Weegie wrote:

@P38. How do you get on with different trailer heights?

 John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT
2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
MasseyFerguson 152 - No electronics!! - Sold

I have the Westfalia Flange Towbar which slots into the carrier and is secured by a large pin. I don't think it could detach provided the pin is secured correctly. There is however a tiny amount of play between the towbar and the carrier, which means that it cluncks rather alarmingly when towing on a bumpy road.
 2011 Vogue TDV8 4.4
1992 Mazda Mx5

kezbo1981 wrote:

TJH1985 wrote:

Farmers Hitch here it’s agricultural and can be noisy even with a perfect nose weight but it’s very secure, and when not fitted with the bung in the receiver the car looks great 👍

same here, I went for the farmers hitch because removed it looks less intrusive than the westfalia swan neck one. I got mine from pf jones also. my only concern is that some scroat could unpin the trailer very easily, so if I'm leaving the car and trailer I tend to padlock the two together.

I never considered that

Although I assume you can just as easily do the same with the swan neck receiver?

I tend to leave a hitch lock on when it’s unattended, so even if they did pull the pin they would still have the hassle of removing the hitch lock.. which would likely slow them down by 30 seconds if they were equipped. All these measures stop the opportunist at best in my mind.

44,497 miles towing over 2 ton, no problems with the detachable.

For those with a farmers hitch LR do a bolt which replaces the pin and when torqued up stops all the rattling and clonking.

Ian

Do you happen to know the part number?

It reduces the rattling - but it still moves

There have been 3 versions over the years - and I've had all 3 -
smooth hole with pin
smooth hole with bolt
half threaded with bolt

You need the half threaded hitch to stop the rattling all together, but then it's not easy to remove - so you need to decide the trade off - I preferred the pin as I didn't't usually leave it on the car when not in use.

However, if removing it, there's no easy storage location - which is the story behind one of my 3 variants - having arrived in Bordeaux, I went to collect my boat & remembered that I'd left the hitch in my garage in England Luckily the local dealer had one in stock.

I welded a bolt onto the end and use a thick plate under the nut to clamp the shaft forwards which stops all rattling and also stops the pin from being removed.

Now that's a good idea!👏 Previously a 2008MY Tonga Green Vogue SE 3.6 TDV8

I use the farmers hitch and to stop the rattling I bought this bracket off eBay for £8.99 Works a treat.

Click image to enlarge

How do these modifications sit with the towbar approvals in the event of something going wrong, would insurance still be valid?

I modified a towbar (welded an eye onto it for the break away cable) and it was commented on during a roadside inspection by VOSA. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

GraemeS wrote:

I welded a bolt onto the end and use a thick plate under the nut to clamp the shaft forwards which stops all rattling and also stops the pin from being removed.