Detachable Towbar

PaulJL

PaulJL

0
The van needed a towbar. It didn`t have to be anything fancy. I tried taking one off a van in Martin`s yard but it wasn`t gonna budge. A friend of mine told me he had a detachable bar that was nearly new and I could have it...... I used it because it was given to me to use, Being a Yorkshireman means I had to use it. lol.:D

It`s a westfalia detachable neck bar from a BMW 3 series saloon E36 shape.




2 plates were cut from 6mm thick steel and bolted to the chassis. The distance between was the bar length. The bar has curves in both directions so a cunning plan was concieved. Using a spirit level and set square the ends were marked and cut off.





the remaining webs were cut off and cleaned up.
The whole lot was mocked up under the van and after draining the fuel tank the bar was tacked to the plates and removed..



This was all then seam welded using an industrial MiG, rubbed down and painted.



When the paint dried it was just a case of bolting to the chassis with 12mm bolts and sleeves to stop chassis being crushed.

This has gotta be a first? Detachable tow bar on a Commer/Dodge???





I sorted my garage into 4 piles of stuff.
1. Stuff I`m keeping
2. Stuff I`m not getting rid of.
3. Stuff I might use..one day.
4. Stuff that might come in handy.
 
Nice job, very neat[8D]

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Summer's Coming
 
Thanks:D

I sorted my garage into 4 piles of stuff.
1. Stuff I`m keeping
2. Stuff I`m not getting rid of.
3. Stuff I might use..one day.
4. Stuff that might come in handy.
 
Although I did have help from a good mate

I sorted my garage into 4 piles of stuff.
1. Stuff I`m keeping
2. Stuff I`m not getting rid of.
3. Stuff I might use..one day.
4. Stuff that might come in handy.
 
Great job,:DMine is similar and cost a small fortune to have made[B)].
One bit of advice though, i found the 3/8 lower bolts not to be strong enough.
The weight of my trailer pushing down at an angle on them with time kept on snapping them off. then the bar drops and pushes against the fuel tank and filler pipe. For some reason the upper bolts still hold but the lower ones really take the weight, i even tried class 8.8 high tensile. I have been carrying spares and changing them regularly but last week i backed the trailer into a tree :Iand opened the holes in the chasis[:(!]. So now i am going to take out the tank and drill
the chassis out to take 1/2inch high tensile bolts and hopefully it will be a lot stronger.



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Wherever we roam,
we still call our Commer home!
www.commervanoztour.blogspot.com
 
Nice idea paul looks great but you could do with mor fixings than the four bolts for the pushing action as said above. This is what an original one looks like to stop the stress on the bolts with a large box section that bolts to the chaisse back of the tank



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JON'S AUTOS the garage that comes to you...
[email protected]
www.jonsautos.co.uk
 
Will have to see how it goes.... My ally tank has its outlet in the way for standard design. Bang in the way.

I sorted my garage into 4 piles of stuff.
1. Stuff I`m keeping
2. Stuff I`m not getting rid of.
3. Stuff I might use..one day.
4. Stuff that might come in handy.
 
Apparently not!
The trailer is a lightweight Teardrop Trailer. If I need to mod the bar I will just bolt a length of angle at each side n put a drop plate from chassis rails in front of the tank.

I sorted my garage into 4 piles of stuff.
1. Stuff I`m keeping
2. Stuff I`m not getting rid of.
3. Stuff I might use..one day.
4. Stuff that might come in handy.
 
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