Simon_CSK Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 Yesterday evening my neighbour ask me if I could help my Landlords daughter as her car had broken down with here horse box attached at the back of my house. I said sure and attached the towbar to my 2007 RR Sport. Done this many many tomes and have towed many Range Rovers 1000's of miles without a problem, When I put the towbar on I checked it was located properly my neighbour verified that I did this. We then hooked up the car and started the journey to her stabled. After travelling about 3.5 miles while going up hill I felt the trailer release and roll down hill. The brake away didn't actuate the the trailer headed into traffic but fortunately it avoided everything and came to rest in a field. I recovered my towbar from the trailer. The horses were removed from the trailer and were put in a farmers field. The trailer was recovered. My first thought was I had done something incorrectly but my friend verified that I had checked the towbar was secure and one of the onlookers confirmed that you cannot remove the key from the towbar unless it it properly attached. Has anybody had a similar experience of the towbar releasing and if so what caused it. I have reattached the towbar and have checked that the pin properly located in the chassis but am really worried about towing with it. There were three horses in the trailer all unharmed but it has certainly given me a big fright. My initial thought was the horses has moved and the weight distribution somehow allowed the pin to dislocate from the car. Certainly the pin on the hook was fully extended and locked when I recovered it from the trailer, 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie MacLeod Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 There was a recall on these removable towbars, your comment about having towed many tons for many miles may have led to excessive wear on the bar - Land Rover suggested heavy users change to fixed tow bars. Glad all ended up safe, I'd take a turn to your nearest dealer and get them on the case to check it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 There is a vey long standing issue with Discovery detachable towbars where if they were left in "permanently" they would fret an fall out. I presume as the RRS is a Disco in a fancy dress that it is the same issue? Not sure if it was the subject of a recall or not though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 There is a recall for this. Your MD is supposed to replace it with a permanent, non removable A-Frame towbar. I did try to get my MD to replace the towbar - but they said the replacement parts were no longer available (that was back in 2014) - so I made my own solution! I would prefer an A-Frame type - but this prevents the tow ball from coming out of the socket even if it wants to. It should, at the very least, give me a bit of warning that something is wrong before it goes badly. Go & see your MD - it may be that the parts are now available? I'd still be interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 I've just looked on line - and there's no recall listed for the tow bars! There definitely used to be! I called my main dealer - and they told me that the tow bar was inspected in 2014 and no remedial action was necessary. That's not quite how I remember the conversation however. They said, the removable tow bar was OK for 'light' towing. If you were towing heavy or commercial trailers, it needed to be replaced with an A-Frame (which wasnt available). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 What a horrible thing to happen and I can well imagine it shook folks up. I have horses, they are not only heavy but can be an unstable load so I only tow horse trailers with a fixed towbar. The main thing is that no people, or livestock, were physically hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted October 4, 2023 Author Share Posted October 4, 2023 The towbar has never caused an issue before and I don't leave it in place for fear of getting it stolen. Simonr I like your solution and there are kits available that do similar. When this favour was asked I removed a bolt on received hitch as it was not securing properly and kept on working loose. I wish I has just nipped up the bolts and used that instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmmv Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 Goodness, every horse tower's worse nightmare. Relieved to hear all are OK, I expect you will have needed urgent laundry services. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 That's proper scary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 I'd also be asking why the break away cable didn't work or was it attached to the bit that fell out, if so I'd be finding something else to attach to. Mike 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 1 hour ago, miketomcat said: I'd also be asking why the break away cable didn't work or was it attached to the bit that fell out, if so I'd be finding something else to attach to. Mike Not familiar with this particular one, but with removable type balls you often have to loop around the tow ball neck. There's nothing else available on my car to attach to. Far from ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 They are only fit for the toy town tip trailers IMHO, a (foolish) friend of mine straightened his pulling out of an uphill junction with his digger and trailer on a D4. Breakaway cables should never be looped around the ball or attached to the pin on a combination unit, DVSA round here were fining for this at roadside checks a few years ago. I won't open the can of worms that is general horse transport maintenance but the auto reverse brakes struggle in reverse at the best of times never mind with a decent load in them, I have had many exciting moments unloading brand new ifors backwards down loading docks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 Glad to hear it all ended well, apart from a proper scare. As above, my first reaction was why the brakes didn't activate. I always try to attach the break away cable to the chassis, but have noticed a lot of hitches have the loop welded to the tow ball, so that would be of no use if the ball worked lose... I do get a lot stories of play in the removable tow balls on RRS/D3/D4 and even a FL2 that tows regularly. Which over here can be an MOT failure, if they bother to look. Reading this story, I'd say rightfully so. One easy solution is to just weld it in, though that's not legal without a certificate as it involves welding to the chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 1 hour ago, geoffbeaumont said: Not familiar with this particular one, but with removable type balls you often have to loop around the tow ball neck. There's nothing else available on my car to attach to. Far from ideal. Same on my GLE, the eye for the safety cable is attached to the towball that comes out electrically. AFAIK there's no other eyes closer to the chassis, might have to look into adding something... When I installed the tow bar on my E-class, there was an eye that bolted to the non-removable part, that was much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 8 hours ago, miketomcat said: I'd also be asking why the break away cable didn't work or was it attached to the bit that fell out, if so I'd be finding something else to attach to. Mike The lesson is not to attach it to the towbar. DOH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 Definately a brown trouser moment. The girl I was doing the favour for was seen running down the street after the trailer there was not much she would have been able to do. Thankfully everything was fine at the end of the day but I will never take the towball on a Sport casually ever again. Bolts are required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garrycol Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 The problems with this style of removable towbar seems to be a UK thing and not replicated elsewhere in the world. Here in Australia we have the same basic plug in bar that plugs into the rear cross member. Our tow bars are rated to 350kg download and 3500kg and we have not had any recalls. There have been occasions when the bar has dropped out but these have generally been operator error rather than faulty bars. Maybe it is related to corrosion from your roads rather than a design issue. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 With respect, a towball that doesn’t withstand a bit of salt is not fit for purpose, more so given its purpose. As noted before, the detachable ones for LR were the light duty tow pack, HD was fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 On 10/4/2023 at 11:07 AM, Willie MacLeod said: Land Rover suggested heavy users change to fixed tow bars. I never understood the reason for a detachable towbar; it just gives another opportunity for something to go wrong, like here. The above statement does not fill me with confidence. In the scrap bin with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Sadly the dealers are not good at telling people about their shortcomings, or the recommendation to use the fixed one for heavier towing, for obvious reasons. I was not aware the fixed towbar was available until too late when I bought my 110 and so ordered the detachable one. It has not fallen out but I have had to have part of it replaced due to corrosion meaning that the plug in bit would not sit properly in the socket. Suffice to say I have bought a fixed one to swap over when I get round to it, or rather when I can summon the effort needed to pull the bumper etc. off to do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Last time I looked, the fixes ones for RRS/D3/D4 were no longer available, neither LR or aftermarket... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Towsure definitely list some, not sure which one you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 I was looking for one for a first gen RRS last year, and none of the usual suspects could offer it. So he had to make do with his detachable one, don't know if he's still using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 L320 I think? https://www.towsure.com/towbars/land-rover-towbars/range-rover-sport/range-rover-sport-2005-2009 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 And : https://www.diytowbars.co.uk/home/Land-Rover-Range-Rover-Sport-Towbar-2005-to-2013-p519573692 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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