Tow bar for work wagon - failed.

[MrOizo]

Have a look at this!









I went to a place to get a new one (every day im not working costs the company a fair bit) and the guys making the new ones were shocked to see this setup on my wagon. Said that the tube design was more a cheap/low rated setup.
Its a Nissan Patrol/Safari and tows a 1500-1800kg road testing trailer. stopping every 10-200m on the roads. Lots of wear and tear on this.



Was making a u-turn on SH2 just out of Matata so about 5-10kmh.. So lucky this didnt happen while travelling site to site at 90-95kmh... The trailer light cable might not have held on for long!

[MrOizo]

Realised this isnt a question - Could a mod please move to general or something more appropriate. Cheers.

[Dell'Orto]

Shonky! Did you get that fitted or did it come on the truck?

[MrOizo]

We got it fitted at a place in Dunedin. Giving them a call tomorrow. They have fitted all of ours so far. Need to have all ours checked! They know what we do and how stressful our driving is on parts so should have known to do a better design.

[Lloyd]

Dunedin? Wasn't me

[mjrstar]

i have had one give way also, funnily enough it was unlaiden at the time and i was doing about 5kph too. had it replaced for nothing (an auckland company) they still had my details on file

[fangsport]

unreal!!
top photo shows it has been cracked for long enough for it to rust.

that towbar lools only fit for a bike rack or small garden/shuttle trailer.
tell the supplier to have a look at a mid-90's + toyota hilux towbar...... the Oem bar for something with a far smaller towing capacity is far better designed than that dinky piece of crap.

[Bling]

That's pretty worrying!!

Looks like its been cracked for a while going by the rust too Well if the point it sheared at is anything to go by

EDIT: Beaten by the fast southerner

[CAMB01]

I remember when you came over with Chelles and we removed the tow ball from that tow bar, and the one you had was too big for the hole lol.

[Mr Revhead]

unreal!!
top photo shows it has been cracked for long enough for it to rust.

that towbar lools only fit for a bike rack or small garden/shuttle trailer.
tell the supplier to have a look at a mid-90's + toyota hilux towbar...... the Oem bar for something with a far smaller towing capacity is far better designed than that dinky piece of crap.

Those Hilux bars are farking heavy sqaure section, I used to Hate having to lift them! So heavy!

Be keen to know the brand of this one

[fangsport]

true, revvy. ever see one break like this one?

[MrOizo]

Dunedin? Wasn't me

Sounding guilty!

Yeah this one looks to have been on the road to failing for a while.

When i took it in for servicing (Nissan/TMG) i have said that there is a creaking in the rear and to check the mounting points. all they did was tighten the ball up so much it was a mission to undo.

I remember when you came over with Chelles and we removed the tow ball from that tow bar, and the one you had was too big for the hole lol.

haha yeah - even the guy that inspected after the incident was surprised that we were towing a big trailer with a small thread ball.

Those Hilux bars are farking heavy sqaure section, I used to Hate having to lift them! So heavy!

Be keen to know the brand of this one

Yeah - thats whats being made up tonight - should be painted and ready to go on tomorrow at midday. as well as having a aquare section is the bolt spacing where it mounts to the rails will be further apart for more strength.



I am sure a shop in Dunedin made this one up - depending on how the call goes tomorrow - i might be posting up details so people can stay away

Pipe/tube shouldnt be used for heavy loadings llike we have... just lucky i wasnt taking my car!

[crispy'86]

That's shocking, something you'd expect to see on a suzuki alto or something to hold a wheelchair or walking frame!! Well..maybe a bit of an extreme case there,

[Mr Revhead]

true, revvy. ever see one break like this one?

Hell no! I've seen them come off crashed vehicles and be straight as when they went on!

[rolla_fxgt]

If its the dunedin company that makes them that I'm thinking of, its a little worrying, cause I have one on my car, admitedly I don't have huge loads on it, but still.

[fangsport]

If its the dunedin company that makes them that I'm thinking of, its a little worrying, cause I have one on my car, admitedly I don't have huge loads on it, but still.

if you read my post above, it looks perfectly suitable as a lightly loaded towbar. at work, i don't deal with many cars, but regularly see commercial vehicles that are capable, and designed to carry far greater loads,and considering it was designed to be fitted to a Safari, i am quite shocked, as they have a a reasonable MTM.

[Looonie]

I was pondering this morning, and being I know nothing about engineering/structural strength/integrity...

How much stronger would square tubing (oxymoron?) be versus normal round tubing assuming identical thickness walls?

ie. would square tube tow bar be stronger than round tube tow bar?

[fangsport]

I was pondering this morning, and being I know nothing about engineering/structural strength/integrity...

How much stronger would square tubing (oxymoron?) be versus normal round tubing assuming identical thickness walls?

ie. would square tube tow bar be stronger than round tube tow bar?

can't give specifics, but on a towbar, tube seemes to be used for lightweight setups, and square for the heavy duty ones.
i have never seen tube used for anything rated over 1500-2000kg

[Bling]

I thought triangles were the strongest shape..... More steel in a 50mm box section compared to a 50mm tube, so that could be part of it

[85AW20v]

And it's probably a lot easier to get box section in a heavier wall thickness than tube.