How can you choose towbars for a family runabout?

When we decided to buy a caravan to go touring in we were total novices. I’d never towed a caravan before let alone used towbars in the past. I knew what towbars were of course, they’re handy devices that attach to the rear of a vehicle and you can buy various makes like Witter, Bosal and Westfalia Towbars. The one thing I didn’t know was the different types of towbars that were on the market sector and how you actually worked this type of accessory. So I took our family car to a local centre that specialised in fitting Towbars to vehicles. The sales chap was ever so helpful he carefully explained to me the different options that were available and left me to make my own decision based on what he had told me.

There’s more choice than you think

I have to say, I was pretty taken aback by the amount of Towbars that are on the market sector today. Not only can you choose various manufacturers of towbars including Wittel, Bosal and Westfalia Towbars they come in different designs as well. The most common type of towbars is the flanged variety where the towball is mounted to the towbar with two sturdy bolts. Other types of towbars are on the market though and they included swan neck and detachable versions. There are even motorised versions of towbars that magically appear at the touch of a button, it really is an eye-opener when you start to consider the different options that are available at the moment.

Which towbars did we choose?

In the end we opted for a standard flanged type of towbar that came from the Westfalia Towbars collection. I did toy with the idea of one of the detachable towbars but changed my mind at the last minute. When I hitch our caravan to the back of our car I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, I didn’t want to be fiddling around with removable types of towbars. We had the towball fitted at the site that sold towbars but I know you can buy them online and fit them yourself if you prefer. I wouldn’t have been that confident fitting a towbar to our car, I’d always be worried that I’d be on the motorway and our caravan would suddenly overtake us in the middle lane!