I'm glad it happened as now I know to concentrate more at traffic lights. Plus, I know what to do in these instances.

On the other hand I feel terrible and can't stop thinking about it.

[XR8 Uterous]

How did the towbar save YOU from damage? Usually they cause more damage to the car that hits them.

[ELtim]

Originally Posted by EL XR6

How did the towbar save YOU from damage? Usually they cause more damage to the car that hits them.

Saved me from damaging his car.

I wasn't so worried about my car at the time.

[Neoxr6]

same happened to me on the 3rd of Jan this year.
Im still sending my car back to get fixed properly.
The other car drove off while i had coolant all over the road. Hooray for towbars

[andrewts]

Yeah I love my Harpoon Harry! Saves my bum and my car's bum!

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Originally Posted by andrewts

Yeah I love my Harpoon Harry! Saves my bum and my car's bum!

Love the name of the tow bar!

[DJL351]

Might work at lower speeds...... trust me, it hurts more when they hit you faster and hard.

[andrewts]

Yeah anything over 40km/h I don't think the towie's going to help you much. My father's a huge advocate of towbars as crash-damage mitigation devices. Some silly tramp slammed her brand new NC Fairlane into the back of my father's brand new ED Fairmont, and the Monty had only a few scratches, most of which were on the towbar. Her excuse was that she hit the gas instead of the brakes... righto...

"Oh oh I'm so sorry!" "You will be when you see the front of your car. See ya!"

[ELtim]

Originally Posted by andrewts

Yeah anything over 40km/h I don't think the towie's going to help you much. My father's a huge advocate of towbars as crash-damage mitigation devices. Some silly tramp slammed her brand new NC Fairlane into the back of my father's brand new ED Fairmont, and the Monty had only a few scratches, most of which were on the towbar. Her excuse was that she hit the gas instead of the brakes... righto...

"Oh oh I'm so sorry!" "You will be when you see the front of your car. See ya!"

Yeah. Luckily I sort of just rolled into him.

On closer inspection there's a little bit of damage on my paint but nothing to cry about.

[Hunter]

A panel beating friend of mine tells me that in a lot of crashes over 30 km/h you can actually do serious damage to the chassis rails of Falcons if you're hit in the rear while having a towbar. Like causing them to bend upwards.

Also, its illegal (at least in QLD) to drive around with a towbar if you're not using it.

[andrewts]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Also, its illegal (at least in QLD) to drive around with a towbar if you're not using it.

Is that all the shin-buster bits, or literally ANY part of it?

[J_Tank]

That's for the tongue and groove type, or removable bars. Fixed bars are exactly that. no need to get the wrench out. Same in NSW.

[fmc351]

As said tow bars at speeds above a crawl (Ill go with the 30 km/h above) cause more damage. Wont make a difference to the car really, just shifts the areas of damage further up, but it does change the injuries for passengers in a bad way.

You see them in auctions bent down at the back with the crease at the rear doors. Wagons are really noticeable with the kinked roof above the rear seat too.

[RG]

You should see what th front of an XE Ute looks like after hitting the rear of an EL sedan with a towbar. $3500 damage to the EL (it wasn't pretty and it was a bit bent) but it was still driveable, XE was a write off (very bloody bent, cop that idiot that'll teach you for talking on the mobile lol) and had to be towed away.

[Rodp]

Wait till you get one yourself and whack your shin on it.

I've got an EF Ghia towbar scar on my shin that will last a lifetime.

[Pinch]

We took a big hit with the tow bar on back in 2001. Wife still has major neck issues, and will for the rest of her life.

While the main problem was that she had her head turned to the left at the point of impact, the fact that the towbar was on made it even worse. Impact directed straight to seats via towbar bolted to chassis = bypassing crumple zones designed to lessen impact on your body.

Saves hassle in small accidents, causes huge hassle in bigger ones. All our cars bar the Mini have towbars and none of them are ever on now unless something is attached. Even the bolt on ones (two bolts) take less than 30 secs to attach and I keep the tongue, bolts and a socket and extension bar in the boot.

[Lightning Strike GT]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Also, its illegal (at least in QLD) to drive around with a towbar if you're not using it.

Only if it obscures any part of the number plate
The only reason I remove mine on the XF as the square hitch rattles on every bump and drives you bonkers after 2 mins

[devilcv8]

Originally Posted by JG23BP

Only if it obscures any part of the number plate
The only reason I remove mine on the XF as the square hitch rattles on every bump and drives you bonkers after 2 mins

to stop the rattle there should be a bolt underneath that tightens up and stops the tongue rattling.

[Interceptor]

not allways, i know the one on my ED doesnt have them, nor do a lot of the square hitch type..... i just folded up a bit of cardboard and jammed it under the hitch when i put it in, hey presto, no rattles!

[ZA-289]

Have you seen the battering rams taxi's use in SA? Its like a 6 inch long 1 inch square tube that sits in place of the tow ball. I think its suppoesed to save stupid taxi drivers from reversing into stuff.

I agree how a tow bar can aviod the crumple zones and increase damage to the vehicle and driver.

[LUXO_8]

yeah, the added bolt thing is only a recent addition to some of the hitch reciever towbars......most wont have it