Tow bar

[xcyber]

Guess we can hook up a combicamp on the tow bar..

CombiCamp trailer tent

 

[PeteC]

Guess we can hook up a combicamp on the tow bar..

CombiCamp trailer tent

We had a (very) second hand combi camp trailer tent in the 90's that we towed behind a kit car. It was a brilliant thing and so quick to set up. Looked like this one.

 

[eoghan]

If it’s just the one bike, I reckon you’ll easily get it in with the back seats down and passenger seat forward. Of course, if it’s two or three you’ve got then you’ll be needing the tow bar.

I bike every weekend and there's no way the MTB is going into the boot of my brand new car. It's a wet muddy country here. If it comes to that I'll hold on to my old Citroen for another year or two

 

[FiferMG4]

I bike every weekend and there's no way the MTB is going into the boot of my brand new car. It's a wet muddy country here. If it comes to that I'll hold on to my old Citroen for another year or two

I just throw a couple of old sheets/blankets over the back of the car, though if you wanted added protection you could get a rubber boot liner. Getting a brand new car never stops me from putting my mountain bike in the back and it’s been known to rain a bit in Scotland too.

 

[Ian Key]

You can buy a nose weight scales about £10.
Then load the rear of the caravan / trailer so that you only have a hook weight of 75 kg which is the ideal nose weight so that you don’t get snaking
Use mine every time I used my caravan

The MG4 is limited to a nose weight of 50kg and a towing weight of 500kg

 

[stevegus]

Has anyone heard an update on this. I've ordered my car and it should be here next month but I won't be going ahead if there's no towbar available. Need it for mountain bike

If you have just one bike then why not use a strap on bike carrier? They are crap for several heavy bikes but one bike wont be an issue

 

[Les burrows]

With regard to towing / bike carrying equipment for the MG4 I do not know if it will be fine or not, but just be aware a chap I know a little while back had his car fail an MOT test has he had a rear fog light obscured with his bracket for his bike carrying equipment, that was mounted on a tow bar, now the rear fog light on the MG4, is right in the middle of the rear bumper and looking at it just where a tow hitch would come from under the car so something to watch out for maybe.
Les

 

[tsedge]

With regard to towing / bike carrying equipment for the MG4 I do not know if it will be fine or not, but just be aware a chap I know a little while back had his car fail an MOT test has he had a rear fog light obscured with his bracket for his bike carrying equipment, that was mounted on a tow bar, now the rear fog light on the MG4, is right in the middle of the rear bumper and looking at it just where a tow hitch would come from under the car so something to watch out for maybe.
Les

Memo to remove bike carrier bracket before MOT.

 

[EVNewbie]

I phoned Westfalia who advised the towbar for MG4 expected to be on sale from end of Febuary.

I have a horsebox to transport my motorbike, now it seems like I can only use some very light trailer and even then not sure if 50kg of nose weight is sufficient.

 

[tsedge]

I phoned Westfalia who advised the towbar for MG4 expected to be on sale from end of Febuary.

I have a horsebox to transport my motorbike, now it seems like I can only use some very light trailer and even then not sure if 50kg of nose weight is sufficient.

You can measure the noseweight with nothing more complicated than bathroom scales, here's a link for caravans providing some methods:

How to measure and adjust your caravan's noseweight

Having the correct noseweight is vital to towing stability. Here's a video guide on how to measure and adjust your caravan's noseweight.

www.caravanguard.co.uk

 

[Tight Git]

With regard to towing / bike carrying equipment for the MG4 I do not know if it will be fine or not, but just be aware a chap I know a little while back had his car fail an MOT test has he had a rear fog light obscured with his bracket for his bike carrying equipment, that was mounted on a tow bar, now the rear fog light on the MG4, is right in the middle of the rear bumper and looking at it just where a tow hitch would come from under the car so something to watch out for maybe.
Les

Good point Les - a detachable one would be fine but a fixed one would definitely obscure the fog light. Be interesting to see how the manufacturer's deal with that.

 

[siteguru]

Is there not a magnetic type, which folds under and holds when not needed but folds out and locks when needed?

 

[Greenie]

With regard to towing / bike carrying equipment for the MG4 I do not know if it will be fine or not, but just be aware a chap I know a little while back had his car fail an MOT test has he had a rear fog light obscured with his bracket for his bike carrying equipment, that was mounted on a tow bar, now the rear fog light on the MG4, is right in the middle of the rear bumper and looking at it just where a tow hitch would come from under the car so something to watch out for maybe.
Les

Hi Les,
Any chance you can measure the centre to floor height of your fog light, please? I've just looked at the 'standard' which is that a tow hitch should be between 350 and 420mm. Not got my grey self, yet. This may be a deal-breaker.
Cheers

 

[Les burrows]

Hi Greenie, check requested done centre of light in the middle of the bumper is 340-350mm with the car unladen could be a bit lower with 4 people and some luggage but I have not done that measurement. I don’t think it’s the height that might give a problem but the position of the light I think that single high Intensity fog lights where suppose to be fitted the offside of a vehicle but I could been wrong on that I don’t know.

Edit just done a quick goggle and found you can fitted a single rear fog to the centre or the off side of a vehicle so that’s fine but if fitting a towbar I found this below also on goggle.
Les

My vehicle's rear number plate is very low, can I have a towbar fitted?​

You can have a towbar fitted to your vehicle provided there is no chance an item such as a number plate, fog light or reflector will be obscured. If there is a chance a fixed flange towbar will cover any of these you will need to have a detachable towbar fitted as it is illegal to cover these areas of the vehicle.

So now that makes a bit of sense of it all and I think the MG4 would need to be fitted with a detachable one as a standard tow hitch will probably be in the middle of that fog light and when you are not towing might obscure that light.
So when not in use remove it is what you would need to do I think.
Les

 

[Greenie]

Hi Greenie, check requested done centre of light in the middle of the bumper is 340-350mm with the car unladen could be a bit lower with 4 people and some luggage but I have not done that measurement. I don’t think it’s the height that might give a problem but the position of the light I think that single high Intensity fog lights where suppose to be fitted the offside of a vehicle but I could been wrong on that I don’t know.

Edit just done a quick goggle and found you can fitted a single rear fog to the centre or the off side of a vehicle so that’s fine but if fitting a towbar I found this below also on goggle.
Les

My vehicle's rear number plate is very low, can I have a towbar fitted?​

You can have a towbar fitted to your vehicle provided there is no chance an item such as a number plate, fog light or reflector will be obscured. If there is a chance a fixed flange towbar will cover any of these you will need to have a detachable towbar fitted as it is illegal to cover these areas of the vehicle.

So now that makes a bit of sense of it all and I think the MG4 would need to be fitted with a detachable one as a standard tow hitch will probably be in the middle of that fog light and when you are not towing might obscure that light.
So when not in use remove it is what you would need to do I think.
Les

Thanks for that, Les. Looks like I'll be cancelling my car.?
I need a rigid tow ball as I use a clamp-on bike rack which would swing about on one of those removable pins. I wonder if anyone needs a grey SE LR due for delivery 16 to 18 weeks after the end of October 22? At October 22 price.
Thanks again for your help

 

[Les burrows]

Well sorry to hear that Greenie but I do understand it, just as well I posted what had been said to me I can’t be sure but I think the chap who said it to me had a mini at the time be not sure only see him once in a while.it kind of like the light you see on F1 cars but it’s a family hatchback but then I suppose it’s cheaper that a new redesign rear light Custer.
Les

 

[PeteC]

Thanks for that, Les. Looks like I'll be cancelling my car.?
I need a rigid tow ball as I use a clamp-on bike rack which would swing about on one of those removable pins. I wonder if anyone needs a grey SE LR due for delivery 16 to 18 weeks after the end of October 22? At October 22 price.
Thanks again for your help

You could always buy a separate fog light and fit it to the offside of the car. You'd have to disable the original to keep it legal (and make sure the new one was e marked), but that would be ok as you could use the original power feed for the new one.

 

[Les burrows]

You could always buy a separate fog light and fit it to the offside of the car. You'd have to disable the original to keep it legal (and make sure the new one was e marked), but that would be ok as you could use the original power feed for the new one.

Its a fair point made here not ideal but doable for certain.
Les

 

[Rip Van]

Thanks for that, Les. Looks like I'll be cancelling my car.?
I need a rigid tow ball as I use a clamp-on bike rack which would swing about on one of those removable pins. I wonder if anyone needs a grey SE LR due for delivery 16 to 18 weeks after the end of October 22? At October 22 price.
Thanks again for your help

Greenie, I've been using a detachable towbar mounted Thule bike rack on a Vitara, for about four years but I've never had any problem with it swinging about, unless I've misunderstood your post.
It was mounted on fixed towbars previously.

 

[Greenie]

Greenie, I've been using a detachable towbar mounted Thule bike rack on a Vitara, for about four years but I've never had any problem with it swinging about, unless I've misunderstood your post.
It was mounted on fixed towbars previously.

Hi Rip Van (and Les),
Thanks for your comments. I'd been imagining one of those loose-fitting tow balls held on place with a 'P clip'. As for a Witter type removable hitch, my days of scrambling about at the back of a car are long gone! It'd also be another key to lose!
Cheers