20 replies to this topic

[ned320]

hi there can anyone help?????
im wanting to manufacture a towbar for my mini but i dont know where to get the diamentions,
ive seen a set of plans somewhere before but cant remember where.
anyone got any ideas?????
thanks

[kez_19]

i have my rear subframe removed from my car and will be taking measurements from it later as i will be doing the same thing so i can post them up when i have them

michael

[jayare]

One of the Mini mags had a guide on how to build a tow bar recently - not sure which one though - maybe someone else can remember,

JR

[Jordie]

Ned you tart

Mini parts centre in sunderland as a couple but at rip off prices, hes got one on ebay actually!

[lrostoke]

Just made one from scratch, used some really thick box section, actually it started life as a security fence

Basically just measure were we wanted it and went from there. bolts via cross bracket to boot floor with 4 bolts. And to rear of subframe with another corss bracket and 4 bolts.
Using big penny washers to spread the load.

This is similar to how we made ours, except we have two long crossbars, were as this one just as the single bolt fixing.
Also the rear crossbar on this one the bolts seem to go through the side, were ours bolt upwards into the subframe ..

Edited by lrostoke, 20 June 2009 - 07:51 PM.

[dklawson]

You know... I read this thread out of curiosity. I thought (correctly) that this was another area where British and American English take different routes.

On U.S. message boards, when someone asks about a tow-bar for a Mini, they are looking for the frame and tongue to bolt to the front subframe... so a Mini can be towed. The part you discussed and show in pictures is what we could call "a hitch" or trailer hitch.

Regardless, it sounds like you have several options. Out of more curiosity, what will you be towing? The Mini hasn't got a lot of excess torque to pull heavy loads.

[lrostoke]

We'll be pulling a real small trailer with ours, just a bit of camping gear in it. Had a few trial runs and its fine.

[MRA]

I used one very similar to your photo on my 1380 Turbo for some years.... plenty of torque but more importantly for you or anyone contemplating this task, is safety and reliability...... and I can say that both where good, making sure that you get the correct size and type of bolt with the correct size and type of washer. Penny or repair washers are very large and spread the load effectiviely.

Go for bigger bolts rather than higher tensile load capacity, as the former can be zinc plated to help to stop corrosion and due to the nature of the material will offer a lower risk of being brittle.

Regards Martin

[dave21478]

Bear in mind that its illegal to fit a home made bar to a post 1998 car, and minis are not approved to tow anything at all after this date either. Pre 1998 minis have a legal tow capacity of around 400kgs.

[ned320]

Bear in mind that its illegal to fit a home made bar to a post 1998 car, and minis are not approved to tow anything at all after this date either. Pre 1998 minis have a legal tow capacity of around 400kgs.

i have a 1999 sports pack does this mean i cant put a tow bar on mine at all?

[Jordie]

It would seem so.

And dont forget, MOT's have changed this year and the tow bar is part of the test. I dont think the legal side of it comes into the MOT, but certainly security/condition etc do.

[dave21478]

no, a 1999 car will not be homologated for towing. Approved towbars are not available and fitting a non-approved one would be a breach of Constrution and Use regulations. An mot test is unlikely to spot or say anything about this, but a VOSA inspection, or the investigations after an accident will show this up and land you in the brown stuff.

[MRA]

Bear in mind that its illegal to fit a home made bar to a post 1998 car,

Hi Dave,

Did you mean post 1998 ? or pre 1998 ??

How are they (VOSA) going to tell if it is homemade ? I have seen some very good quality items from the "homemade" market and some absolute rubbish from so called professional manufacturers.

Could the homologation rules be overturned or "got around" in any legal way of course ?

Say for instance we got 500 1998 onwards Minis with tow bars and took them to Vosa for testing or evaluation, I understand this may sound "fanciful" but surely there is a way, especially in light of the fact that for the previous 40 years people had been fitting towbars to Minis.

Just been speaking to a VOSA representative, and they have no database of which vehicles can or cannot tow a trailer.... however apparently the info is on the VIN plate look for 4 boxes....

They are
1st Gross Vehicle weight
2nd Train weight (this is the one that tells you if you can tow a trailer)
3rd Axle 1 max weight
4th Axle 2 max weight

Regards Martin

Edited by mra-minis.co.uk, 02 July 2009 - 04:37 PM.

[dave21478]

Approved towbars have a plate carrying the CE approval number for the towbar. Obviously, nothing home made will have this.

There is no reasonable way round this. Not being abe to tow with a later mini is because the car manufacturer have never specified the max weights the car can tow (gross train weight). Seeing as there is no legal way to tow with one of these cars, no towbar manufacturer bothers to make CE approved towbars for them, as it would be pointless.
I doubt there is any way round this - its up to the manufacturer to do homologation, and nobody and rover/bmw will be interested. I believe they dropped homologation for the later cars as a cost-saving measure as the minis time was limited anyway, so they didnt see the point in investing in approval.

The only way round this that I can come up with (and its a very long shot at best) would be to bin your cars reg and identity and come up with your own gross train weight - using the old values would make sense - and put the mini through SVA (now called BIVA) as you have to state weights and capacities for the test. Once passed, the stated weights would be on the new V5. Then you would have to convince an approved manufacturer like Witter or TowTrust to make up CE approved towbars. The investment in getting them built and tested would be very high though so you unless you have a guaranteed minimum quantity of sales that would make it worth their while, they wouldnt consider it.
Not to mention the hassles of getting a mini through th BIVA test, which it probably wouldnt pass witout a fair bit of remedial work to get it up to scratch regarding edge radius and projection issues externally.


In short, if you want to tow with a mini, buy an older one that doesnt need to conform.

[Dan]

The problem with the Mini is that it was never homologated for towing by Rover (BMW). So there is no legal pattern to follow and no legal, manufacturer produced, CE stamped tow brackets exist. As such any tow bar fitted to a Mini made after 1st August 1998 (I think that's the date) is illegal because no approved bars exist. CE approval for a tow bar essentially means that it fixes to points on the car body that the manufacturer designed for that purpose and that it follows the original manufacturer's design. This cannot be changed as it is part of the type approval of the vehicle. Getting your vehicle individually approved might be possible, but it's a long shot as said above.

Edited by Dan, 02 July 2009 - 07:54 PM.