Hey all,

I have a TH wagon with a towbar but am not sure what the weight limit of it is. I'd like to tow a track car with it (sub 1000kg Ford Laser, plus trailer) but I'm not sure if the one bolted on the car will carry it. The only markings I can find are the Towball has 3500kg written on it (which it clearly won't carry) and it appears to be a single bar running up under the tyre well. Do the heavy duty towbars normally go out to the side and bolt on to the chassis rails on the Magna, or is there any easy way to determine whether it'll carry the weight without putting the car on the back and ripping it off?

-Dave-

I would suggest you take it to a suitable fitting place or mechanics to get it checked over to be 100% sure of its load rating. Unless of course you can provide us some pics?

Hey all,

I have a TH wagon with a towbar but am not sure what the weight limit of it is. I'd like to tow a track car with it (sub 1000kg Ford Laser, plus trailer) but I'm not sure if the one bolted on the car will carry it. The only markings I can find are the Towball has 3500kg written on it (which it clearly won't carry) and it appears to be a single bar running up under the tyre well. Do the heavy duty towbars normally go out to the side and bolt on to the chassis rails on the Magna, or is there any easy way to determine whether it'll carry the weight without putting the car on the back and ripping it off?

-Dave-

The 3500kg is just what the towball can handle. There are two other measures to consider for towbars. One is the tow weight and the other is the load weight on the bar. E.g. My towbar can tow upto 1600kg and has a max load weight of 160kg. The safest thing to do is to take it to a towbar fiter to have a look. Alins towbar in richmond, HTB in Enfield amongst a few.

Hey mate.
If it is the square hitch reciever and has that extra arm that goes under the spare wheel well and bolts up on the other side then it is the heavy duty one. (Heaviest you can have fitted)
The not so heavy duty one(between the standard tongue type and they Heavy duty one) is still s square hitch reciever but doesnt have that extra arm that goes under the spare wheel well.

Hope this helps.

Either way mate, if its a square hitch reciever then it will be fore than enough for what you want to do. Even the standard tongue type could do it but i would feel better if it was at least oe of the square hitches.

the 1500kg tow bar off my AWD was attached to the chassis rails as well.

You might want to look closely at the towbar again - they are required (like towballs) to have their carrying capacity stamped on (or on an attached plate).

Towballs need to have a much higher capacity to prevent them from shearing off in an accident...

PS No matter what capacity the towbar is you will probably need to have a brake controller and brakes on the trailer for your Ford Laser load. The unbraked towing limit for Magnas is 750 kg (above that your insurance would be void). With a braked trailer you could then jump up to the towbar limit, to a maximum of 1500 kg (the Magna's towing capacity).

I have electric brakes on my Jayco and I use a Tekonsha Prodigy (http://www.rvdirect.com.au/?Nav=Pdt&product_id=1948&category_id=9&sub_category_id=56&PageID=8&wp=8) brake controller - it fits neatly into the Magna's ashtray slot.

So I have been reading these threads regarding towbars etc because I just bought a boat and the boat motor and trailer weigh approx 1300kg. I estimate the ball weight is around 70 to 85kg as I can just lift it for a second or two and it is at the limit of what I can lift. (That said I will get the ball weight confirmed).

For info: my TH sedan tows the boat beautifully, and there is only a little drop (2 to 3 inches) in the back end, just enough to notice it when standing on the street. I have a Boronia towbar, basic tongue set up. 1500kg max, 150kg ball wgt max.

TH drivers manual book says that if I want to travel faster than 80 km per hour a weight distribution hitch is ESSENTIAL. I contacted my towbar fitter and my tow bar wont accept a load weight distribution hitch.

Does Mitsubishi have one available? Also, it appears that to make a weight distribution hitch set up the trailer should have 2 beams (rails) coming from the tow hitch to support the trailer ( at 45 degree angle) where the weight dist hitch mechanism hooks onto(eg caravan wgt dist hitches). My problem is the boat trailer just has the single beam that doesnt split into the 45 dregree beams until well under the boat which is too far away from the towbar to have a wgt dist system set up.

I dont want to be limited to 80km/hr, but I dont want to spend a fortune either. I think I need a load dist hitch but what will I need to do to the TH to get one?
Can a boat trailer set up like mine have a load dist hitch?

Is the 80km / hr limit without a wgt distribution hitch on the magna a common restriction to all vehicles, or just magnas?
Would be interested in hearing if Ford Falcons /holden commodores have the same requirements?

Thanks in advance.

So I have been reading these threads regarding towbars etc because I just bought a boat and the boat motor and trailer weigh approx 1300kg. I estimate the ball weight is around 70 to 85kg as I can just lift it for a second or two and it is at the limit of what I can lift. (That said I will get the ball weight confirmed).

For info: my TH sedan tows the boat beautifully, and there is only a little drop (2 to 3 inches) in the back end, just enough to notice it when standing on the street. I have a Boronia towbar, basic tongue set up. 1500kg max, 150kg ball wgt max.

TH drivers manual book says that if I want to travel faster than 80 km per hour a weight distribution hitch is ESSENTIAL. I contacted my towbar fitter and my tow bar wont accept a load weight distribution hitch.

We have a <2 cm drop at the back axle. 2-3 inches sounds alot to me. My level rides receiver is just fitted under my towball. I'm sure yours would take one too. Mine kit is like this: http://www.rvdirect.com.au/?Nav=Pdt&product_id=30511&category_id=9&sub_category_id=55&PageID=8&wp=8

Boronia might have thought you wanted to fit a big 50mm square section receiver to your conventional towbar, something like this: http://www.rvdirect.com.au/?Nav=Pdt&product_id=59353&category_id=9&sub_category_id=55&PageID=8&wp=8



Also, it appears that to make a weight distribution hitch set up the trailer should have 2 beams (rails) coming from the tow hitch to support the trailer ( at 45 degree angle) where the weight dist hitch mechanism hooks onto(eg caravan wgt dist hitches). My problem is the boat trailer just has the single beam that doesnt split into the 45 dregree beams until well under the boat which is too far away from the towbar to have a wgt dist system set up.

I dont want to be limited to 80km/hr, but I dont want to spend a fortune either. I think I need a load dist hitch but what will I need to do to the TH to get one? Can a boat trailer set up like mine have a load dist hitch?

You could get one of these Pole Tongue Adaptors: http://www.maitlandautoparts.com.au/prod01.htm

then you can put on the weight distributor brackets :-)

What brake controller are you using for the trailer?

Hi Craney, thanks for the reply...

The trailer has hydraulic brakes, when the car brakes the hydraulic actuator is compressed which in turns activates the trailer's disc brakes.

The trailer came like that. The TH seems to handle stopping OK with the boat trailer's Hyd brakes. I did consider electric brakes, but in / near slat water retrieving etc?

What are your thoughts?

Cheers.

I had wondered if it was a different set-up for boat trailers. So long a it's braked you're OK :-)

I feel like spewing when I think about going out fishing on a boat, so Im blissfully ignorant of the gear!

The ALKO electric (drum) brakes on our van and Tekonsha Prodigy controller in the car work brilliantly. I've had a couple of balls-out emergency stops when cars have tried fairly hard to crash into us (!), and it slows down almost as well as a car by itself.

Looks like you helped slove my problem. Hayman reece will do an "intermediate hitch" for load distribution and a bracket to fit the boat trailer. In my wisdom I also happened to check the ball weight capacity of my Boronia Towbar. It is 90KG.....Not 150 kg like I thought. I reckon the ball weight of my trailer is very close to that, too close for my liking!

This situation almost meant selling the TH and getting a Falcon BA or something similar. Timing belt due soon, handbrake issue, and now towbar not strong enough. I really like the Magna, it's on gas, drives nice, reasonable KM's and good condition. Dont really want to sell it because it might be marginal a few times a year towing a boat when it is very good for everything else I do. Lots of freeway driving... But dont want to spend a fortune either. So will keep it if I can refit another towbar at a reasonable price.

Anyone know where I can get a good second hand towbar (pref Mitsu genuine - with 150Kg ball weight and 1500kg capacity) The Hayman Reece model is $650 fitted. Gen mitsu $370 fitted. Thought I would check second hand. Any thoughts?

Cheers.

So it is the medium Square hitch Hayman reece?
If so, it will do it fine.
Don't sell the car just for that.

Seriously mate, it will do it fine. those weights are very conservative.

I have seen many a moron towing a car on a trailer with a standard tongue type with the exhausts scraping on the ground it is that overloaded and even those tongue types can handle it. (Dont ask me how!!)So if you have a square hitch, it will romp it in mate. All about balance.
Maybe re-distribute te weight a bit oin your trailer to take some weight off the ball but just remember, you still want a fair bit of weight on the ball/rear axle to stop any chances of trailer swaying.

F.W.

No not the square hitch. Square hitch costs $800+!! And still rated to 1500Kg and 150Kg ball weight. Obviously will be stronger though. But overkill.

The intermediate hitch (from Hayman Reese) is a load distributing assembly that bolts under the tow ball and sandwiches in between the ball and the tongue on an exisiting tongue type towbar. It will support a ball weight from 82 to 130Kg. Cost $330. Will get an adaptor for the boat trailer to hook up to it - Hayman Reese supplied.

Problem solved. Just ran some numbers and at 187000km, the old girl has heaps of life in her.

Hope this helps others. Will let you know how it all goes.

Cheers.

The HR intermediate kit is independent of the type of towbar - the load equaliser receiver juts fits below your towball (it's shown here (http://www.caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=51_435&products_id=9576&osCsid=07cfd0cab9e97f80e586926f2dc1ba2c) with a square receiver, but a tongue type bar would be fine). It will work nicely for you :-)

As for a 150 kg ball load towbar, DSP26 has a Mitsubishi one for sale in Blacktown, NSW for $200:
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71531

You'd have to check which of the 3 genuine kits it is though (there's a 1200 kg and 1500 kg tongue version, as well as a 1500 kg hitch receiver bar). Either of the 1500 kg bars would be fine for you - they both have a 150 kg ball capacity.

My 1500 kg hitch receiver from Mitsubishi was just under $500.

Craney,

Is yours a square hitch receiver type then? or std tongue? Where did you have it installed?

Craney,

Is yours a square hitch receiver type then? or std tongue? Where did you have it installed?

I got the square hitch receiver. I had it done at Mitsubishi in Bega. It would have cost more than $50 more to have done in Canberra (WTF?). National Capital Motors missed out on doing my timing belt at the same time for that lame quote!

Sorry to tell you how to suck eggs in that last post - I just saw you know how the intermediate weight distribution kit works and you're already onto the towbar in Blacktown!

No Drama!

Thanks for the advice. I will also price compare the square hitch installation just for the exercise - but I reckon they will be dearer than what you paid depending on how long ago you had it done! That said I bet they are a much more capable tow bar.

For info: Mitsu also does a weight dist hitch but want $575 for it. I will stick with the Hayman Reece.

Cheers.

I had my towbar put on in August 2007.

Well, i was calling around today and for what i belive would be the cheapest towing hitch from a place called The One Stop Shop, they qouted me $650 for it fully fitted.

I noticed Craney that you said Mitsu had one fully fitted for $500? Was that a hitch or tongue? And did that include wiring?

Well, i was calling around today and for what i belive would be the cheapest towing hitch from a place called The One Stop Shop, they qouted me $650 for it fully fitted.

I noticed Craney that you said Mitsu had one fully fitted for $500? Was that a hitch or tongue? And did that include wiring?

Mine is a hitch receiver. I already had a 1200 kg bar on so the guys didn't have to do any wiring, but I got the OEM wiring adaptor to take home. The Mitsubishi wiring plug means there's almost no work involved in wiring a trailer (or at least one without electric brakes).

We have several genuine Mitsubishi 3rd gen towbars at work, all 1600kg I believe (boss bought them job lot when National capital motors sold a whole bunch of Magna gear off). We'd be selling and fitting them cheap, as they are on the cheap rack at work (we're in Fyshwich, ACT). I would guess that we'd do teh factory 1600kg bars for $395 fitted as they're a straightforward job. You don't get any advantage going to a Hayman Reese towbar except for the square hitch receiver, which makes fitting different length receivers easy, but is usually totally unnecessary on a sedan/wagon. There is no load advantage as the Hayman Reese bars stop at 1600kgs for Magnas as well.
Mitsubishi didn't intend for anyone to tow more than 1600kgs behind a Magna, read your handbooks. The body structure and auto transmissions are the limiting factors for long term, large trailer towing on a Magna.
And brake controllers/electric trailer brakes are the law in most states on trailers over 750 kgs, unless you have an old trailer with the exemption on the paperwork. What that means is, if you have an accident with no electric brakes on a heavy trailer, you will get raped by every insurance company with an interest in the accident and will get no payout for your losses.
Electric brake controllers are cheap and very easy to fit plus they make towing much more enjoyable and SAFE.


Regards, Andrew.

Are hydraulic brakes OK?

What are the positive aspects of electric brakes over hydraulic brakes? I am launching a boat with my trailer and heard that electic brakes are not recommended with salt water launching. Anyone care to comment?

If electric brakes are the way to go, is it easy to fit them on a hydraulic braked trailer and remove the old brake system?

Cheers.

Hydraulic brakes are just a surge system. Electric brakes come on when you activate the brake light, plus you can slide a lever and pull on the trailer brakes independently, which is fantastic if the trailer starts to get a sway going or if you are in a curve and the trailer starts to push the car wide.
You can also set how much braking you have on the trailer from the unit, the brakes are not on max or off. The really cool electronic brake controllers also allow you to set teh brakes to come on in various curves, so light braking getting progressively stronger.
I know of many, many boat trailers with electric brakes (it is the law). I assume there are marinised brake systems available, as there are for conventional surge brake systems. Boat trailers hammer any braking system, electric or surge.
I have no idea what it would cost, you'd have to find out for yourself. I can tell you a brake controller fitted to the car would be around $450.

Regards, Andrew.

Thanks Typhoon,

Have been doing some research regarding electric brakes.

In VIC only really need electric brakes over 2000kg so I am told. Many boats have the surge system like I have. I bought the boat in NSW and it came with surge brakes, so must be a similar rule there too?

Typhoon and others in the know confirm/deny/give advice please...

Am thinking of getting a new lower axle for my boat trailer (so it fits in the garage) and getting electric brakes on the new axle. Cheapest and easiest to get new axle if changing braking system. Trailer shop guy said you can have a brake controller mounted on the trailer - rather than in the car. Would save having to have a controller mounted in each car (we have 2 cars). That way can have adjustable braking amount but the brakes would be set to only one amount of braking per drive. I guess this is a lot less flexible etc, but still better than a surge system I currently have right?

I will be towing my boat over some tall/steep ish hills and down the hills too. Or should I just spend the money and have brake controllers installed? Will be keeping the car for at least 2 more years.

Any advice please help. Thanks.

Get the controllers in the cars. They are so useful, one long trip with an electric brake controller and you'll never go back.
They're seriously easy to wire up and install too, there are four wires to connect, power, ground, brake switch and brake to trailer plug.
The most time consuming part is running the wires.

Regards, Andrew.