Towing a boat (1 Viewer)

[Mags52]

Hi Guys, We're on the verge of buying a small boat (15 ft / 450 kg). We used to be tuggers so not worried about towing but we're not sure about the safety of the existing tow bar on the MH. The van has a tow ball and single electrics on a bar that we have only ever used for carrying bikes on a Thule bike carrier. When we first got the van a local MH service engineer said 'I hope you're not planning to tow with that'
At the time I didn't intend to so took little notice. 450 kg is small in relation to the weight of the van (3.5 Ducato) so I'm wondering if he thought the tow bar was a problem. Are there any safety checks that anyone knows about that we can do? Or failing that I suppose taking it to a towbar dealer and asking them to check.
Any thoughts?
Mags

 

[Snowbird]

You should get it checked out for your own peace of mind. There is nothing worse than wondering if all is well whilst towing. This is my old camper-boat outfit which I towed all over Europe.

 

[Mags52]

Nice rig Snowbird.

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[Snowbird]

Nice rig Snowbird.

I do have smaller boat now which is easier to tow, its an Island Plastics IP15. Nice little fishing boat which am contemplating selling at the moment if anyone is interested.

 

[eddie]

Hi Guys, We're on the verge of buying a small boat (15 ft / 450 kg). We used to be tuggers so not worried about towing but we're not sure about the safety of the existing tow bar on the MH. The van has a tow ball and single electrics on a bar that we have only ever used for carrying bikes on a Thule bike carrier. When we first got the van a local MH service engineer said 'I hope you're not planning to tow with that'
At the time I didn't intend to so took little notice. 450 kg is small in relation to the weight of the van (3.5 Ducato) so I'm wondering if he thought the tow bar was a problem. Are there any safety checks that anyone knows about that we can do? Or failing that I suppose taking it to a towbar dealer and asking them to check.
Any thoughts?
Mags

I really would suggest getting it checked out. Two weeks ago we came back from the South of France with our camper and our RIB and love it.

We had no problems whatsoever but did have a few years ago when we realised that the tow bar was welded to the wrong part of the chassis and was peeling off like a can of Sardines!

That was an interesting trip, the van was brand new and the mistake was 100% the factories!

RAC Arrival were on that occasion excellent with their help and assistance

Edde

 

[Snowbird]

I really would suggest getting it checked out. Two weeks ago we came back from the South of France with our camper and our RIB and love it.

We had no problems whatsoever but did have a few years ago when we realised that the tow bar was welded to the wrong part of the chassis and was peeling off like a can of Sardines!

That was an interesting trip, the van was brand new and the mistake was 100% the factories!

RAC Arrival were on that occasion excellent with their help and assistance

Edde

What manufacturer would be stupid enough to WELD a towbar on anywhere on the chassis. All towbars I have ever seen are bolted onto the chassis.

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[Geo]

It is bolted Dave pic 3 i think, its the chassis thats ripped
Im no forensic metallurgist but it looks to me as though that problem was brought about reversing or excess nose weight towing forward it seems would straighten it out :Cool:

 

[eddie]

Nope I was stupid enough to buy a R Vision Condor! We all know the faults with RV's and love them because of it. The R Vision Condor was the worse motorhome I have ever had the misfortune to own.

They had welded chassis extensions to primarily secure the rear end cap. Then another ding bat had bolted the tow bar onto the chassis extensions.

The fix was to upgrade the extensions to the same gauge steel as the chassis.

The nose weight was under half that of the tongue rating on the plate.

But then life is an adventure lol

 

[Snowbird]

The chassis does not look strong enough to hold a towbar from what I have seen of it, let alone strong enough to tow anything. If that's what a modern chassis looks like when new, what's it going to look like when its 20 years old, that's of course if there is anything left of it .

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[eddie]

Once I got it home it had some major beefing up on the gas tank and the hydraulic jacks just before I sold it and bought a Winnebago lol

A short time after it was sold it was parked on the road at the bottom of a "T" junction and a rubbish lorry lost its breaks and "T" boned it

Result all round in my opinion.

Eddie