A/Sleeper Nuevo Towbar Problems

[Guest petej]

Hi, I would like to fit a towbar to my Nuevo to pull a small boat/trailer combination, no more than 750kg all up weight. Contacted A/Sleepers and they are not keen on the idea mainly because there are no rear outriggers fitted and the chassis effectively 'ends' at the rear springhangers. In addition, the combination of SWB and large rear overhang is probably another contributary factor to my problem but the noseweight shouldn't be more than 50kg. I've contacted several 'specialist' motorhome towbar fitters who dismiss the possible problems saying they've fitted loads of them to Nuevos with no problems, with prices ranging from £350 to £700(!) fitted. I'm not convinced, the only good explanation to the problem was by watling towbars of St Albans and they fully explained what i feared and suggested it would be ok with a noseweight max limit of 75kg. This would probably be ok for my requirements but what would happen if I sold the van on and someone tried to tow something heavier or with a big noseweight and it failed, surely there is a standard that all towbars must be capable of carrying when fitted to a motorhome? All I am asking is for a safely and legally fitted towbar to my M/Home, am I asking the impossible? pete.

[Guest Rowan Lee]

We recently had a towbar fitted after being told by two companies that it couldn't be done for similar reasons I think (although not on a Nuevo, can't comment specifically). However, we went to Armitage Trailers at Ferrybridge near Leeds. If this is handy for you, or even if its not, it's worth a trip over to get their advice. Regardless of what you want to tow, as I understand it the towbar has to be engineered to cope with your Maximum Train Weight so that covers you when you sell the van on. We got a certificate to that effect. Eric Armitage is the boss there, also a motorhomer. He had to put a bracing plate and bolts through the floor of our rear storage area, but a bit of carpet over the top inside and you wouldn't know it was there. As he told us when we went for our initial consultation, "any fool can put a towbar on, it's getting it to stop on that's the tricky bit". Cost for ours due to the degree of difficulty was £400 including single electrics and he was very apologetic about that! Good luck

[Guest Clive]

I am sure that others will give you a legal answer (Derek?) but I will give you my understanding as an engineer. As I understand it the type aproval requirements for towbars do NOT apply to motorcaravans. So providing what is made and fitted and coupled behind complies with the construction and use regulations, does not cause the maximum vehicle weight (mass) , the individual axle weights and maximum train weight to be exceeded you do not have a problem. All these figures will be on the rating plate of the vehicle. Most vehicles have different maximum down force figures for the towbar so you should be OK in this as I believe there is no logal figure quoted across the board. If you are having a light weight boat trailer made you don,t need anything like 50 KG nose weight anyway. Just position the axle in the correct place so that the nose weight is easy to hold in one hand for manouvering the loaded trailer about. There are quite a few companies who will make a chassis extender for you. I would look at recomendations from others who have had similar fitted and also look at what they actually ended up with. I have seen some very strong but hideously looking chassis extenders fitted which drasticly reduce the rear end ground clearance. On the other hand I have seen some well engineered extenders that do not hang any lower than the existing vehicle and provide an elegant out of sight solution. If a company already have an existing towbar design tailored for your camper them give it a good look. "Off the peg" should be cheaper than bespoke. I used Newark Vehicle Bodies to make and fit the chassis extenders and towbar mount for our motorhome and would recommend them. The man there is Brian Wilmer. Good luck C.

[Guest Pete]

We have a towbar fitted to our Auto-Sleepers Nuevo ES and tow a dinghy up and down the country. The fitting was arranged by Marquis and done by a company in Poole. I can't remember the name, but I am sure they advertise in MMM.