Opinions of detachable towbar?

[Disco Matt]

Just found this on ebay and was wondering if anyone has any opinions or experience of them?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Landrover-Discovery-fuel-tank-gaurd-towbar_W0QQitemZ250250129421QQihZ015QQcategoryZ31348QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That looks a good price, especially if you buy it unpainted and finish the job yourself (I'd be tempted to for a £40 saving). My only concern is that the socket for the towbar looks a bit vulnerable to me?

[Bush Tucker Man]

I had a detachable on my 90V8-CSW & initally it rattled terribly when the BWSOW was hitched up.

(I won't mention the manufacturer, but I sold the 90 in 2002, so it was quite a while ago that it was fitted)

That was solved by drilling a hole in the side-wall of the vehicluar section & having a nut welded on, so I could tighten a bolt onto the 'slider' & remove the play

Problem solved!

They don't half improve the 'departure angle' too!!

I keep considering a Southdown for the 110 (but the Dixon-Bate adjustable isn't too bad at not ploughing)



At present, I use this particular solution for recovery/towing

Click on pic to enlarge

[Disco Matt]

Thanks - the problem with the Disco is that the standard towbar is frankly pants and ruins your departure angle. On anything resembling a step there's a sickening thump from the back end as it hits the ground, and they tend to dig in and stop you. It's the only problem I've found so far and will definitely be my next alteration.

Just thinking as the one I posted was about half the price of others I've seen I'd post it here and see what people thought. They do seem to have considered where the 12N/12S sockets will go, which is an improvement on having to mount them on the back door or bumper. Just having the socket for the towbar sticking out like that worries me - I could see it hitting the ground on occasion which would put a fair amount of strain on it. I suppose the jacking points would take a share of the weight, so it should be ok.

I think I'd want the full set of add-ons, assuming you can have all of them (recovery points/jacking points/towbar/electrics mounting plate). They say "no extra cost" which is a very good deal.

[Bush Tucker Man]

Thanks - the problem with the Disco is that the standard towbar is frankly pants and ruins your departure angle. On anything resembling a step there's a sickening thump from the back end as it hits the ground, and they tend to dig in and stop you. It's the only problem I've found so far and will definitely be my next alteration

Yep!, tell me about it.
I remember those violent 'thumps' myself from my old 50th

Just thinking as the one I posted was about half the price of others I've seen I'd post it here and see what people thought. They do seem to have considered where the 12N/12S sockets will go, which is an improvement on having to mount them on the back door or bumper. Just having the socket for the towbar sticking out like that worries me - I could see it hitting the ground on occasion which would put a fair amount of strain on it. I suppose the jacking points would take a share of the weight, so it should be ok.

My 12N/12S sockets were on a bracket bolted under the bumper, it was the one that Dixon-Bate provide with their Defender kits.
I know it was fairly strong, as I once reversed into a low wall, & it bent the bumper back- not the bracket (which touched first!!)

[Disco Matt]

That's a neat solution - I didn't want to put them on the bumper as some clueless person rear-ending it in a car park would break them, and the back door would be a lot of hassle to re-route the wires (plus I'd have to put a longer cable on the trailer electrics). I'll bear that in mind - the ebay source seems to have some indifferent feedback so I'm not too sure either way. £140 is a fair bit of cash to spend.

I really have no idea what LR were thinking with the standard towbar. They could just as easily have made something like the various aftermarket detachable ones now available.

[Chris Putt]

That particular detachable towbar and tank guard Im not particularly a fan of........

if you have a look at the picture it hangs a long way down between the chassis rails so you loose a lot of the advantage you had previously gained- THe guardian one that a gentleman on here makes fits a lot closer to the underside.

Alternatively.....I have just cut my drop plate down as close to the tank as posible and re welded the supports. This gives a STRONG recovery point- and you can still use it as a towbar with some trailers/caravans. it also guards the trailing edge of the tank effectively. I plan to go one step further with mine and let a plate in between the two arms to guard the tank better....when my back recovers!!

Chris

[Disco Matt]

True - the problem is that I'm having trouble being sensible enough to save the £280 or so for the Guardian one! :lol:

I'll wait and see what I see. I would love to get rid of the towbar but it's the only thing we have with one now, so ends up providing motive power for tip runs and other stuff.

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

matt i brought mine without the towbar bit 40 quid is a joke just weld A 4 by 2 inch tube to the back work out the amount u want out by to save using towbar spacers . then make a quick release using the original tow bar  face then have it lower enough for the right towing height.

remember to weld strong and make sure tube is centre for an equal pull


david p

[Disco Matt]

Other problem - I can't weld! I have an arc welder but haven't tried it and really wouldn't trust myself to weld something as important as a towbar. The possible consequences of it breaking at speed are too horrible for me to even think of trying it. I have every intention of learning having bought one of the cheap Aldi welders last year, but will be sticking to non-structural stuff to begin with.

David, which type did you buy - the Guardian one or one of the ebay ones I posted at the beginning? I was rather hoping someone here would have bought one of the ebay ones or seen one in the metal and could give it a thumbs up/down.

[landroverkeith]

i had one the drop plate sliders on the back of the disco for a while i found it to be a worse plow for offroading but towing it was excellent bought it from towsure

now i have a golddigger 4x4 tank guard and hitch much nicer having no plough and well to say its a snung fit lol just dont ask rich to fit one again :) took a little while and a grinder

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

ebay one matt 99 quid plus 30 quid postage.

oh forget arc welders galess mig welder for a ton welds anything done chassais and high pull loads with mine

[Disco Matt]

ebay one matt 99 quid plus 30 quid postage.

oh forget arc welders galess mig welder for a ton welds anything done chassais and high pull loads with mine

That sounds like the other design the same people had.

Yes, I know Mig welders are better now but I didn't know that at the time!  :lol:

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

i was chatting to colin last weekend from team choas , we both dont see the point in off road driving with no towbar.

the rear overhang will bend so easily , also spare parts of end caps will be availble at every fun day in the mud.

rear bumper ripped straight off to ive seen too.

ideally the towbar wants to be at the point where the departure angle is  maxium without out risking damage to other arear

if u really want a tank guard id have to have an american style full wraparound rear bumper too.

remember the shear damm weight of ever guard u add

only reason why i fitted mine was as a heat shild for the rear slitter on the exhuast and as a bash plate to save my tank from pieces of scarp metal hitting the under neath when i was going down a the road at 55 mph and one smacked the tank [-X

skip company i blame for that  =; [-X

[Disco Matt]

I can't believe the tank guard and detachable drop plate would weigh more than the lump of metal LR bolted onto the back. I just need another couple of degrees of departure angle on a stock Disco (don't want to lift it or fit bigger tyres as it won't be able to get into car parks then, plus I don't need to do that) and swapping the plough for one of these will make things much easier.

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

ok forgot a lift , wheel arch flars or cut all 4 archs out to the flared bit instead and cheap set of taller chuncky mud tyres . most of the time its the diff which grounds out first not the towar.

most of the car parks around by me have height limit of 6ft 8 anyway  which i think even a standard disco wouldnt go under.

think mines roughly 230cm tall so 8ft carparks our fine

just measured mine towbar is 17.5 inch of the ground  ,diff is around 12 inchs

im running on a 2 inch lift and 235/85/16 road tyres with 13 mm of tread

[hairyasswelder]

I have got one of these ..... http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/towbars/vehicle_technical_details.aspx?VehicleTowbarID=2075  (pic in fitting instructions) which will soon be for sale without electrics, as I am in the process of fabricating a tank guard with tow hitch  ;)
I put a couple of 3.25t shackles in the bolt holes for off road  :D  Improves the angle, protects the bumper and tows well  :D

Steve

[Disco Matt]

With standard wheels/tyres (235/70? not looked lately) mine will fit under a 2m height barrier.

Grounding the diffs hasn't really proved a problem - the difficulty is with steps or steep slopes as the towbar hits the ground. I'd definitely want to replace it with a tank guard/towbar "all in one" part as I realise the tank would be very vulnerable without the plough under it. The one I posted would have to be an improvement compared to the standard setup surely?

[Wireless]

Disco Matt's posted link does seem the best solution, although it depends how long you're planning to keep the Disco, I'm looking to change mine within the next two years, so the plough will have to stay put, and the proposed front winch/winch bumper will have to be downgraded to a front A-bar with shackles, although steering and diff guards are still a possibility.

I need a new set of Magnecor's too, these cheapo silicone jobbies I used as a replacement are p*ss poor during warm up on LPG (lumpy), but then my budget at replacement time for the first set (they lasted seven years), was a bit tight.  Good news is that a set of Magnecor's is now about 25% cheaper than when I bought the first set.  I was going to just carry on with the silicone, but with the increase in fuel prices affecting LPG the slight hit on mpg is starting to be irritating, in so much as two year's worth of improved mpg will pay for the leads several times over; so I'm going to have to invest in a second set of leads I should have bought two years ago.

I lot of decisions end up being due to budget/cost, but then thats par for the course for everything.

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

matt which towbar do u have the fully covered all around one or different?

[Disco Matt]

I think it's the fully covered one - it has a drop plate (with holes drilled to allow the towball to be bolted on at different heights) and triangular side plates with cutouts in them, the sockets for the electrics are mounted on the side plates.

I really can't find anything else as good as that link for the money - I realise it won't be the best but for £140 all in (plus a few £s worth of Hammerite spray paint) I can't find better. Even if it does extend slightly below the chassis rails it'll still be an improvement on the original.

Front recovery points are a lot easier - JATE rings can be used. Just remove or trim the plastic bits on the front bumper, remove the lower bumper mounting bolts, and fit the JATE rings using the holes in the chassis. The JATE ring bolts will replace the original bumper bolts with no problems.

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

like this one  :)

[Disco Matt]

Think that might be similar if not identical. Obviously mine is a tad closer to the ground.

I only need another couple of centimetres of clearance, and obviously it would help if I had a smooth plate rather than a lump of steel underneath.

[gimpy]

Dont understand what all the debate is about.  The NAS towbar is the solution with a removable drope plate.
Give Disco parts a ring.  Mark there makes them and sells them for a third of the price.
Got one fittec to mine and have a recovery swivel in there when off road and fit drop plate which has tightening bolt to stop backlash.

job done in 30 seconds

[Disco Matt]

That is a very good price indeed for the Disco Parts one - Think I'd buy one of them in preference to the ebay one as I've heard nothing but praise for Disco Parts. I will most likely be ordering one next month.

Does anyone have a photo showing what the electrics bracket looks like? Their website photo just shows the sockets dangling under the vehicle!

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

That is a very good price indeed for the Disco Parts one - Think I'd buy one of them in preference to the ebay one as I've heard nothing but praise for Disco Parts. I will most likely be ordering one next month.

Does anyone have a photo showing what the electrics bracket looks like? Their website photo just shows the sockets dangling under the vehicle!

my front bumper didnt come that quick from them didnt hear or revice any sorry for the wait note from them . but its all strong stuff they do :clap: :clap: :clap:

[gimpy]

Fitted one plug either side on the arm mount to the main body of tow bar so they are tucked up inder the rear bumper and out of harms way.
Not had any trouble yet with them getting packed in mud or full of crap yet
Can take some pics at weekend and post if helps

[clover]

Hi

I have a disco parts one and I have to say it is good quality and well built. Don't go for the extra length drop plate unless you have a 6" lift and don't bother to order the electric socket adapter things as they never turn up!

I'm still waiting for mine 4mths later...

I ended up putting my tow bar electric socket in the space between the rear light and the bumper. Its out of the way and protected by the bumper. It was quite easy to fit it there once the light was removed. Just a bit of re-attaching of wiring and a few holes (tank cutter is a must for this job).

All I have then is a towbar socket extension lead that is bolted onto the removable drop plate. I just then plug the extension in...

[Disco Matt]

I've ordered one - with the extra electrics bracket and the recovery shackle thingy (along with the standard drop plate, obviously). I was wondering why on earth you'd need more than a 12in drop plate, didn't think about lifts! Now need to get a nut splitter for when I come to pull the old towbar off and remove the towball from it. Oddly enough I don't feel inclined to take a grinder to anything that close to the fuel tank and I suspect even Plusgas won't shift them. I know I need fresh bolts to attach the towball to the bumper so will source them locally when the time comes.

If the electrics brackets don't turn up I'll do what BTM did with a standard mounting plate bolted to the underside of the bumper. I'm not looking forward to dismantling and reassembling the socket wiring...

[clover]

Well unless your has been right royally messed about with then the towbar electrics should be dead easy. Its simply a matter of unplugging the electrical socket from the wiring loom... Your Disco has as standard a socket for the towbar wiring in the vehicle loom. If yours is a factory fitted or land rover towbar then they will have used this socket. Simple!

If you really don't want to touch it then just feed the plug through the hole you cut (it should be big enough) and through into the inside and then coil the spare length of lead up behind the trim.

Hardest part is removing the rear light cluster if you have dickie seats  :roll: :doh:

[Disco Matt]

It's definitely the standard wiring and to the best of my knowledge it hasn't been fiddled with. Is the socket in the wiring loom behind the light cluster or did you only need to remove this to move the 12n socket? I know the bumper needs to come off but I could do with unbolting that and sorting out the rust on the top anyway (need to put a bit of self adhesive foam on it to stop the plastic cover thing rubbing the paint off).