Euro towbars

oz3litre · March 10, 2013, 11:58:36 AM

Has anyone had experience with the Euro gooseneck tow bars? I am thinking about getting one for the 159 Sportwagon. I like the fact that you don't need to cut the bumper and that apparently the mounting holes are already there. Has anyone towed a trailer or van with one of these? There is a special type of stabiliser system that can be used with them, because the common Australian type don't fit them.

colcol · March 10, 2013, 12:43:08 PM

I don't know a lot about towbars, but i used to work with a man who designed towbars, and the problem with the gooseneck towbars that go under the bumper is that they sit lower to the ground, compared to the straight through the bumper types, and they always catch and scrape on gutters say when driving into a driveway, if possible get one where the bar sits behind the bumper, and the gooseneck can be taken off when not in use to avoid scraping and barking your knee when you walk past, Colin.

jayarr · March 10, 2013, 03:41:33 PM

Hi,

I've got a Ellebi Detachable gooseneck towbar for my 156. It's been good, with two drawbacks. Sometimes it bottoms out when backing out of the driveway with 3 passengers in the car if you don't take care. If careful can avoid bottoming out most times.
Second, cannot mount a bike rack by bolting the bike carrier onto the flat flange which is common on a "standard" towbar hitch which a towball is bolted to.

If you don't have a requirement for a bike rack, I'd heartily recommend it.

cheers, John

oz3litre · March 10, 2013, 05:24:47 PM

Quote from: jayarr on March 10, 2013, 03:41:33 PM
Hi,

I've got a Ellebi Detachable gooseneck towbar for my 156. It's been good, with two drawbacks. Sometimes it bottoms out when backing out of the driveway with 3 passengers in the car if you don't take care. If careful can avoid bottoming out most times.
Second, cannot mount a bike rack by bolting the bike carrier onto the flat flange which is common on a "standard" towbar hitch which a towball is bolted to.

If you don't have a requirement for a bike rack, I'd heartily recommend it.

cheers, John

Sounds promising. The detachable one is what I have been looking at. Are you saying it bottoms out with the gooseneck removed? What have you towed with it?

Have any of you towed a small van behind a 159?

Beatle · March 11, 2013, 09:36:31 PM

Are they legal in Australia? ADR?

oz3litre · March 11, 2013, 09:48:17 PM

Quote from: Paul Bayly on March 11, 2013, 09:36:31 PM
Are they legal in Australia? ADR?

Quote from Iron Bull from Qld, who are selling them on Ebay:
"They meet Australian ADR/62 standards and have a facility to fit safety chains."

Evan Bottcher · March 11, 2013, 11:08:34 PM

Beatle · March 13, 2013, 08:32:47 PM

Well, if they are ADR compliant, and tagged as such, the next questions are:
-What is the tow capacity of the vehicle (most have different ratings dependent on the transmission fitted)
-What is the max towable mass rating of the towbar
-What is the max ball weight of the bar?

These answers will help decide whether you can tow your intended trailer/van.

jayarr · April 14, 2013, 10:56:01 PM

Hi,

Re ADR compliance, TBH did not check, I purchased it with the 156 new from the dealer so assumed legal. I've towed a fair amount of weight behind the 156, i'm more than comfortable that it handles the nominal limit of 1300kg for a 156. From memory the ball load limit is 60kg.

The mount for the gooseneck is actually lower than the gooseneck, so yes, it still grinds on some driveways.

I've towed occassionally with loads that have significant cross sectional area from side on, and cross winds can be a bitch. I'd be loath to tow a van with my gooseneck towbar as they are incompatible with any bars I have seen.

cheers, John

oz3litre · April 14, 2013, 11:57:09 PM

That sounds promising John. The company in the link below make a special kind of stabiliser that works with Euro towbars. To me they look better than the traditional ones.
http://www.alko.com.au/vehicle-technology/current-brochures/aks-3004-stabiliser-coupling/

jayarr · April 15, 2013, 10:53:20 PM

Interesting idea, if you go with it, let us know how it goes.

Jack6 · April 09, 2015, 07:47:26 PM

Found online: Full range of European towbars available in Australia for Alfa Romeo:

European towbars available in Australia for Alfa Romeo

This is how they work.

Anyone bought one?

Garibaldi · April 10, 2015, 08:54:18 PM

I saw plenty of these when I was in Europe last year but I couldn't see how they were suitable for Australian conditions. If you have done your homework I would say go for it but I would be very interested to see how it goes here. Keep us posted.

oz3litre · April 10, 2015, 11:32:33 PM

They look very good. They say they are easy to fit but also to get it done by a professional. Do they have someone in Adelaide who will fit one for you I wonder? They list all the capital cities at the top of the page but there are no details. The instructions are a bit hard to follow due to poor translation. Do you also need some sort of electronic dongle to talk to the computer system? It looks like you do need to make some sort of cut in the bumper as well.