Hayman Reese Towbars: Easy To Mount And Easy To Load On Your Vehicle

Author: Charles Manfredi

A tow is one the best ways to carry large or bulk material but most folks avoid opting for a tow under the assumption that it might be too much effort. In reality, the modern day towbar is super easy to mount and easy to load on your vehicle. Read on.

When I saw my neighbour Allan from across the street struggling to load a motor bike onto the bed of his truck, I went over to help him and it took our combined efforts to finally get the heavy BMW bike onto the truck. While we both sat on his porch with a can of beer in our hands, he wondered if there was a easier way of getting the bike onto the bed of his truck. I said "why not opt for a towbar instead" and he went "Naaah, that would be just as cumbersome".

My uncle has a towbar installed on this 4x4 and believes me; it takes him less than a minute to mount it. Once mounted, he just wheels in his bikes and almost throws in a couple of kayaks. Two minutes or thereabouts and he is all ready to push off.

Here's how you select the right Towbar for your vehicle and by the way, the recommended brand is Hayman Reese.

The first rule of thumb is that the selected towbar must have a higher capacity than the loaded weight of the trailer you are intending to tow. You find this out by checking the rating of the towbar against your vehicles rated towing capacity (see towing section of the handbook).

Hayman Reese essentially has two types of towbars – Standard or light duty towbars with a capacity of up to 1250 Kg, and the heavy duty towbar. In either case, hitching and unhitching the towbars is a real breeze which is why Hayman Reese towbars are so popular – they are easy to mount and easy to load on your vehicle. When you open your vehicle's handbook, also look at two other figures found in the towing section of the book - trailer weight capacity and a trailer ball weight capacity. You can compare these figures with the information on the compliance plate that you will find on all Hayman Reese towbars.

If you have a lot of load to move around, you may notice that the trailer's ball weight is causing the back end of the vehicle to sag. This is easily rectified by using a weight distributing hitch – it will return your vehicle to its normal height and also help with braking and steering control.

My uncle actually has two hitches. One for carrying a full load and another mini hitch for lighter loads – like carrying just the two mountain bikes. The mini hitch fits easily onto the towbar tongue and the spring bars can be adjusted quickly.

Some folks have the notion that fitting a 4X4 Tow Bars might void their new vehicle's warranty. Nothing could be further than the truth – provided of course, you do not exceed the vehicle's towing capacity.

The best place to buy your towbars is at Bars-n-racks, Sydney. Remember, Australian Standard AS4177-2 recommends that 50mm towballs. These can tow trailers up to 3.5 tonne. You can also visit http://www.barsnracks.com.au for 4WD Accessories Sydney and towing options.