Vehicle owners without a tow hitch will find it relatively difficult in some situations. If the garage does not have its own truck and there is no way to order transportation services, you will need to install and connect a device such as a tow bar. You can do this both with the help of professionals, and on your own. Before highlighting the question of how to carry out the process of installing this device, it is worth understanding what a towbar is and for what purposes it is used.

Why is a towbar required?

Quite often, in ordinary life, you have to deal with the transportation of such cargo that does not fit in its parameters and size into the trunk or car interior. It can be a variety of building materials or large, oversized purchases.

To accommodate these things and purchases, you will need a mini-trailer, which will ideally include what needs to be transported from one place to another. Everything can be attributed to the transported cargo, from a bag of potatoes to a concrete mixer.

To connect such a trailer, you will need space for a special traction device. For the reason that not all modern vehicles possess it, it is often necessary to independently purchase the necessary spare parts and carry out a process such as installing a towbar.

Do it yourself or buy ready-made?

Such a device can be purchased at a specialized store or made independently. Despite the fact that the latter option will save a lot of material resources, many people prefer to buy a ready-made version from well-known manufacturers. This is based on certain benefits:

• Even in the process of designing the device, a special computer model is formed, through which it is possible to determine the probable load on the main fasteners.
• The tow bar, which is produced at the factory, undergoes a large number of various technical inspections before the implementation stage, and throughout the entire manufacturing process. Checks are also carried out in a separate management department.
• The manufacturer, as a rule, bears full responsibility for their products and gives a guarantee, which is usually documented. In the event of an unforeseen situation, the customer can contact the company that manufactured and installed the device and receive some assistance.

It is recommended not only to purchase a clutch from a well-known manufacturer, but also to order its installation from the company's employees. If you install the towbar with your own hands, and then for some reason it fails, you will not have to rely on its warranty repair.

Self-installation of the towbar

To install a towbar without the help of a car service, it is worth allocating about two or three hours for this work and finding a place for installation. The ideal option would be a garage in which there is a special viewing hole that will allow you to carry out all the required work without any problems.

If you purchase a ready-made towbar, you can be sure that the package will include all the metal plates, bushings required for operation, as well as sockets and wires. If not, you will have to purchase such parts yourself.

For a quality installation of the device, the following elements and tools will be required:

• the hitch itself;
• necessary fasteners;
• wiring;
• drill of the required diameter;
• spanners;
• car bumper removal tool

There are some car models where bumper removal is not required, it all depends on the design features.

The preliminary work includes marking the places where you need to make holes for fastening; for this, a regular marker is used. To obtain quality holes, it is required to use a drill with a slightly larger diameter than the bolts used.

Important! To avoid destructive corrosion, the places where the holes are drilled are treated with a special anticorrosive agent. Only after that the towbar is screwed on.

Regarding the attachment of the towbar, everything is clear, the main thing there is to follow certain instructions. Particularly noteworthy is the connection of a special electrical circuit for the trailer of a passenger vehicle, in other words, the connection of the towbar contacts.

Connecting a towbar

For the reason that the trailer that is connected to the car must necessarily transmit all signals similar to the vehicle, its electrical wiring must be connected to the car.

Usually, a special platform is attached to the towbar design, on which, after some time, a contact connector protected from various external influences is mounted. To connect a light trailer, very often only 6-7 of the 13 connectors present are used. For trailers that are produced in Russia, as a rule, special 7-pin sockets are installed.

Important! Before connecting, you must carefully understand all the types of plugs present. It is worth considering the question of which pins are responsible for which connector. It is necessary to determine all the targets for each of the contacts that are designed for different plugs.

As a rule, the purchased towbar has special instructions for connecting. If you maintain polarity and follow the basic connection rules, there will be no problems with this process. With proper connection, all trailer lamps will repeat the signals coming from the car.

The popularity of such an important device for transporting cargo as a tow bar is becoming higher. It is indispensable for the effective connection of the used coupling mechanism for towing another vehicle. Installing and connecting the towbar is not difficult. It is enough to follow certain instructions and tips outlined in this article.

An example of installing a towbar on a Renault Logan (video)

From time to time, every car owner has a need to transport large loads. Not always the load can fit in the car. A trailer can help in such cases, but a tow bar must be installed in the car to use it. Read more about the selection and installation of trailers below.

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Varieties

Towbars for cars can be divided into several varieties, the devices differ according to the type of attachment:

1. Removable items. Such devices are fastened with locks. In accordance with safety regulations, it is most advisable to use removable products. This device can be removed at any time. If a vehicle equipped with a towbar is driven from behind by another vehicle, serious damage will result. The towbar will not take on all the force of the impact, but on the contrary, it will endanger the entire undercarriage of the car.
2. Conditionally removable. Fixing is carried out by means of bolts. Such devices are called flanged. The product is fastened on a specially equipped platform, which is located in the rear of the car. This is more typical for pickups. The devices are fastened with two or four screws. Conditionally removable products are subject to dismantling, but this is much more difficult than removing a conventional removable device. In terms of reliability, this type of towbar is considered one of the most effective. The main requirement for its use is that the machine must be equipped with a frame structure.
3. Welded devices.
4. End.

Towbar selection

Towbars for KIA cars it is not a problem to purchase, but before buying, you should calculate the value of the maximum loads on the coupling product.

For a correct calculation, the following nuances must be taken into account:

• the maximum weight of goods that are planned for transportation;
• model and brand of the car;
• maximum trailer weight;
• type of equipment of the machine;
• hitch type.

If the load on the traction product is greater than the maximum, it may cause damage to the hitch and the machine body. And if a malfunction manifests itself while driving, it can lead to an accident.

The Mnogofarkopov channel spoke about the installation procedure for the tow hitch.

How to install

The procedure for installing the towbar is as follows:

1. The rear bumper is being dismantled, as well as the optics. To do this, inside the luggage compartment, the plastic protection bar is removed, and the trim is also removed from both sides. To dismantle the facing elements, two fixing screws are unscrewed in advance and the plugs are removed. Wires with connectors are disconnected from lighting sources. The optics are dismantled.
2. Put the back of the car on a jack, substitute supports under the body. It is necessary to unscrew the bolts and remove the wheels. The rear fender liner is dismantled, the edges of the bumper are unscrewed. There are plugs next to the headlight seats, they must be dismantled. Under them you will see self-tapping screws, these elements are unscrewed. The bumper is being removed. Under it you will see an amplifying device, it must be removed, for this the fixing screws are unscrewed.
3. Assemble the hitch using the instructions that come with the kit. The screws that will fix it must be treated with an anti-corrosion agent.
4. The electrical component is being installed. Using the circuit, electrical circuits with contact components of sockets are connected. The device is fixed in a specially designed place. All wires must be pulled into the luggage compartment; for this, a hole must be made in the rubber plug. Before connecting the wiring to the on-board network, you must disconnect the car battery. After disconnecting the electrical circuit, it must be connected to the place where the wiring of the rear optics is broken. For better fixation, the wires should be soldered and insulated. If you have a multimeter, we recommend checking the quality of the work performed.
5. After installation, the bumper, optics, as well as the lining components of the luggage compartment are reinstalled.

Issue price

The cost of the device depends on the store. On average, the prices for towbars are about 3500-5000 rubles.

Features of use

What you need to know about using a towbar:

1. The working surfaces of the towbar (meaning the ball) must always be treated with grease. This is done to increase service life and reduce wear. To prevent friction of surfaces, special rubberized plugs can be used. These components can be found on sale in the car market. Make sure that the lubricant covers the entire surface of the ball.
2. With intensive use on the working surface will form a working, which leads to a decrease in the diameter of the ball. If wear is noticed, we recommend replacing the product. If the diameter of the working surface is reduced, the grip reliability will be minimal, which will affect the driving safety.
3. Every five thousand kilometers and before long trips, it is necessary to check the quality of fixing the screws.
4. If you are driving on a dirt road, then the speed of the car with the load should be no more than 30 km / h. Moreover, it is recommended to reduce the load on the trailer by half.
5. You cannot increase the vertical load parameter on the ball, learn more about this in the service book for the product.
6. It is not allowed to change the design of the mechanism. This can lead to deterioration in the quality of fixation of the product.

If there are cracks, these damages cannot be repaired by welding. Deformed components must be replaced. Otherwise, a new crack will appear next to the old damage.

Nowadays, it will not be easy for car owners without a tow hitch and, moreover, without a trailer, with the exception of those who have mini-trucks in the garage or those who have the opportunity to order special equipment for any kind. The rest need to install the towbar with their own hands or with the help of specialists.

Do-it-yourself towbar installation:

Why do you need a towbar

Isn't it true that quite often in everyday life you have to transport something that does not fit in the cabin or in the trunk: building materials or oversized purchases? This issue can of course be solved, as I mentioned earlier, with the help of special equipment or by resorting to the services of a cargo taxi. However, all this is expensive, and during the summer season, it is unlikely that anyone will carry potatoes in a taxi.

Simply put, you need a mini-trailer that will perfectly fit everything you need for most of the important things that we need in our lives, from a sack of potatoes to a ladder and a concrete mixer. All this is true, but to connect the trailer, you need a place for a towing device, which not all have. You can buy a hitch or make your own. How to equip your car with a tow hitch in detail in this article, so that you can become the owner of this necessary, vital device.

Towbar - a useful accessory for a car

Towbar connected to the frame

Thus, to make a device, you need to find a ball with eyes (on the market or used does not matter). After that, remove the bumper, cut off the eyelets and make a hole with a drill and a drill bit. Next, you will need a suitable diameter pipe up to 1 meter long. Connect with a welded fastener. After that, in the middle of the pipe, with the help of welding, another pipe is strengthened at a right angle. After this operation, the structure can be primed and painted. To enlarge the spar, you can insert a small piece of angle with a nut welded to it, eventually you will get something like a removable towbar.

Body mount

We decided to weld the main structure from a profile, but the profile wall seemed too thin, so we used a corner with an area of ​​40 × 40, from which the profile was welded. By the way, a corner was bought used, 3 meters long, worth 100 rubles. The main problem we encountered was the loosening of the bumper amplifier bolts. For convenience, the bumper shell was dropped, I didn’t want to remove the wheels in order to unscrew the lower screws, so we took a simple bit and pliers and everything was unscrewed at once. I was very surprised by the ease of disassembly of only eight screws and four caps. The whole procedure lasted about 10 minutes.

The bolts of the amplifier were tightly soured, and we didn’t find heads for 18 in the city, there were only ring wrenches, they barely moved one bolt, which immediately broke, they didn’t suffer with others and tore off all the heads. Further, nuts were welded on from the inside and unscrewed in the opposite direction.

Mounting features

Original hitch mount:

When they removed the towbar with their own hands, they began to think how and where it would be better to strengthen it. The welded profile lay very successfully between the amplifier and the body, although it had to be filed and bent. Then the profile was welded to the amplifier mount by welding. The structure was removed from the car and scalded on each side, then what was left (about 40 cm) was welded on from below. Further, to this welded 40-centimeter piece, they grabbed an element cut off from the towing device. After that, the structure was painted with nitro enamel and fixed to the car.

The next day, they checked it by jumping on a ball with a total weight of 170 kg, towing 2104 at a distance of 60 km. Everything is fine, the device did not even twitch, we measured the distance to the ball, it remained exactly the same as before the tests. The distance from the body to the ball and from the ball to the floor remained unchanged. I connected the electrics to the left headlight, and only the turn signal was connected from the right headlight. All wires pulled out through the ventilation grill located under the bumper on the left side of the body. Established forces and shells. I took the M10 amplifier bolts from the UAZ about 25 mm long and 24 mm under the head.

Reliability is the foundation of security

You can often find on cars, mainly Russian brands, a towing device made by a do-it-yourself towbar and installed independently. Many people find this to be a reliable and economical option. The cost is minimal and the mass of time spent, and you're done! What could be more reliable and not expensive than a thing made by hand? Often this judgment is erroneous.

There are many examples when a homemade coupling device cannot withstand the load. Well, if this happens when you just hook the trailer to the towing device.

But when this happens while driving, it results in a massive collision - imagine a trailer weighing tons at a speed of 70 km / h. throwing into the oncoming lane? Imagine how many people you endanger!

Why is this happening?

Nobody says that a person who makes and installs a towbar with his own hands is not capable of anything. If he can do this, then he is a good master! But a towing device is a thing that cannot be made safe and reliable without special equipment.

To check the declared characteristics of the tow hitch, use specialized stands. According to GOST, the towing device must withstand at least 2 million load cycles. Of course, in the home, this test cannot be done.

Here are some facts why factory production is better:

• During the hitch design process, a computer model is generated that can be used to determine the allowable load on the hitch and ball mounts.
• The hitch produced in the factory undergoes many technical inspections throughout the production process, and then a separate management department.
• The company is responsible and gives a guarantee for the products, documented. In case of an unforeseen situation, the client can contact the manufacturers or the company where the tow bar was installed.

Factory hitch with quick release system - installation

Many purchased coupling devices are installed with their own hands. This is allowed but not recommended. In the event of an emergency (, damage to the side member, bottom), the warranty will most likely be denied. Since it is not documented anywhere where this TSU was created.

In the end, it's up to you to decide which is better: buy an illegal device, install a towbar with your own hands, or buy a certified one that is manufactured at the factory and not worry.

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More recently, a car enthusiast who wants to attach a trailer to his car had to contact car service specialists, but they could not provide any guarantees either. Today, the need for this has disappeared, because. most modern vehicles (trucks and cars) leave the assembly line already with special holes that are necessary for self-fixing the trailer. Even if your car is not equipped with such holes, you can still quickly and effortlessly install. As a rule, professional intervention, except in special cases, is not required.

Required Tools

For work related to the installation of the towbar, you must first prepare the necessary tools. Here we need a little more than a universal screwdriver and an adjustable wrench.

car lifting

Many motorists take risks by working with a jack right on the side of the road. It should be remembered that the installation of the towing device must be carried out only by means of a lift or "pit". The clearance of some cars simply does not imply the use of jacks alone, but still they should be used for reliable safety net.

Tow bar installation

If the car is already equipped with standard holes, then a torque wrench is required to install the towbar. Bolts and nuts of all connections must be securely tightened. You should also take into account the necessary tightness of the connections, which will be indicated in the instructions. To connect the headlights and parking lights of the trailer, you will additionally need wire cutters, wires and insulating tape.

Preparation

After choosing a towbar, make sure it fits your car model exactly, read the included instructions carefully, and check the location where it will be installed. It is forbidden to connect the tow hitch to places with mechanical damage or corrosion. Remember that when carrying out work it is required to use only tools intended for this, as well as safety glasses.

Car preparation

Do not connect the trailer hitch on sloping surfaces, even if you have the appropriate wheel chocks installed. Remember, any accident and consequences can be disastrous. The best places to install the towbar will be a viewing hole or a special plane for such work. Before starting work, make sure that the handbrake is up, the wheels are locked, and the gearbox is in neutral. Be sure to raise the car to a comfortable height for you, the jacks on both sides must be firmly fixed. After all of the above, it is necessary to de-energize the car by removing the terminal from the battery. It is also required to remove all things from the trunk, the spare wheel and combustible upholstery to prevent it from igniting during drilling.

Fastening the towbar

The towing device must be connected to the place of its direct attachment, previously marked in the places of the fasteners. If your car is already equipped with regular holes, then simply fix the towbar with clamps. If there are no holes, you need to drill them in the bottom with a drill. Use 14mm nuts and bolts to secure the towbar. The diameter of the drilled holes must not exceed the diameter of the bolt by more than 1.59 mm. In the inner on the side of the trunk and in the lower part of the side member, it is necessary to drill 2 holes with reinforcing pads. This is necessary for a more reliable fastening of the device and relieving the load on the body. Now you need to fix the towbar with bolts and nuts with washers, having previously processed WD-40. Use a metal brush to clean the holes of debris and rust, sometimes this may require slightly loosening the exhaust pipe or changing it a little. Pay attention to the bumper brackets, they may need to be adjusted.

Wiring

If you managed to correctly and reliably install the towbar, it's time to do the wiring. Choose a place to place the outlet and connect the wires. Automotive stores sell universal wiring kits, it's best to buy them to avoid problems with outdated or damaged wiring. Do not save on connections: cheap fittings sometimes do not withstand constant vibrations.

Should be remembered

Trailer and frame must be in perfect contact with each other without gaps. The trailer itself must be made of flat sheet metal without dents or corrosion. It should be remembered that welding of the trailer and the car frame is unacceptable, the towbar must remain unchanged. Try to take into account all the points during drilling work in order to avoid damage to other parts of the car's undercarriage system. Even one extra hole weakens the frame. It is very important to achieve symmetry in the implementation of drilling work, to prevent distortions and displacements. Installing a towbar is a simple job that you can do yourself, given, of course, all the necessary safety measures. If you doubt your own abilities or the quality of the work you have done, then contact the service workshop, whose specialists will help you install or fix an incorrectly installed towbar.

Of course, it’s different for everyone, but for sure, at least once in a lifetime, any person had to transport goods, move, pick up crops from a summer house, and you never know what else ... It’s good when a truck is hidden in the garage for these purposes, but what if you have a car one, and it is intended for all occasions? That's right - get a trailer, or, in extreme cases, borrow it from a neighbor. Only bad luck - the trailer is not so easy to attach. You need a special device - a tow bar. There are two options here: seek help from professionals or take matters into your own hands and install the tow bar yourself. But first, it would be useful to find out in more detail what a towbar is and why exactly it is needed.

This is how the installed hitch looks like

Almost all modern, and most non-modern cars are not equipped with towbars from the factory. Therefore, car owners, if necessary, have to install such a device on their own. But before proceeding with the purchase and installation, you should decide which towbar is right for you. Towbars are:

• fixed (fixed by welding or bolts) - the cheapest and most practical solution, but many car owners are confused by their appearance;
• removable - in terms of reliability, such devices are often not inferior to fixed ones, but at any time it can be removed from the car (the minus of such a towbar is the price, it is almost twice as high as that of a fixed towing device);
• flanged (for 2 or 4 holes) - for their installation, the car must be equipped with a special platform.

Buy ready-made or make your own

You can buy a towbar ready-made or spend a lot of time (but save money!) And make such a device yourself. Nevertheless, most of those who want to install a towbar are inclined towards the option of buying a factory product. And that's why:

Finished factory hitch

1. Due to the fact that such products are now being developed and designed using special computer programs, the manufacturer can accurately calculate what load the towbar can withstand and put a certain strength resource into it.
2. Factory products are subject to careful control for defects, compliance with standards, tolerances, etc. Control takes place at all production stages.
3. In addition, the manufacturer bears warranty obligations to the buyer and in the event of a towbar breakdown due to the manufacturer’s fault (for example, a factory defect), he will be forced to replace the product with a quality one or return your money. However, do not flatter yourself - it will not be easy to prove that the failure of the product is not caused by improper installation. That is why many recommend ordering the installation from the same company that produced the device, of course, if such a service is provided.

What you need for self-installation

So, if you still decide to install the towbar on your own, you first need to take care of where the work will be carried out (ideally, a garage with a pit or a lift, in the worst case, an overpass). The entire installation process will take several hours of your time. For those who decide to go by purchasing a ready-made device, there is almost no cause for concern - all additional parts, such as bushings, mounts, sockets, wiring, etc., are included in the towbar kit. Those who decide to make a towbar on their own will be forced to purchase all the necessary parts separately.

To install the tow hitch, you will need the following items and tools:

• the device itself;
• a set of fasteners for it;
• wires for supplying electricity to the brake light unit of the trailer or trailer;
• drill with drills of various sizes;
• set of wrenches;
• you may need a special tool to remove the bumper.

Preliminary work consists in marking the place for future attachments of the tow hitch. It is most convenient to perform such work with a regular marker. In order for the holes to turn out to be of high quality, experts recommend using a drill slightly larger than the size of the bolts used.

Remember! To prevent corrosion in places where holes for fasteners are drilled, these areas should be treated with a special anti-corrosion compound. Only after this procedure can the towbar be finally mounted.

And if everything is quite clear regarding the installation of the towbar itself, then connecting the electrics of the towbar with your own hands can drive even an experienced motorist into a stupor. However, do not get upset in advance. Let's try to understand in more detail.

Connecting a towbar

According to current legislation, a trailer attached to a car must completely duplicate all the signals given by the car while driving. That is why the standard wiring of your trailer must be connected to the vehicle's on-board electrical network.

The appearance of the socket for connecting the towbar

Attention! Before you start connecting the towbar electrics, you should carefully study what types of connectors and contacts are responsible for what.

Most factory towbars come with detailed installation instructions. If you strictly follow the manufacturer's recommendations, and also do not forget about the elementary rules for connecting electricians in principle, then installation problems should not arise. If the towbar is connected correctly, the trailer completely duplicates all the light signals of the car to which it is connected. So, let's talk about the installation in more detail.

Tow hitch installation

Usually, installing a towbar does not cause any particular difficulties for the car owner. You probably won't even have to remove the rear bumper and/or drill holes in it. For example, we will show the process of installing a towbar on a Lada Largus car.

We carefully clean the bottom of the car, preparing it for the installation of the tow hitch Armed with a screwdriver, remove the plugs in regular places We go around the locker of the device and insert the bolts into the provided holes To firmly fix the towbar under the bumper, carefully tighten all the bolts

After that, we conduct a control check of the reliability of the connection between the car and the towbar. Now you can connect the towbar electrics with your own hands.

Electrical connection

For each specific tow hitch, the manufacturer provides a connection diagram for the towbar socket. Connect the wiring only according to this diagram. A special module is installed on the towbar - a socket for connecting the car's electrics with the trailer's electrics. The most common are seven and 13-pin sockets. Russian cars equipped with towbars from the factory often have exactly seven-pin connection sockets. Thirteen-pin sockets can often be found on Korean, Chinese and European cars, as well as on cars made in the USA. “Extra” contacts are needed to connect various specific equipment on the trailer, which domestic designers considered unnecessary.

The decoding below applies to both 7-pin and 13-pin connectors. After the dot, the most common colors used in the installation of wires are indicated (be careful - colors may vary).

1. Turn signal (left). Yellow color.
2. Fog light (rear). Color - blue.
3. Grounding pins 1-8. White color.
4. Turn signal (right). Green color.
5. Dimensions (left side) and license plate light. Brown color.
6. Feet. Color - red.
7. Dimensions (right side) and license plate light. Black color.
8. Reverse. Pink colour.
9. Voltage 12V with battery. Orange color.
10. Voltage 12V with the ignition on. Color - gray.
11. Grounding contact 10. Color - white with black.
12. Signal wire. Color - blue with white.

Approximate socket connection diagram

If the connector installed on the vehicle does not match the one that the selected trailer is equipped with, special adapters should be used.

Network integration

When the connector is selected, we connect it to the vehicle's on-board network. It is more convenient to do this through the technological hole in the rear brake light block. In modern foreign cars, when connecting, malfunctions can occur, mainly caused by the fact that in such cars the electrician is designed for a certain voltage. The problem is solved easily - by installing an adapter with a high resistance. Domestic cars in this sense are less problematic - their electrical system is able to withstand heavy loads. When installing the towbar connector, we connect the wires by color. It will be correct to insulate each wire separately, and then check them for operability.

Now more and more motorists are trying to equip their cars with towbars. This is not surprising, because having a faithful and reliable passenger car in everyday life, it is pleasant to think that, if necessary, it can carry bulky cargo or help tow another car. As you can see from this article, installing and connecting a towbar is a simple task. The main thing is to follow our recommendations and advice from the manufacturer.