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Towbar fitting

Slartybart

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Apr 28, 2022
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I'm trying to work out what's necessary to fit a tow bar to my 100 series Amazon. It has the factory fitted bumper still. Some online places seem to want to sell a whole new rear bar (which presumably goes under the plastic factory one) while others simply have the hitch which presumably bolts onto whatever is already there. I expect there'll be some wiring to do too. Has anyone done this and can give me an idea of what's involved please? (unusually I can't find a YouTube video and nothing in the search panel above seems to help either)

Thanks in advance.
 
The plastic part of the bumper is just a cover for the rear cross member / chassis rail ends. Usually a tow bar is another bar that bolts to the underside of the chassis rails, below the existing bumper.

It looks like in some markets, later models got a receiver style tow option in the middle of the rear cross member but I've never seen one in person.
 
Thank you!. I guess I'm going to have to climb underneath and see what's there. Unfortunately, the beast isn't with me at the moment, which is why I'm asking. I need to go and fetch it back from abroad, for it's MOT.
 
It looks like in some markets, later models got a receiver style tow option in the middle of the rear cross member but I've never seen one in person.
Afaik, in the US you could get it with an integrated receiver, but it didn't have the full 3.5 ton rating, so it's kinda useless for anything but a bicycle rack.
Also, there are steel bumpers with receiver built in. One problem with that could be legislation, depending on where you are.

There are ready made holes in the chassis rails for a tow bar that mounts under the bumper. And there should be a plug for connecting a trailer socket harness under the floor at the back, above the spare wheel, but it could be cheaper to just hack one in.
 
Thank you. Yes, I do rather like the look of the ARB rear bumper with its swing arm for spare wheel, but at £1600 it’s possibly a bit excessive just for the tow bar. I found a guy breaking a 100 series on eBay. His photos very helpfully show that vehicle with the plastic bumper cover removed and the tow bar exposed underneath. His opening offer was £150, which is only £50 less than buying an OEM one which of course comes without a decade or more of rust and muck attached. I’ll have a root around for the wiring, so thanks for that too. I’ll need to have a proper look at mine when I get back to it next week. I only just decided I need a tow bar and hadn’t looked at what previous owners may have left before me.
 
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