Hey,
I have a 2003 TL ES which has treated me very well for the 4 months I've owned it. It came with a towbar already installed which was a bonus as I've bought a boat (pickup in 5 weeks). It's a 500kg boat (motor & gear inc.), so it's not huge, but I want to ensure my towbar will be ok. The trailer doesn't have brakes.

It's one of the flat mitsu-installed towbars. I assume it's strong enough. Now, one thing I'm worried about is theft. I'll have a trailer lock (the big lock over the towball) but anyone can remove the towbar just by pulling the little pin on top and slipping the towbar out. Are there locks you can buy to prevent the towbar being removed? Or do I just need to buy a small padlock?

Cheers,
Brent

not sure about the lock on the standard mitsu bar, im assuming its the little bar which goes in vertically to hold the tongue in, you are better to contact mitsu. as for the weight, with a 500kg boat you dont really need electronic brakes, and the bar will be up for it no issue.. there should be a rating plate somewhere which will state the max tow weight and max down load.. ill be assuming itll look something like this:

Max: 1200kg Down Load: 90kg (possibly 80 but with 500kg boat this is more than enough)

congrats on the great choice of car though :)

there is a locking systems that you can buy for trailers
it sits around the end so no one can place your trailer onto there car and drive off
is that what your talking about? :confused:
anyways you should be able to buy it from your local auto shop
maybe try repco or supercheap? also try bunnings but i dont think they will sell it but they might you never know what bunnings has in store :badgrin:

Thanks guys... very quick!
Mr Roberto, I know what you're talking about and I'll get one of those (at under $30, why wouldn't you!), but I'm concerned about the pin holding the actual towbar in. The towbar can be slipped out easily with the removal of this pin which you can take out with one hand. Sure it's hard to tow a trailer that has a towbar connected to it, but still I want to be safe rather than sorry.
92gen2, I checked out the plate and it says 1200kg tow weight and 120kg max down. So I suppose I'll have no probs then!

Many thanks!
...brent

pin? hmmm i dont remeber it having a pin,
is it the one that you can put a padlock on the top of it?
cause there might be 2 types
i've seen the one that clips over the towball and you lock it up with a padlock
are you locking the trailer when its on the car or off the car or both

pin? hmmm i dont remeber it having a pin,
is it the one that you can put a padlock on the top of it?
cause there might be 2 types
i've seen the one that clips over the towball and you lock it up with a padlock
are you locking the trailer when its on the car or off the car or both

im pretty sure the one that he means is the gooseneck (the bracket which the towball gets mounted onto), this thing slides inside a space on the towbar, its almost like a hitch receiver, except its pretty flat and rectangular. once the gooseneck goes in and the holes on top and bottom of this space thing line up with the hole in the gooseneck, theres a single pin which slides in vertically which keeps the gooseneck from coming out. and the question to my understanding was if theres a lock available so someone doesnt make off with the gooseneck by simply pulling this vertical pin out.

120kg down is even better, sorry i wasnt familiar with exact numbers. you should definitely be fine with this weight

Right on the money 92gen2. I'll look for a padlock that will fit, but it will have to be very thin.

Right on the money 92gen2. I'll look for a padlock that will fit, but it will have to be very thin.

i know that for a hitch where the pin fits sideways theres a pin you can buy with a lok on one end instead of a spring that goes through the small hole to lock it in.. im sure that something as such is available for the genuines which you have. wouldnt have a clue on the cost but ill ask the boys at work tomorrow, see what they can come up with

you got the gen mits bar that they call a "shadow mount" tow bar. when the tounge is out there is a little plastic cover with a mitsi emblem that you put on. looks good when the tounge is out. hardly looks like a t/bar. had one on my black tj & u could hardly notice it.took it off when i sold it & still have it in my shed but won't fit my tw vrx.