For the best tow bar fitting services, get in contact with Car Trailers today.
At cartrailers.ie we offer towbar fitting service including towbar electrics. Completely mobile towbar fitting service covering Wexford Waterford Kilkenny Carlow and Wicklow.
We offer a wide range of towbars and car hitches. Below you will find a guide to choosing a towbar any queries simply email us or call and we would be happy to discuss all options for all makes and models of cars.
We also offer a towbar electrical troubleshooting service should you have problems with your current towbar electrics we can fix them or simply replace them sometimes this is the most cost effective way.
What type towbar do I need?
The main two different styles of towbars are fixed and detachable, they can both be specified with a swan neck or flange style. While most makes and models can have both types some are limited to just one style.
To help you choose your towbar below is an explanation of both of them.
The most common type of towbar in Ireland is the flange towbar; frequently seen on commercial vehicles and 4x4's where the tow ball is bolted to the towbar with two bolts. This is the most versatile design of towbar because it can be used with tow ball mounted accessories i.e. cycle carriers and towbar mounted dog boxes. The flange towbar is available in both fixed and detachable.
Fixed flange towbar
Benefits of the fixed flange towbar are:
Benefits of the detachable flange towbar are:
Disadvantages of purchasing a detachable flange towbar:
By far most the common towbar fitted to vehicles in Ireland, however it has a few disadvantages over the flange type you can tow and when attaching a bike carrier.
With swan neck towbars you have the option of a detachable or fixed type.
Advantages of a fixed swan neck towbar:
Things to think about before purchasing a fixed swan neck towbar:
A detachable swan neck towbar has all the benefits of a swan neck towbar with the advantage of being removable when not in use. Allowing for a cleaner look on the rear of a vehicle.
Advantages of a detachable swan neck towbar:
Things to think about before purchasing a detachable swan neck towbar:
This is the continental style electrical connection used throughout The UK and Europe.
The 13 pin socket has been used mainland Europe since 2008 for all caravans manufactured in Europe.
UK and Ireland use a 7 pin plug which is on all trailers and caravans and you need to use a adapter which will split the 13 pin electrics down to two 7 pin sockets or one 7 pin socket depending on what you are towing.
If you are planning to operate internal appliances within a touring caravan, i.e. running of caravan 12 volt fridge or charging leisure battery then a split charge relay should also be installed into the towing vehicle to protect the vehicle battery from running down while using 12v appliances.
13pin sockets are usually fitted with a manufacturer ISO wiring kit and module dedicated to the specific make and model of the vehicle in some instances programming of this module is required. At cartrailers.ie we can programme most with our state of the art diagnostic system.
A 7 pin socket is available also this the standard socket found on most trailers including ifor William's and car trailers.
It can be fitted using a 12v bypass relay connecting into the existing wiring on a vehicle this then does not need programming in turn.
This is usually the cheapest option for towbar electrics.