towbar to wagon

[harry3]

am stiff and sore after fitting a second hand towbar to my VL wagon, how do I undo the rubber donut at the back of the exhaust, want to drop it for some extra clearance, one more hole to drill

the wrecking yard bloke, who specialises in commodores, said towing a trailer was OK with a VL but he wouldnt tow a caravan, the VL is weak in the rear part of the body and heavy towing can cause stretching

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The standard bar is rated to 1200kg. There are two rubbers on the back, it is easier to bend the tabs on the bracket on the car that hold the rubbers on. These are designed to be bent up to stop them coming off, just bend them down, spray some soapy water on them and then just slip them off. I know with a towbar already there these are a bastard to get at.

[harry3]

thanks for that

[harry3]

a small point re fitting the towbar
on the right side of the wagon, theres a white plastic spacer above the petrol tank strap
This spacer seems meant to be removed and replaced by the towbar section that is bolted up under the floor, still using the same screw that goes into a captive thread
the hole in my towbar is elongated and it seems its meant to go on the way I mentioned

the metal that forms the floor above the chassis rails is very thin, the drill went thru it very easily

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Did you have two plates that went inside the back on both sides as well as tube spacers that go through the floor to stop the rails crushing when you do the bolts up? If not the floor may buckle when you tow something.

[harry3]

Ive never heard of tube spacers and cant see how you could get them inside the chassis box section to stop it being squeezed inwards, can you explain?
yes it came with thick pieces of steel with holes to put on the floor inside

my towbar also has 2 attachment points to the spare tyre compartment, which I fitted which is only single thickness metal, although fairly thick

I assume the towing weakness applies to all commodores up to the VL, exactly what goes wrong?
I only intend to tow a small trailer short distances
the safety chain nowdays has to go to the towbar crosspiece and not the gooseneck as it was in days of old
the towbar fitted very neatly and was off a VK wagon, the ball will give some protection against those who park by ear

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

When you drill the holes through the floor, the top hole is drilled slightly larger so you can drop the tube spacer down through the top. The plate that goes on top holds the spacer.

What can happen without them is if towing to the cars limit (1200Kg) the constant towball download can kick the towbar up and bend the floor. It's not common and if you don't tow heavy things you should be right. If it worries you, any towbar supplier will have tube spacers or can get them and you can take the top plate off, one side at a time, drill the tope hole out to 12mm and drop them in.