I have a retractable towball and found a solution to keeping rust free. I put a balloon over it before retracting. Still a bit of surface rust but easy to clean off with emery paper. Ballon’s are poundlands finest!!
Definitely happy with the professional friendly service. Sam has phoned me today and has sorted a cover for the hole when the bar is not in use. Roy is very knowledgeable and a great bloke. Cheers
Talk about timing,I’ve just bought a GLE,was looking at deployable towbars but limited my search. Then I thought what if it failed while we were away,so went for one without and getting a removable one fitted.
Hello Martin, we have the same tow bar, had the same on our last car and wanted the same on our new car it’s a great piece of equipment the brake away cable connection is a little bit fiddly but I am going to try to put a carabiner on it to make it easier, the tow bar is quite heavy so I leave it in the garage when I not using it, and like someone else mentioned you should have a plastic cap to keep all the muck out, thanks for sharing, 👍.
Must be good if you’ve had a few. Not looked at position of the brake away cable yet, first look I thought just around the bar! Will check on the cover. Cheers
Hi Martin, I've just had a towbar fitted to a Mazda, which I think is similar to the Ford towbar, but mine just drops down, and you have to push it in place....i know what you mean about the rust...I'm going to try in getting some sort bag thats pulls tight around the tow ball and hopefully stops it getting wet.
Hi Martin. I've recently bought another kuga (2018 STLine) with a retractable towbar. My old kuga (2015 x sport) had a trust towbar (removable). My son has now got this car and I compared the height of the towball to find that my new car is 65mm lower. This explains why I damaged my jockey wheel on arrival on our last trip out. I now completely remove it when towing. I always have to manually latch it into place and also when storing it away. Cheers Bernard and Elaine
Hi Bernard & Elaine, I never checked the tow ball height, but one thing I noticed when we got the new car is that the jockey wheel would catch the ramp on the way out of the storage which didn’t happen with our old Kuga. Your observations would explain that. Thanks for the info and watching, Martin
Hi Martin, Pleased you are happy with your new one tow bar 👍. Personally I would have looked into fixing it as I prefer the retractable one. It would have made a good video. As for the rust I always smear grease over the ball when not in use and clean it off when required. I’ve also sprayed release oil or silicone spray in the ball joint. Been towing for over 11 years with it and it’s never been a problem. Anyway you’re all ready for your hols, hope you enjoy 👍. Cheers Rob 😀
Hi Rob, I could have had it repaired but have lost confidence in it. The new one is easier and less likely to go wrong. Glad yours is working well. Thanks for watching, Martin
We've had 3 of these tow trust tow bars on various cars, the latest of which was fitted Monday on a new to us car, they are great. Each one has come with the blanking plate to cover the hole when the ball is not fitted included, maybe ask the fella who fitted it where it is. You can order them direct from tow trust as I had to when I misplaced one, but should have come as standard.
Incase you are not aware; try not to leave towbar mechanism 'cocked' when removing it and in storage. When removing the 'bar' push the 'cam' in and rotate but only enough to release it and it'll drop out as normal. This will maintain the spring tension inthe mechanism over time. I'm a bit ocd when it comes to towbars and cannot resist once it is engaged jumping up and down on it a couple of times thinking if it can hold up under a fat boy like me it must be on 'proper. lol!
Hi Martin, Great insight into what can happen and the troubles you can get 👍. We have a 2020 kuga st line and have the exact same tow bar so now 3 yrs old and not had any bother with it. 😊 Good choice. PS didn't buy car brand new 😂 Paul.
I had that one fitted to my 2021 kuga when we got our caravan had it about 6 months and it’s been find so far less electrics less problems 👍 just make sure you sand the tow ball down get the paint off if you haven’t already took me 5 mins 👍
Well done Martin, we have the exact TT tow bar and no problems. On a side note I need a mobile tyre fitter for 2 new tyres on our Vigo (185/R 14C) we are in Morecambe , do you have any suggestions or recommendations. Cheers Keith & Trish
Hi Martin. Great video we have the same tow bar as our kia mate. Never ever had and problem with ours. And to be honest I don't lock it on the bar. Great video cheers Paul and Sarah
Hi Martin,Ive recently bought a caravan and am researching a towbar for car. I'd like a detachable but the wife is worried it'll detach itself at some point. Do you think that could happen?
No, they wouldn’t approve them if there was a possibility of this happening. I’ve never heard of this happening. Detachable are in my opinion far better and you won’t get fed up of banging your leg on it every time you go into the boot! Hope that helps. Cheers
Thanks for the reply, yes, I had a towbar on a van once and lost count of the times I banged my shins on it. I reckon if you check and double check it's secured properly,it will be fine.
Great vlog, we are looking for a mobile tow bar fitter, do you think Roy will come out to our neck of the woods to fit or does he just work round the Bolton area?
Hi Mark, you bought another tow car? Give him a call see if he would come out. He has a workshop in Bolton as well. Would definitely recommend him. Hopefully see you both soon. Cheers, Martin
Yes, we have gone for a newer version of the Mazda CX-5. Ideally we would swap out the bar on the current car but i don't know if we will have time. If we cant' we will have to bite the bullet and get a new one. Yes hopefully see you and Angela soon
Hi @markpilkington5953 we operate approximately 30 mile radius of our premises but have travelled further afield on occasion. If you would like to get in touch and let us know what area you are in and we can see if we help. Many thanks.
Nice new tow bar. Being a relative newcomer to caravanning, I can confirm the following regarding tow bars: When ( not if) you whack your shin on it, you will be most likely be following that with some agricultural language, especially if your chin breaks your fall as you land on your hardstanding pitch - this will obviously only happen when half the folk on the site are watching ( except the wife)......then, you will have to explain to the wife why your new trousers ( bought for the holiday) are now heavily soiled, and more to the point, how the hell you have got gravel embedded in your chin.....which is also bleeding. Just off now to carry out a dangerous task .......... take my socks off!!!
Ha ha! 🤣 that’s why I got a detachable. I did the same thing with our first fixed bar and said I wouldn’t have another. All tasks are dangerous for me 🤣 Cheers
The myth about leaving the tow ball on to protect your car is incorrect. With the tow ball in place any impact is transmitted straight into the chassis / structural elements of the car and not into crush areas as designed potentially leading to more severe damage to your car. The missing protective cover can fall out as my 1st one did, I have drilled a small hole in the new one and added a retaining cord and clip that I attach to the car so I won't loose it again.
Hi Martin to stop your rusty ball I spray with silicone and but a balloon over the ball
Good idea. With the new detachable it will be easier to maintain as it will be kept in the boot when not in use.
Cheers
I have a retractable towball and found a solution to keeping rust free. I put a balloon over it before retracting. Still a bit of surface rust but easy to clean off with emery paper. Ballon’s are poundlands finest!!
Good idea! 👍
Thanks for your kind words. Glad we could help.
Thanks for sorting it, top job.
Thanks
I fitted the same bar to my XC60 five years ago, really good. 👍👍
Good to hear 🙂
Hi Martin glad you got things sorted, good move with the new tow bar, Roy is a top bloke he fitted our motor mover, did an excellent job.
Definitely happy with the professional friendly service. Sam has phoned me today and has sorted a cover for the hole when the bar is not in use. Roy is very knowledgeable and a great bloke.
Cheers
We have had two of these no problems👍
Talk about timing,I’ve just bought a GLE,was looking at deployable towbars but limited my search. Then I thought what if it failed while we were away,so went for one without and getting a removable one fitted.
Yeah, more electrics more likely to fail. Think you made the right decision there. Cheers
Hello Martin, we have the same tow bar, had the same on our last car and wanted the same on our new car it’s a great piece of equipment the brake away cable connection is a little bit fiddly but I am going to try to put a carabiner on it to make it easier, the tow bar is quite heavy so I leave it in the garage when I not using it, and like someone else mentioned you should have a plastic cap to keep all the muck out, thanks for sharing, 👍.
Must be good if you’ve had a few. Not looked at position of the brake away cable yet, first look I thought just around the bar!
Will check on the cover.
Cheers
Have had the same on my touareg . Ever time I finish I put vasaline over tow ball no rust .then clean off with brake cleaner .
Good idea, cheers
Hi Martin we have exactly the same Towbar which we had fitted to our car and it’s been brilliant 👍
It’s a good bar, less to go wrong with this one! Cheers
Hi Martin, I've just had a towbar fitted to a Mazda, which I think is similar to the Ford towbar, but mine just drops down, and you have to push it in place....i know what you mean about the rust...I'm going to try in getting some sort bag thats pulls tight around the tow ball and hopefully stops it getting wet.
I wasn’t sure if it should have moved into place mechanically. The ball being upside down is a pain, hope you find a solution.
Cheers
Hi Martin I have same make of tow bar on my car it’s been faultless 👍
Hi Colin, that’s good to hear. Will see how the first tow goes. Cheers, Martin
Hi Martin. I've recently bought another kuga (2018 STLine) with a retractable towbar. My old kuga (2015 x sport) had a trust towbar (removable). My son has now got this car and I compared the height of the towball to find that my new car is 65mm lower. This explains why I damaged my jockey wheel on arrival on our last trip out. I now completely remove it when towing. I always have to manually latch it into place and also when storing it away. Cheers Bernard and Elaine
Hi Bernard & Elaine, I never checked the tow ball height, but one thing I noticed when we got the new car is that the jockey wheel would catch the ramp on the way out of the storage which didn’t happen with our old Kuga. Your observations would explain that. Thanks for the info and watching, Martin
Hi Martin, Pleased you are happy with your new one tow bar 👍. Personally I would have looked into fixing it as I prefer the retractable one. It would have made a good video. As for the rust I always smear grease over the ball when not in use and clean it off when required. I’ve also sprayed release oil or silicone spray in the ball joint. Been towing for over 11 years with it and it’s never been a problem. Anyway you’re all ready for your hols, hope you enjoy 👍. Cheers Rob 😀
Hi Rob, I could have had it repaired but have lost confidence in it. The new one is easier and less likely to go wrong. Glad yours is working well.
Thanks for watching, Martin
Don’t forget the cap that goes on the hole when the towbar is removed. Keep the crap out. Ours has a towtrust seems a good unit.x
There isn’t one with it, I did think about that as well had one with our Westfalia. Will make some enquiries. Cheers
@@TheCaravanNut I can take a pic of ours if you need me to.
I’ve just looked it up and found one. Will phone the tow bar people up first before ordering one. Cheers
Stuff an old oily rag up in the hole to keep crap out.
We've had 3 of these tow trust tow bars on various cars, the latest of which was fitted Monday on a new to us car, they are great. Each one has come with the blanking plate to cover the hole when the ball is not fitted included, maybe ask the fella who fitted it where it is. You can order them direct from tow trust as I had to when I misplaced one, but should have come as standard.
Incase you are not aware; try not to leave towbar mechanism 'cocked' when removing it and in storage. When removing the 'bar' push the 'cam' in and rotate but only enough to release it and it'll drop out as normal. This will maintain the spring tension inthe mechanism over time. I'm a bit ocd when it comes to towbars and cannot resist once it is engaged jumping up and down on it a couple of times thinking if it can hold up under a fat boy like me it must be on 'proper. lol!
Thanks for the info, will look at that next time I use it. Don’t want to replace this one!
Cheers
Hi Martin,
Great insight into what can happen and the troubles you can get 👍.
We have a 2020 kuga st line and have the exact same tow bar so now 3 yrs old and not had any bother with it. 😊
Good choice.
PS didn't buy car brand new 😂
Paul.
Hi Paul, it looks a decent bar. Looking forward to getting the caravan on it.
Cheers
I had that one fitted to my 2021 kuga when we got our caravan had it about 6 months and it’s been find so far less electrics less problems 👍 just make sure you sand the tow ball down get the paint off if you haven’t already took me 5 mins 👍
Will be getting the paint off before our next trip. Less to go wrong with this one! Cheers
Well done Martin, we have the exact TT tow bar and no problems. On a side note I need a mobile tyre fitter for 2 new tyres on our Vigo (185/R 14C) we are in Morecambe , do you have any suggestions or recommendations. Cheers Keith & Trish
Yes, great tow bar. Sorry, don’t know any mobile tyre fitters. Thanks
Hi Martin. Great video we have the same tow bar as our kia mate. Never ever had and problem with ours. And to be honest I don't lock it on the bar. Great video cheers Paul and Sarah
Hi Paul & Sarah, it’s quite a substantial bit of kit. At least I’ll be able to keep this one clean. Thanks for comments and watching 🙂
Hi Martin,Ive recently bought a caravan and am researching a towbar for car. I'd like a detachable but the wife is worried it'll detach itself at some point. Do you think that could happen?
No, they wouldn’t approve them if there was a possibility of this happening. I’ve never heard of this happening. Detachable are in my opinion far better and you won’t get fed up of banging your leg on it every time you go into the boot! Hope that helps. Cheers
Thanks for the reply, yes, I had a towbar on a van once and lost count of the times I banged my shins on it. I reckon if you check and double check it's secured properly,it will be fine.
Great vlog, we are looking for a mobile tow bar fitter, do you think Roy will come out to our neck of the woods to fit or does he just work round the Bolton area?
Hi Mark, you bought another tow car? Give him a call see if he would come out. He has a workshop in Bolton as well. Would definitely recommend him.
Hopefully see you both soon.
Cheers, Martin
Yes, we have gone for a newer version of the Mazda CX-5. Ideally we would swap out the bar on the current car but i don't know if we will have time. If we cant' we will have to bite the bullet and get a new one. Yes hopefully see you and Angela soon
Nice one, I would give him a call. Shame you can’t get the one off yours.
Hi @markpilkington5953 we operate approximately 30 mile radius of our premises but have travelled further afield on occasion. If you would like to get in touch and let us know what area you are in and we can see if we help. Many thanks.
Nice new tow bar.
Being a relative newcomer to caravanning, I can confirm the following regarding tow bars:
When ( not if) you whack your shin on it, you will be most likely be following that with some agricultural language, especially if your chin breaks your fall as you land on your hardstanding pitch - this will obviously only happen when half the folk on the site are watching ( except the wife)......then, you will have to explain to the wife why your new trousers ( bought for the holiday) are now heavily soiled, and more to the point, how the hell you have got gravel embedded in your chin.....which is also bleeding.
Just off now to carry out a dangerous task .......... take my socks off!!!
Ha ha! 🤣 that’s why I got a detachable. I did the same thing with our first fixed bar and said I wouldn’t have another.
All tasks are dangerous for me 🤣
Cheers
The myth about leaving the tow ball on to protect your car is incorrect. With the tow ball in place any impact is transmitted straight into the chassis / structural elements of the car and not into crush areas as designed potentially leading to more severe damage to your car.
The missing protective cover can fall out as my 1st one did, I have drilled a small hole in the new one and added a retaining cord and clip that I attach to the car so I won't loose it again.
Yep, it will damage the chassis. I have been in touch with Bolt on and they are sending me a cover. Will see how I get on with it.
Cheers
You've got too much money😊
Yeah, I know! 🤔
Who thought electrics under a vehicle was a good idea ?
No idea! 🤔