towbar and mot

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

so sorry but can I pick ur brains please

am going to get a new stainless steel silencer fitted and the towbar at the same time

I've read that the towbar is covered by the mot

however if I got just the towbar fitted and not the towball or the square bit that holds the towball. or the electrics , is that ok to do

reason being that to save money if I just got the towbar fitted and can then easily fit the electrics and towball at a later stage,

just wasn't sure if they would fail it by not having the electrics or towball fitted

here is a picture , I was goi g to get it sandblasted but as I've got time on my hands , sat on the kitchen floor and rubbed it down

bought a tin of hammerite metal straight to rust black paint, also a spray tin to get inside where I can't get a brush

sorry once again for asking about this subject

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

towbar now cleaned

plus bolt sizes , I've got

2 x long bolts 80 x 12 mm

6 x short bolts 35 x 10 mm

4 x bolts to secure square section onto towbar which holds towball on 25 x 10 mm

going to get some new bolts , as there second hand , don't know how old they are and prefer to replace

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

sorry here's the towball

will remove the pin and keep it in the lock boot section to stop it disappearing

have tried to post multiple pics in one post but for some reason will only do one at a time , don't know if it's an iPad thing

timster66 · Feb 22, 2015

I don't believe that it would be a problem if you had a tow bar fitted as only the condition of the parts actually fitted are tested at an mot in relation to the tow bar.

I think the below link clarifies that

Towbars and the MOT Test - UK Camp Site Articles

britishwardog · Feb 22, 2015

Yep reading that you're good to go!

haigy · Feb 22, 2015

Or if your worried get it mot then fit the tow bar. You dont need to remove back box for fitting towbar but does help with bit more room.

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

cheers guys

the garage is fitting a new stainless steel silencer for me and the towbar at the same time

then the next day will be taking it for its mot

he will also fit my engine guard and always checks over the car before it goes into the mot station

thought that if I got him to fit the towbar bix section only i can then get my son at a later date to fit the towball and electrics

will eventually going to fit a split charge system so that I can then use the aux battery for camping, running lights etc etc

am reading up if I need the n or s sockets

all great fun

am looking for stainless steel bolts as well , daft question as I bought it second hand is there any nuts required or just the bolts please

most appreciated

tyrefitter · Feb 22, 2015

Hi there
as far as im aware (mot tester in family), as long as the tow bar is secure no rot around mounting area it shouldn:t be a problem, as far as electrics go for some reason they ownly have to check 13 pin sockets not the 7 pin twin sockets, so if you fitted a tow ball and no electrics i dont see how it could fail .will try and get hold of him and double check this .
Trev

tyrefitter · Feb 22, 2015

If you want to tow trailer or caravan you will need 12n socket for road lights easiest way is to buy the loom which plugs in direct then no fitting of buzzers as this works dash light and swop indicator relay for hella one .
12s socket does caravan reverse light and split charge i have 1 fused wire directfrom battery to split charge behind panel to charge caravan battery and run fridge.
Trev

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

tyrefitter said:
Hi there
as far as im aware (mot tester in family), as long as the tow bar is secure no rot around mounting area it shouldn:t be a problem, as far as electrics go for some reason they ownly have to check 13 pin sockets not the 7 pin twin sockets, so if you fitted a tow ball and no electrics i dont see how it could fail .will try and get hold of him and double check this .
Trev

hi mate

most appreciated

basically as im going to the lz event this year I have to budget myself

so thought if I got him to fit the bar only, with no ball and no electrics can then get it fitted a lot easier and get it through its mot

with regards to split charge i don't think I would ever tow a caravan

wish to set it up so that I can plug an extension into a trailer socket then into the tent to run lights, tv etc , not sure if I then have to install the caravan one so its got a permanent live and not having the car locked

been trying to read up about all the different things and bit mind boggling , lol

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

yes intend to buy the plug in one , for the 12 n

just trying to get my head round in how it's all set up and what I need to get

can u have just one, with a split charge and the car doesn't have to be unlocked please

is there such a thing as a combined 12 n and a 12 s

if that makes sense

dave21478 · Feb 22, 2015

Dont use stainless bolts - too brittle.

Important bolts are always non stainless steel for a good reason. Just make sure they are rated high enough. On the original bolts there will be a number stamped on the heads, probably 8.8 or 10.9. Replace with same, never lower.

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

dave21478 said:
Dont use stainless bolts - too brittle.

Important bolts are always non stainless steel for a good reason. Just make sure they are rated high enough. On the original bolts there will be a number stamped on the heads, probably 8.8 or 10.9. Replace with same, never lower.

saw that on the end of one of old bolts, 8.8

thks about the stainless steel bolts and not to buy them , will ensure there ht and have the marking on them

am very fussy and don't fancy a trailer coming undone , would also get a breakaway chain

dave21478 · Feb 22, 2015

I dont really get what you want with the sockets. As mentioned above, 12n is the standard 7 pin one for trailer lights. The 12s is for accessories on a caravan. If you never plan on towing a caravan, no point in fitting a 12s.
You say you want a lead to run lights inside the tent - you will then need a second battery fitted in the car somewhere wired to the main engine battery via a split charge relay else you will flatten the main battery with the lamps.

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

plus a daft question ,on the installation instructions it shows some nuts , thought the chassis etc had the threads built in so were required for the two long centre ones and the other ones that go in each end and torque accordingly

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

dave21478 said:
I dont really get what you want with the sockets. As mentioned above, 12n is the standard 7 pin one for trailer lights. The 12s is for accessories on a caravan. If you never plan on towing a caravan, no point in fitting a 12s.
You say you want a lead to run lights inside the tent - you will then need a second battery fitted in the car somewhere wired to the main engine battery via a split charge relay else you will flatten the main battery with the lamps.

I confuse myself , lol

here goes

have got a brand new varta 110 battery fitted as the engine one

the one that came out will be my secondary one , installed via a split charge system in the boot and inside a battery box, it reqs a vent so will put one on and run it through the floor to outside atmosphere

want to be able to lock the car up and alarmed and not have to leave the keys in the ignition to power the socket

so if I fit a trailer socket the 12 n , has it got a permanent feed from that socket so I can put an extension lead from the car to the tent to run auxiliaries ,

or do I run a power supply off the aux battery and not the socket , but then it's how to get a lead to outside the car and not leaving it unlocked , u less something is rigged up and run through the floor as there's plenty of grommets etc

hope that makes more sense ,

i know ur all banging ur head against the wall and screaming at me , sorry about that

dave21478 · Feb 22, 2015

There is no permanent supply on the 12n socket.
Basically, you just need any suitable plug and socket - run the wires from your second battery through the floor and secure the socket wherever you fancy under the car, and plug your power lead to the tent /lamp etc in when you need it.

You could do that with a 12s socket if you wanted. Alternatively, look up Anderson connectors.

I would strongly recommend an in-line fuse near the engine battery in the wire to the split charge relay, and another fuse between the second battery and your socket.
You could also fit an isolator switch in the line to the socket so it is not live all the time. This sort of thing is cheap and decent enough....

dave21478 · Feb 22, 2015

Also, your old engine battery isnt ideal as a second battery- standard car batteries dont like being run down too far. Ideally you want a leisure battery as fitted to caravans, which cope fine with being run down flat.
It will do the job, but it might not last too long.

dave21478 · Feb 22, 2015

I am in the process of fitting a 2nd battery myself - Granted, I am using an old engine battery too, but its what I have got sitting here going spare and will do until it dies, and I will then replace with a leisure one.

I have ordered this split charge relay off ebay....

CAMPER VAN SELF SWITCHING, SMARTCOM VOLTAGE SENSING SPLIT CHARGE RELAY-12V / 30A | eBay

I am using it to power a large power inverter which I will be mounting in the car to give me mains power for tools when in the field.

gstuart · Feb 22, 2015

dave21478 said:
Also, your old engine battery isnt ideal as a second battery- standard car batteries dont like being run down too far. Ideally you want a leisure battery as fitted to caravans, which cope fine with being run down flat.
It will do the job, but it might not last too long.

can't thk u enough,really appreciate u taking the time to explain this to someone as dense as me ,

thks as the penny is slowly dropping and now understand I can leave the 12 n alone as it won't help with regards to running power into the tent

ref the battery I intend to get a leisure battery but will just use this one for now until I get another one

was going to buy a complete split charge system with everything as part of a kit , so I know it's all fused correctly and will check out the Anderson

funny enough I thought if im unabke to get all the works completed by May, have got a starter unit that has cig lighter plugs built in and a 240 in ertor and could use that.

also thought about the position of the second battery and will be in the boot, got an old side panel and could cut a section out and use some fibreglass to build the battery box further into the side panel

a good little project for me to do

thks so much and am writing down all the advice

towbar and mot

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