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Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:09 pm
by HenriSteyn
We had a very nervous few moments on our way to the NKZN venue at Kosi Bay.
About 20 km from Manguzi (the last outpost before the Kosi Bay border post to Moz) i felt an unusual movement at the rear of the Paj. I slowed down and pulled off onto the verge. When I got to the rear of the Paj my heart sank out of my body. Towbar bent 45 degrees!
We were very very fortunate that the towbar did not break completely.
The rest of the story will be covered in my trip report on the KZN trip.
Who has similar stories?
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:11 pm
by Renier_c
Ouch!!!
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:11 pm
by Mad Manny
Did Chas do the welding?
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:15 pm
by Apocalypse
....and this is why I cringe every time I see a 'gusset' running down the middle of a pipe!
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:17 pm
by Mad Manny
HenriSteyn wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 6:09 pm
The rest of the story will be covered in my trip report on the KZN trip.
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:18 pm
by Shane
Would appear that the material is too thin and was hardened (brittle) by the welding of the gussard.
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 6:46 pm
by Mad Manny
It's a stupid design. OK for a Venter trailer. But not for a hardened Overlander like Henri...
Henri tows a large Jurgens Explorer & he has done a fair amount of trips.
Where it failed was after a series of harsh speed bumps.
It was going to fail eventually.
As it turns out, it failed at possibly the best time & place.
Henri was fortunate.
But I'm sure he will extensively upgrade & strengthen it...
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 7:35 pm
by HenriSteyn
This picture shows the crap design. Absolutely no strength behind the square tubing. Those 2 gussets at 45 degrees do absolutely nothing.
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 7:48 pm
by Crips
Ouch, glad you are all ok Oom Henri!
Does the towbar have any ratings etc on it? Everyone always notes that the manufacturer says the 4x4 can tow 3500kg (or whatever their claim might be) but I dont think they check what the towbar is rated ?
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:05 pm
by KurtG
I would love to know what the static towball nose weight (mass in kg) of the caravan is.
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:12 pm
by Chris Stoffel
Lever action at work here. One can't just extend that bar to clear the door mounted spare wheel and think it will hold.
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:15 pm
by HenriSteyn
Chris I am going to do a follow up thread on so called Tow Bar ratings.
These car manufacturers are feeding us bullsh!t as regards this.
We going to scratch deep........
To answer your kwessiun:
This towbar is rated at 110 kg vertical load. For those that own Xplorers the nose weight is substantially over that.
So Jurgens manufactures a few thousand Xplorers with a nose weight that exceeds the rating of any known towbar manufacturer in SA.
Go figure....
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:18 pm
by HenriSteyn
Kurt I have read on Xplorer forums around 140kg
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:58 pm
by BushWacker
... the tow-bar is at the end
of a long-necked beam from the chassis
and there is a consequently too big a moment
imho ... ( in my humble opinion ... )
Re: Towbar torture
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 9:16 pm
by KurtG
It would be interesting to weigh yours, Henri, just before you depart for a trip like NKZN.
Not disputing all the other comments of pendulum action etc. which caused the failure but as you said the caravan’s balance is probably out of spec for most of the tow bars made in SA.
Also, your tow bar doesn’t look like the one I had on both my Pajero’s which in my useless opinion is a stronger design to yours.