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Towbar advice (be gentle!)

2

Comments

  • londonTiger
    londonTiger Posts: 4,903 Forumite
    edited 12 March 2014 at 1:44AM
    lets not forget the insurance disclosure if youre towing a trailer which will increase your premiums.

    for a bike - just get roof rack. roof racks are usually covered in a basic policy. will also reduce the aerodynamic drag compared to the trailer box. unless you want to buy a trailer to carry other stuff too.
  • Richard53
    Richard53 Posts: 3,173 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    OP was asking about a towbar for attaching a bike carrier, not a trailer. Although once you have a towbar, you're going to be hankering after a trailer, as they are so bloody useful.

    To add to what was said earlier: you can get bike carriers that bolt on permanently between the towball and the bracket - usually there are two tubes that the carrier fits into so it is detachable - and some that have a scissor action that clamp on the towball. For the first type, you would definitely need a simple bolt-on towball. If you had the scissor type, you could have a swan-neck towball or a detachable towball. The bolt-on type doesn't work with these.

    I have the cheap scissor type, and it has been perfectly fine over many miles with two adult bikes on (we've even managed a few local trips with a child's bike as well).
    If someone is nice to you but rude to the waiter, they are not a nice person.
  • redux
    redux Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    lets not forget the insurance disclosure if youre towing a trailer which will increase your premiums.

    It's never made even a pound's worth of difference to my car premiums in over 30 years.

    The current insurer specifies a towbar on the list of the modifications they do not need to be informed about.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    lets not forget the insurance disclosure if youre towing a trailer which will increase your premiums.

    A friend of mine has recently had a trailer-related claim. His insurer didn't even know the car had a towbar, and he was towing at the very limit of permissible weight on his post-97 licence. No problem whatsoever with the claim.
  • londonTiger
    londonTiger Posts: 4,903 Forumite
    I guess it differs from policy to policy, a trailer is not included in mine and needs an upgrade.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I guess it differs from policy to policy, a trailer is not included in mine and needs an upgrade.

    They wouldn't pay for the damage to the trailer or the car on it, but they did pay for the third-party damage caused by the trailer letting go of the tow car, having a wander off on it's own, and biting an oncoming car.
  • redux
    redux Posts: 22,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I guess it differs from policy to policy, a trailer is not included in mine and needs an upgrade.

    The trailer is separately insured.

    That isn't the same thing as having extra loading on the car policy.
  • londonTiger
    londonTiger Posts: 4,903 Forumite
    edited 12 March 2014 at 12:06PM
    Ok just read around it. My policy document does not mention anything about towing - having said that it does not say anything about roof racks either. I think the insurance rep got things a little confused and tried to sell me trailer insurance.
  • lets not forget the insurance disclosure if you're towing a trailer which will increase your premiums.

    Unless the Insurance Certificate states "Excluding use whilst towing a trailer", then you are covered.

    Of course, should the trailer be very valuable, such as an expensive caravan, then it'd be advisable to have extra cover (or an extra policy) to cover the trailer and contents.

    Mind you (although not applicable in the case of the OP), there may be Driving Licence limitations, in the case of a large vehicle and trailer.
  • londonTiger
    londonTiger Posts: 4,903 Forumite
    Bedsit_Bob wrote: »
    Unless the Insurance Certificate states "Excluding use whilst towing a trailer", then you are covered.

    Of course, should the trailer be very valuable, such as an expensive caravan, then it'd be advisable to have extra cover (or an extra policy) to cover the trailer and contents.

    Mind you (although not applicable in the case of the OP), there may be Driving Licence limitations, in the case of a large vehicle and trailer.

    I'll give a call to the insurer just to clarify because I think they've misled me. Or just misunderstood what I was asking.
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