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Tow Bar...what if.....

6K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  GettinBetter  
#1 ·
Has anyone ever fitted a tow bar to a TF?

I really need to move things from time to time, but don't want a van, and can't afford both...... any thoughs? Perhaps a removable one?
 
#2 ·
yes they have, MG advise not to fit one, look under the rear.....not much to attach one to is there, and do you really want to attach it to the subframe......folk that have done it scare the hell out of me.
 
#3 ·
I think the majority of people who have fitted towbars was to allow them to fit bike carriers rathen than tow anything. The subframe is only held to the body by 10 fairly small bolts.

My advice, don't do it.
 
#5 ·
On a TF you may not be able to fit a towbar, as the law changed around 2002 to mean that you need a type approved towbar that fixes only to the towbar mountings that are built into the vehicle by the manufacturer and has a type approval number on a plate attached to the towbar. You may not be able to find a type approved towbar, as it is probably not worth the towbar manufacturers going through the type approval process to sell very low numbers. If MG Rover didn't class the car as suitable for the attachment of a tow bar then there is no way round this. The BMW MINI, Ford Ka and several other cars cannot have a towbar fitted for this reason.
 
#7 ·
If you only need to tow now and again why not find a van hire place that hires out old vans rather than new ones, I know of one in Norwich that you can hire for peanuts and they do not care about scratches due to the age. I am sure you could find one in your area. Better than selling your new car.
 
#9 ·
If you only need to tow now and again why not find a van hire place that hires out old vans rather than new ones, I know of one in Norwich that you can hire for peanuts and they do not care about scratches due to the age. I am sure you could find one in your area. Better than selling your new car.
Good idea, a colleague of mine mentioned hiring a van, I'll have a butchers on the web tonight.

....... back end of a scrapped F, like the MGB guys do - might be cool :)
That would look mega......and sooooow cool, what a great idea. Its still back to the weight governing the towable load though.... so probably get a van is the way to go.
Thx all.
 
#8 ·
Only know of one tow bar that fits an F, it was avaialble through Mike Satur a while back, but have no idea if it still is. Tow bar doesn't attach the back of the car at all really, just a vertical stabiliser bar - rather it is a long horizontal member that travels under the engine to the centre of the floor pan where it attaches (literally bypassing the lack of attachment issue).

Have thought about it a number of times, but the horizontal bar decreases ground clearance and on an F with interlinked Hydragas, extra load on the rear would cause a fluid transference to the front raising the nose. These coupled with the relatively low amount of weight (as a proportion of the weight of the car) that could be towed stopped me doing it.

There are a few out there though (pretty rare to see them), always liked the idea of maybe doing an "MGF and a half" trailer using the back end of a scrapped F, like the MGB guys do - might be cool :)
 
#10 ·
Only know of one tow bar that fits an F, it was avaialble through Mike Satur a while back, but have no idea if it still is. Tow bar doesn't attach the back of the car at all really, just a vertical stabiliser bar - rather it is a long horizontal member that travels under the engine to the centre of the floor pan where it attaches (literally bypassing the lack of attachment issue).

I spotted a tow bar on an F today so I took a couple of pics. It looks like the one that bolts to the car body, but to be honest it looked a little unstable to me, there are no other mounting points and it extends a long way.

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#15 ·
As I wrote once before, I asked a guy at the Swedish MOT station if I could install one, he looked through his books, then onto the computer and then said "Yes, you can install one, and every time you come to have it passed by us we will fail you". He could have just said no, but he felt like taking the p*ss that day it seems....
 
#16 ·
I have asked the same question....a while ago and found this...
It wasn't recommended but there are a few on the T/TF forum who have a towbar....these picts are from a previous thread..

Found these picts
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and this...............

"All is not lost though – the answer is to use a bespoke towbar specially made but it depends how old your car is. By law, all vehicles made after 1 August 1998 must feature EEC Type Approval and this also includes an endorsement for towing from the carmakers, so anything newer than an S-reg can’t be adapted. "




"Hertfordshire-based Watling Engineers (tel 01727 873661) has been making bespoke bars for over half a century and claims sports cars are ideal for towing thanks to their stiffer suspension layouts and surplus of power. Don’t expect to haul a twin-axle six-berth around using the 85 per cent rule; reckon on 75 per cent for added safety and reliability. Watling sells a complete kit for an MGF for £245 or £295 fitted."
 
#18 ·
Wow!! Thats made me think again....and the photos, they're brilliant.

Can't thank you guys enough for the feeback and the effort you put into it.
I'm the sort who is often mucking about with something or other, and the TF isn't really practical, but I don't want to part with it.