Rust on the Towbar (1 Viewer)

[pvw10]

Hi all,
got some rot on each end of the towbar, any others found a decent fix ?
My thoughts are cut off the white plastic back to decent metal, lose the Black end cap and Black Hammerite it.

 

[Jim]

I've had them go just like that. Your fix is the same as i did

 

[Terry]

I would do it in white hammerite smooth then put the black cap back on
terry

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[Sphgmo]

We had a problem with the plastic coating bubbling on our towbar.
I tried many engineering firms to see if the plastic could be sand blasted off.
But they all came up with the same negative reply.
They said that when the plastic is sand blasted it simply keeps migrating.
One (serious) reply was to chuck the tow bar on a bonfire and have the plastic burn off.
But then again someone said that the heat could affect the integrity of the metal.
In the end I bit the bullet and bought a new bar!

 

[TheBig1]

unbolt the bar and move it well away from the van first

take endcaps off if you can, but I think they are heat shrunk on

take a blowlamp and heat the plastic a bit at a time and strip the whole bar, not just the rough ends. you will probably find rust starting near the mounting bolts too

polish the metal up and to remove any rust or remaining plastic with sandpaper or even wet and dry. the best finish depends on how well you do this

either paint with hamerite smooth or get it resprayed using antichip or spray on lining

refit endcaps if possible or buy push in caps to fit the size bar

refit to van nice and tight

that should last a few years or more if you used rubberised anti chip

 

[Barclaybasher]

The plastic end caps are the problem. Moisture gets past the cap, can't escape, metal corodes behind the plastic coating.

As has been said, grind off plastic to good metal, treat rust and paint - or just cut off ends of bar.

If you want to replace end caps why not spray-foam ends of hollow bar first.

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[Sphgmo]

Our problem started because our Autocruise Starspirit has a long rear overhang and on a couple of occasions the bar grounded and the plastic coating got torn.