mikejd
Member Since: 22 Mar 2011
Location: Essex
Posts: 3
  
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| Fitting a Multi-Height Tow Bar |
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Hi all,
I’ve just bought a D4 to replace my 2008 D3. (Hooray!).
The D3 was fitted with a multi-height tow bar, which I have transferred to the D4. The dealer that supplied the D4 fitted new towing electrics for me, and supplied a kit of new bolts to enable me to fit my old tow bar.
I thought that the transfer would be straightforward, and it was, up to a point. The only difficulty that I encountered was in trying to get the main part of the tow bar to engage with the receiver mounted to the car.
Initially, the tow bar would only go in up to the point where the small vertical pin on the front met some resistance. Maybe I should have hit the pin with a hammer but I wasn’t certain that it was supposed to move.
Anyway, after about half an hour of manoeuvring, pushing harder, a small amount of swearing and a few taps with a rubber mallet, the large pin at the back of the tow bar engaged with the rectangular slot in the receiver and I managed to lock the green lever and remove the key. I couldn’t move the tow bar at that stage, and it felt even more solid once I had bolted up the angle sections that connect it to the chassis.
The only small doubt remaining in my mind is, bearing in mind the difficulty I had to fit it, whether the tow bar has properly engaged with the receiver. Apologies if this sounds a ridiculous question, but how do I tell? Am I correct in assuming that I couldn’t have locked it and removed the key if it hasn’t?
Looking from underneath the car, I can see the end of the locking pin through the rectangular hole in the receiver but I’m not sure how far in it should go, and I haven’t got anything to compare it with to confirm that it is ok. I should have checked it in the D3 before I took it off!
Any advice, before I tow my caravan, would be welcomed.
PS: I've put a couple of pictures of the installation in my gallery - Unfortunately, I couldn't work out how to add them to this thread.
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 1st May 2013 2:06 pm |
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DiscoDunc
Member Since: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 16390
 
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it looks OK from the photos. if the side bars connect up OK then it should all be seated properly  Duncan
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| 1st May 2013 2:40 pm |
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mikejd
Member Since: 22 Mar 2011
Location: Essex
Posts: 3
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Thanks for posting the pictures for me Ian.
Yes Duncan, no problem with fixing the side bars (or the metal cylinders that fit inside the chassis rails).
I just didn't want to find out I'd done something wrong by looking in the rear view mirror and seeing my caravan disappearing behind me!
Regards
Mike
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| 1st May 2013 2:53 pm |
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jack2006
Member Since: 12 Feb 2009
Location: Matlock, Derbyshire
Posts: 106
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MikeJD did you have the 2 bolts/spacers already present in the chassis rail on your D4?
I have just fitted my old multi-height taken off my D3 onto my D4 and the bolts/spacers were not present. Looking at the L/R install manual for the D4 it appears that these bolts are supplied as a separate item in the D4 multi-height kit. Are these the parts your L/R dealer supplied?
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| 22nd May 2013 8:48 pm |
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mikejd
Member Since: 22 Mar 2011
Location: Essex
Posts: 3
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No Jack, there were just holes drilled in the chassis.
The dealer supplied the Multi-Height Towbar Fitting Kit LR007485, which includes the chassis rail spacers and all the bolts and nuts needed to fix the side bars, drop plate and tow ball. I discarded all my old bolts and used the new ones but the height that I needed to fit the towball meant that I didn't have to fit the drop plate.
The chassis rail spacers are inserted through a keyhole shaped hole on the outside of the chassis and secured with a nut. The other end lines up with the hole on the inside of the chassis and is threaded to take the side bar mounting bolt.
I think that the fixing kit costs around £40 but I wasn't charged separately for it, so I'm not sure of the exact price.
Mike
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| 22nd May 2013 10:37 pm |
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jack2006
Member Since: 12 Feb 2009
Location: Matlock, Derbyshire
Posts: 106
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mikejd wrote:No Jack, there were just holes drilled in the chassis.
The dealer supplied the Multi-Height Towbar Fitting Kit LR007485, which includes the chassis rail spacers and all the bolts and nuts needed to fix the side bars, drop plate and tow ball. I discarded all my old bolts and used the new ones but the height that I needed to fit the towball meant that I didn't have to fit the drop plate.
The chassis rail spacers are inserted through a keyhole shaped hole on the outside of the chassis and secured with a nut. The other end lines up with the hole on the inside of the chassis and is threaded to take the side bar mounting bolt.
I think that the fixing kit costs around £40 but I wasn't charged separately for it, so I'm not sure of the exact price.
Mike
Thanks Mike, thought that my D4 had bits missing....
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| 23rd May 2013 11:23 am |
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cherokee
Member Since: 03 Jul 2007
Location: preston
Posts: 562
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I paid £29 for the spacer bolts alone, from main
dealer I had the rest of the fitting kit from D3.
I fitted the drop plate because it acts as a guard
when hitching up, saves the bumper getting a rash!! Always walk behind a Shooter and
In front of a Sh*ter
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| 23rd May 2013 11:52 am |
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