Tow bar for Germany

[DaveTheNose]

I want to tow a teardrop camper with my traveller but it seems that morris tow bars are very rare. What makes the search harder is that Germany loves certificates, if you do not have a certificate then you can not do it, use it or have it. In order to MOT the bar I would have to have a european certificate of conformity (CoC). From what I understand this is not required in the UK. Does anyone know of a bar that comes with a CoC ? Or has anyone managed to fit and register a tow bar in Germany or any other european country?

[geoberni]

Hi Dave,
In the UK, if you get a tow bar for your car, it needs to be ‘type approved’. This means it meets EU regulations and is designed for your car.

Type-approved tow bars have a label with:
an approval number
details of the vehicles it’s approved for

However, if your car was first used before 1 August 1998, your tow bar does not need to be type-approved.
This is often misquoted as any tow bar made after that date must be approved.

Doesn't help you though, as nobody seems to stock a Traveller Tow Bar at present.
Perhaps the cost/bureaucracy of the certification process isn't worth it for low/negligable sales return.

[DaveTheNose]

Thanks for the prompt reply, it confirmed pretty much what I already thought. That as Morris Minor tow bars are such a niche item no one would go to the cost and hassle of having their product tested and approved. I could soon whip up a tow bar myself but without a CoC I could not pull anything with it. What a shame that my wish of pulling a teardrop should falter at the first hurdle.

[geoberni]

Thanks for the prompt reply, it confirmed pretty much what I already thought. That as Morris Minor tow bars are such a niche item no one would go to the cost and hassle of having their product tested and approved. I could soon whip up a tow bar myself but without a CoC I could not pull anything with it. What a shame that my wish of pulling a teardrop should falter at the first hurdle.

It seems that the German regulations make no exceptions, whereas the UK ones, remembering that this rule has been around long before the dreaded B word, gave exemption to vehicles that already existed when the regulations came about.
Trust the Germans to make it all retrospective....effectively forcing people to remove tow bars from their classics that were already fitted...

[Nickol]

Hallo Dave,

You may wish to enquire (if you have not done so already) at a main TüV centre to see if they will themselves be prepared to certify a "home made" version. They certainly would have the means to test it. There is one in Alsfeld but no doubt, a main one in FD too.