17 replies to this topic

[DanielLarkin]

Hello all, I have recently brought a mini trailer BUT now need to fit a tow bar to my 1997 mini cooper.
Do any of you guys or girls know somewhere in essex that will do a good job of fitting one for me?

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[twrminisport]

Fit it yourself, Its four bolts in the subframe and one under the rear seat.
Really really easy mate

[minisilverbullet]

I very well could be wrong but wasn't 1996 the last year minis were approved to have a tow bar?

[shough]

I'm pretty sure the date was 01 August 1998.
As long as the car was registered before this date then it is allowed to tow.

Correct me if I am wrong.

[DanielLarkin]

Hello twrminisport, ok sounds easy the way you put it. Would I make it myself or can you recomend somethese to get it?

Hi minisilverbullet, what would that mean? Are you saying I can not legally have a tow bar?

[minisilverbullet]

Hello twrminisport, ok sounds easy the way you put it. Would I make it myself or can you recomend somethese to get it?

Hi minisilverbullet, what would that mean? Are you saying I can not legally have a tow bar?

I am sure someone will be along to confirm or negate what i said.

I was in the understanding that my mini ( a late 1996) was one of the last to be approved to tow.

My car was fitted with a factory tow bar.

[Sam_The_Man]

so a '78 clubman is ok to have a tow bar fitted?? i had no idea that there was a law like this??

anyway, how much does one of these trailers cost roughly? or a bare metal one to be painted up?

[DanielLarkin]

Mine has a fridge and cost me £3OO.

[Sleepy Stu]

1st August 1998 before that and you can tow

Essentially nothing changed on the mini but Europe started meddling and

"All cars sold here from the 1st August 1998 must be European Whole Vehicle Type Approved. The vehicle maker decides when he applies for approval if the car will be allowed to tow and the car has towbar mounting points built in to the chassis."

Obviously Rover was never gonna spend any money getting it approved so later minis lost the ability to tow legally.

Edited by Sleepy Stu, 25 April 2011 - 09:54 PM.

[grumpy2]

1st August 1998 before that and you can tow

Essentially nothing changed on the mini but Europe started meddling and

"All cars sold here from the 1st August 1998 must be European Whole Vehicle Type Approved. The vehicle maker decides when he applies for approval if the car will be allowed to tow and the car has towbar mounting points built in to the chassis."

Obviously Rover was never gonna spend any money getting it approved so later minis lost the ability to tow legally.

exactly my understanding and why I didn't fit a towbar to mine. Even though I bought one and have (had) a trailer!! Bummer!

g

[ChrisG10]

Fit it yourself, Its four bolts in the subframe and one under the rear seat.
Really really easy mate

What if you have a central exhaust??

[minidream94]

then you get a side exit exhaust chris :L

[1984mini25]

1st August 1998 before that and you can tow

Essentially nothing changed on the mini but Europe started meddling and

"All cars sold here from the 1st August 1998 must be European Whole Vehicle Type Approved. The vehicle maker decides when he applies for approval if the car will be allowed to tow and the car has towbar mounting points built in to the chassis."

Obviously Rover was never gonna spend any money getting it approved so later minis lost the ability to tow legally.

It might also be worth checking your licence as well, as from about 96 you have to now take a separate test to be able to legally tow a trailer.

[MiNi_BoRe]

so a '78 clubman is ok to have a tow bar fitted?? i had no idea that there was a law like this??

anyway, how much does one of these trailers cost roughly? or a bare metal one to be painted up?

i no iv gone of topic, but just this on ebay.... Clicky

[Sprocket]

1st August 1998 before that and you can tow

Essentially nothing changed on the mini but Europe started meddling and

"All cars sold here from the 1st August 1998 must be European Whole Vehicle Type Approved. The vehicle maker decides when he applies for approval if the car will be allowed to tow and the car has towbar mounting points built in to the chassis."

Obviously Rover was never gonna spend any money getting it approved so later minis lost the ability to tow legally.

It might also be worth checking your licence as well, as from about 96 you have to now take a separate test to be able to legally tow a trailer.

This is incorrect. What does change however is the weight capacities you can tow. Catagory B licence allows anyone who passed there test after 1st January 1997 to drive a vehicle weight no more than 3500kg with or without a trailer weighing no more than 750kg. The sub catagory aslo states that you can tow a trailer that weighs more than 750kg but the total combined weight of the vehicle and trailer cannot be more than 3500kg http://www.direct.go...ions/DG_4022547

Other restrictions apply to trailors such that an un braked trailor cannot weigh more than 750kg all in. Where the tow vehicle has a restricted tow capacity (small to medium cars) you need to check the vehicle data as to what you can legally tow. A rule of thumb says that for un braked trailers the trailer cannot weigh more than half the weight of the vehicle up to the max of 750kg, and for braked trailers, the trailer cannot weigh more than 80% of the vehicle. The total vehicle and trailer weight all in includes the passengers, the luggage, the fuel. Basically if you put the whole vehicle and trailer onto a weigh bridge as it is to be used on the road, it cannot weigh more than 3500kg. For actual vehicle towing capacities, you NEED to check the vehicles data to be sure you are legal.

The difficult thing with the mini is that the towing weight for a Mini is stated for a braked trailer. There is no weight for an un braked trailer. You try and get 450kg braked trailer units. The extra weight would only subtract from the total load capacity anyway, so its probibly similar by reducing the trailer capacity and using an un braked trailer instead. I personally used the rule of thumb (and that is all it is) and I used a vehicle weight of 700kg. Since there has been several vehicle weights for the mini over the years, I opted on the lower side of the published data. This gives a total weight for the trailor and its load of 350kg.

VOSA come down hard on offenders, and what is more eye catching than a Mini with a Mini trailor!

Get it right