Tow Bar

[L3nny]

Just got a quote of £345 to supply and fit a detachable tow bar to my BMW E90

Looking on Ebay you can buy them for £150 - £200

Does that price sound about right?

Also will I be licensed to tow a trailer with a bike on it or do I need to take another test?

[SvNewbie]

That is about the cost I'd expect. Though, if you're prepared to hunt around a bit I'm sure you could get it cheaper.

As for can you legally tow it, look carefully for the regulations, but in summary it depends. You can always tow a trailer of up to 750kg MAM with anything up to a 3500kg MAM vehicle (a van). You might just sneak under depending on the kind of trailer you get. I imagine the single bike ones don't weight much more than 200-300kg and your bike around the same, so if the MAM is 750kg you should be fine.

However, there is also another weirder rule which allows you to tow a combination up to 3500kg MAM, provided the MAM of the trailer is less than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle, which for your BMW is probably around 1700kg.

[punyXpress]

" Does that price sound about right? " depends how good you are with electrics although SVs are a good training ground! ;)

[Nick_69]

Im in the same boat as you and am looking for a tow bar, but i got a quote of around 240 but that was on a ford fiesta

[Specialone]

Your towing rights depends when you got your license, as far as I know, I can tow anything as long as its within the vehicles capabilities.


Btw, towsure were cheapest when I had one fitted years ago.

http://www.towsure.com/category/Towbars

[maviczap]

Ask Wideboy, he had some issues with getting one fitted to his Beemer

[Wideboy]

for my 3 series i managed to get a "removable" one from PF Jones for 90 quid, then all i needed was a relay box for 20 quid from tow sure (required to bypass the canbus system on bmw's). Its not fully removable like the lock-in ones but they're the best part of 400 quid the last time i looked. All that's visible is two little flanges to put bolts through to hold on the towbar but they're under the car so you can't really see them, bargain in my book.

requirement wise its all been said but if you have the same license categories as me (750kg limit) you're not allowed to tow braked trailers, strange i know.

also check with your insurance you're covered for towing as some companies do but will only cover your trailer and contents at third party... And tell them you have a tow bar as believe it or not they count it as a mod.

[Mark_h]

I've fitted my own towbar to my last 3 cars. Since about year 2000 ish cars have to have towbar fixings by law so no need to drill your bodywork. Bypass relays make the wiring fairly simple once you've traced your wiring. Unless you intend to tow a caravan regularly just go for single electrics. If you are happy with electrics and scotchlocks don't worry about the vehicle specific wiring kits as they are a lot of money for a bit of loom.

My last two have been detachable ones and if you mess about with the wiring mount plates you can have a totally invisible install.

I like the Bosal fixing system. It's not cheap but I just keep an eye on ebay and get them used.

These guys http://www.towequipe.co.uk have the fitting instructions. Trickiest bit is usually getting the rear bumper off without having six arms.

If the E90 is like most BMWs the battery will be in the boot which keeps the wiring simple. Put a switch on the live supply to the relay box though otherwise the ticking each time you touch the brakes when not towing will do your head in although it may be that I'm a bit too sensitive to these things.

[Ch00]

Do you have B + E on your licence?

[L3nny]

Not sure I fancy doing the wiring myself. The electronics on the car are so complicated I am bound to break something.

I'd rather have one which is completely hidden when not towing, bit of a tart like that.

I passed my car test in May 97 got categories Am, A, B1 and B

[Wideboy]

Ask Wideboy, he had some issues with getting one fitted to his Beemer
only just seen this, its been a busy evening... no problems really its just the towbar was sold to me as "everything you'll need" but it was only an additional 20 quid for the relay box with built in beeper. Dead easy to fit and wire in with scotch locks.

only hard bit really was chasing all the wires with a safety pin and meter to find what wire is what as i didn't have a wiring diagram. more fiddely and a pain in the ar5e than difficult

[Sid Squid]

Does you car have a canbus electrical system? If yes, and you're not confident about wiring stuff yourself, get someone who knows what they're doing to wire it as they can sometimes be a bit weird unless the correct interfaces are used. Some are quite straightforward - many aren't.
Since about year 2000 ish cars have to have towbar fixings by law so no need to drill your bodywork.
Not every car has fitting holes opened up out of the factory - plenty have markers on the frame where drilling needs to be done, some removable towbars require a cut to the rear valance too.

[Kenzie]

If I remember correctly the E90 BMW requires the bumper to be removed to fit the bar. There is a small cut involved in the undertray to allow the neck to come through. The detachable (last one we fitted at work was a PCT) is nearly invisible when removed with only the breakaway cable lug visible. The socket plate flips down when needed. A seven way bypass relay is needed because of the canbus system on the vehicle. With the right tester these are not hard to do and the 12v feed can be taken from the battery in the boot. Just make sure any bar you get covers the M-Sport if yours is one as the bumpers are different at the bottom and not all bars fit. I think you remove the impact beam from the back the fit the bar in it's place.

[Drew Carey]

Not sure if it helps, but when we got hold of our local Indespension depot, they quoted us 25% under the nearest asking price from so called "specialists".

Although not removable, fully fitted with electrics to our C4 was around 100 notes.

[otaylor38]

I may be wrong but dont you require b+e to tow a trailer with a car?

I think the rules changed about the time you got your licence.

I know for sure that i need to do a seperate test if i want to pull a trailer. I can also only drive vehicles up to 3500kg i think.

Good luck

[Drew Carey]

If passed test after 1st Jan 1997 - you can tow a trailer trailer up to 750kg laiden with a Maximum towing weight including the car of no more than 4,250kg.

Or, a trailer over 750kg as long as it is no more than the unladen weight of the vehicle and with a combined weight of less than 3,500kg.

Taken from gov.uk

[L3nny]

Thanks for the advice fellas, think I'm going to carry on riding the bike to the few track days I doe guy said the bumper had to come off and cuts had to be made so I suppose the price is pretty good considering the work involved.

Better see if I can afford a trailer first!

[Wideboy]

I was a bit meh about cutting my bumper but you can't see it unless you get under the car, I still did mine nice a tight with an air r/saw and it was neat. My dad has a 3 series but he bought the mega expensive removable one and his still needed to be cut. One advantage of it is with the bumper absorbers removed and replaced with a big **** off hefty steel 2 1/2 foot bracket that runs tight along the inside of the bumper, so if anyone goes up the back of you it will finish them off for sure.

I'm flogging my trailer soon as I'll getting a van in the next few weeks (hopefully)

[Icanopit]

Hi Lenny, most modern cars post 2005 will have an additional socket in the boot harness to attach towing electrics and buying a dedicated harness makes life easy (so they say) generally needed due to bulb failure and load, electronic warning systems.
There are several manufacturers of detachable tow hooks/bars and in general have different attachment positions and can vary as to whether the bumper needs cutting or not.
I have fitted a number over the years and have found a local firm to me that advertises on Fleabay and they carry all of the major makes and have been exclusively selling towing equipment for many years look out for Tow Equipe not the cheapest but knowledgable.

John

[Mark_h]

I've fitted to an E36, an E46 and an E61. E36 had to be drilled, 46 & 61 no need to drill anything. For wiring in all 3 cases everything apart from the left hand indicator can be tapped into as the loom goes past the battery. You'll have to run a lead across the back bulkhead to pick up the left indicator. Check the colour at the light fitting, unravel the black ribbon, find the wire, confirm it with a pin and test meter and off you go. Live feed straight off the battery clamp, earth is easy to pick up on a bunch of brown wires that bolt to the bodywork by the battery.

Get a bypass relay that can deal with modulated lighting usually £15-£20. That way it'll deal with it if you've got the fancy multi-brightness brake lights. If you've not got fancy brake lights it'll still work and not get fussy when your lights soft-dim. I've never bothered with the canbus interfaces as they are much more expensive and require a BMW recode to work.

In most cases you'll have to cut a slot in the underside of the bumper. This should only be visible if you are laying on the ground.

None of mine have been visible at all once fitted.

Don't forget to reconnect your reversing sensors when you put the bumper back on and ideally do it on a warm day then the twisty plastic things you have to twist to get the bumper off are much easier to move.

Oh and put out a blanket to lay the bumper on unless you have a handy lawn.