AMG estate towbar - possible or not?
Discussion
josh00mac said:
I’m looking at buying a proper AMG estate and I usually have a towbar mounted cycle carrier on. Y cars. I understand these cars are not type approved for towing - has anyone managed to get a towbar fitted to an AMG estate?
No AMG model is typed approved for towing as far as I'm aware. You need to have a train weight listed on either the VIN Plate or the V5, and the tow bar needs to be type approved for it to be legal. I know you can get individual type approval pending an inspection, if you were dead set on it. What model of AMG estate is it?
On my old MINI Clubman S, it is not type approved/homologated for towing, whereas the Cooper and Cooper D are.
I too wanted a towbar for a bike rack only, and I have no interest in towing any trailer, caravan or car. I enquired with a local firm and they said yes you can have one fitted as a bike rack is not towing, only suspending it from the towbar (towing is where the object being towed has wheels on the road such as a trailer, caravan or another vehicle). I had to sign a disclaimer that I would not use the towbar for towing and I would pass the disclaimer to the next owner. This was to really cover them.
So I had a Witter towbar fitted and used it quite happily with no problems.
I too wanted a towbar for a bike rack only, and I have no interest in towing any trailer, caravan or car. I enquired with a local firm and they said yes you can have one fitted as a bike rack is not towing, only suspending it from the towbar (towing is where the object being towed has wheels on the road such as a trailer, caravan or another vehicle). I had to sign a disclaimer that I would not use the towbar for towing and I would pass the disclaimer to the next owner. This was to really cover them.
So I had a Witter towbar fitted and used it quite happily with no problems.
Rat_Fink_67 said:
No AMG model is typed approved for towing as far as I'm aware.
You need to have a train weight listed on either the VIN Plate or the V5, and the tow bar needs to be type approved for it to be legal. I know you can get individual type approval pending an inspection, if you were dead set on it. What model of AMG estate is it?
Not correct, my wife's A35 AMG clearly shows a towing capacity on the V5C, 1800/750kg.You need to have a train weight listed on either the VIN Plate or the V5, and the tow bar needs to be type approved for it to be legal. I know you can get individual type approval pending an inspection, if you were dead set on it. What model of AMG estate is it?
vikingaero said:
On my old MINI Clubman S, it is not type approved/homologated for towing, whereas the Cooper and Cooper D are.
I too wanted a towbar for a bike rack only, and I have no interest in towing any trailer, caravan or car. I enquired with a local firm and they said yes you can have one fitted as a bike rack is not towing, only suspending it from the towbar (towing is where the object being towed has wheels on the road such as a trailer, caravan or another vehicle). I had to sign a disclaimer that I would not use the towbar for towing and I would pass the disclaimer to the next owner. This was to really cover them.
So I had a Witter towbar fitted and used it quite happily with no problems.
Very useful - thanks for the response. I too wanted a towbar for a bike rack only, and I have no interest in towing any trailer, caravan or car. I enquired with a local firm and they said yes you can have one fitted as a bike rack is not towing, only suspending it from the towbar (towing is where the object being towed has wheels on the road such as a trailer, caravan or another vehicle). I had to sign a disclaimer that I would not use the towbar for towing and I would pass the disclaimer to the next owner. This was to really cover them.
So I had a Witter towbar fitted and used it quite happily with no problems.
SmithCorona said:
OP said "Proper AMG". No 63 estate has been approved for towing. Though I have seen an E63 towing a caravan...
You can get a towbar fitted, for bike carriers of course, but it would be monumentally stupid to tow with it.
Yes - I’m talking about the kind of AMGs that we will miss in a decade and wish we’d all bought when we could. Hence it being on my must have list. Sounds like I’ll be able to get a bar fitted somehow and no - I don’t caravan! You can get a towbar fitted, for bike carriers of course, but it would be monumentally stupid to tow with it.
josh00mac said:
vikingaero said:
On my old MINI Clubman S, it is not type approved/homologated for towing, whereas the Cooper and Cooper D are.
I too wanted a towbar for a bike rack only, and I have no interest in towing any trailer, caravan or car. I enquired with a local firm and they said yes you can have one fitted as a bike rack is not towing, only suspending it from the towbar (towing is where the object being towed has wheels on the road such as a trailer, caravan or another vehicle). I had to sign a disclaimer that I would not use the towbar for towing and I would pass the disclaimer to the next owner. This was to really cover them.
So I had a Witter towbar fitted and used it quite happily with no problems.
Very useful - thanks for the response. I too wanted a towbar for a bike rack only, and I have no interest in towing any trailer, caravan or car. I enquired with a local firm and they said yes you can have one fitted as a bike rack is not towing, only suspending it from the towbar (towing is where the object being towed has wheels on the road such as a trailer, caravan or another vehicle). I had to sign a disclaimer that I would not use the towbar for towing and I would pass the disclaimer to the next owner. This was to really cover them.
So I had a Witter towbar fitted and used it quite happily with no problems.
There’s a place in Germany, AHK Preisbrecher in Apen and I’m pretty sure that they will do one for it - they fit them as “cycle rack adapters” and you get reams of TüV approval documents with it.
Do a Google for them and look under PKW.
They did a “cycle rack adapter” for my SL350 which is most definitely not a tow car. They’re detachable too so no evidence when not in use.
Do a Google for them and look under PKW.
They did a “cycle rack adapter” for my SL350 which is most definitely not a tow car. They’re detachable too so no evidence when not in use.
Be aware that the bumper may require modification (i.e. cutting about, or the valance section replacing with one from a lesser model).
I have seen a couple of E63s with towbars, one was an estate in the Netherlands, and one was on the "owwedunnit" page of a UK towbar fitting company (not one of the big names). In the latter case they used the towing electrics box and did the coding, and it did all the standard E-Class towing stuff such as disabling rear parking sensors, enabling towing stability mode and so forth.
ETA when I fitted one to my E500 I bought the stuff from Rameder in Germany. Got the proper Canbus box and so on, fitting was a piece of piss. Never bothered getting it coded as it was just for a bike rack so the basic lighting features all worked correctly, but it didn't disable the parking sensors. If I had been planning to tow a caravan I'd have done it for the stability program of course.
I have seen a couple of E63s with towbars, one was an estate in the Netherlands, and one was on the "owwedunnit" page of a UK towbar fitting company (not one of the big names). In the latter case they used the towing electrics box and did the coding, and it did all the standard E-Class towing stuff such as disabling rear parking sensors, enabling towing stability mode and so forth.
ETA when I fitted one to my E500 I bought the stuff from Rameder in Germany. Got the proper Canbus box and so on, fitting was a piece of piss. Never bothered getting it coded as it was just for a bike rack so the basic lighting features all worked correctly, but it didn't disable the parking sensors. If I had been planning to tow a caravan I'd have done it for the stability program of course.
Edited by donkmeister on Friday 23 August 11:37
My 2015 S212 E63 has got a towbar that the previous owner had fitted. It's a Tow Trust A50-X removable vertical swan neck with a hinged socket so it's completely invisible when not in use and there was no cutting required as far as I can see.
As my car definitely has no tow rating it's just used for the cycle rack.
Tow Trust use local fitters so might be worth seeing what your local one says about fitting it to the AMG - https://tow-trust.co.uk/find-a-dealer
As my car definitely has no tow rating it's just used for the cycle rack.
Tow Trust use local fitters so might be worth seeing what your local one says about fitting it to the AMG - https://tow-trust.co.uk/find-a-dealer
Decsim said:
My 2015 S212 E63 has got a towbar that the previous owner had fitted. It's a Tow Trust A50-X removable vertical swan neck with a hinged socket so it's completely invisible when not in use and there was no cutting required as far as I can see.
As my car definitely has no tow rating it's just used for the cycle rack.
Tow Trust use local fitters so might be worth seeing what your local one says about fitting it to the AMG - https://tow-trust.co.uk/find-a-dealer
Noted. As my car definitely has no tow rating it's just used for the cycle rack.
Tow Trust use local fitters so might be worth seeing what your local one says about fitting it to the AMG - https://tow-trust.co.uk/find-a-dealer
But late to this but when researching towbar fitting for my e class - albeit the 53 not 63 (ended up not doing it) I saw these guys had done one.
https://www.automotive-control.co.uk/mercedes-amg-...
https://www.automotive-control.co.uk/mercedes-amg-...
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