Thread: MY12 Defender 90 towbar.

Originally Posted by Leroy_Riding

I know this has been coverd in a few threads but nothing 100% tells me what will work and what wont.

I want a 50mm square hitch style towbar that i cna use for a recovery point, and to tow my big arse trailer with my mini on it, and the mates 2 tonne boat, I dont want to loose the rear step either.

So i called speedy towbars and they cant find a listing for a bar for the Defender90 but they have a listing for a mid wheelbase Defender form Hayman Reese that fits with the rear step on.
Now im going to assume this is for the 110?
Its $640 fitted. . .

Now she said they can 'Mod' it slightly if needed but thye dont make them from scratch.
Can anyone give me other options or shed some light on this for me, I really want to keep my rear step and I need the square hitch style for the Motorbike Carrier im getting aswell.

also is $640 a good price if it will work?

Thanks in advance!

How about this one?

It looks like it is different again, still HR hitch style, I have seen a few of these now. This on on an MY11.

Originally Posted by Loubrey

One thing you have to keep in mind - Land Rover makes a host of additional products specifically to meet the standards of the many countries they sell their products in.

Therefore OEM equipment out of the UK does not neccesarily meet Australian Standards and towbars being a critical engineering item, there is a big chance (almost certain) that the UK supplied bar doesn't have AS certification, regardless of its obvious strength and design.

Without certification you are not covered by waranty or insurance.

There are however many people who have imported their own vehicles from the UK and a number of non-conformances have made it past the inspecting engineer, but IMO its not worth the risk to fit non-AS rated equipment. Especially when the Australian OEM parts are as reasonably priced...

I couldn't agree more....

The height (on the lowest setting) is 10mm above the Australian Maximum so I know I am out of the money there but I gave up on the ADR rules when they told me a couple of years ago that I could not import an Isofix baby seat into Australia because they were not compliant even though the wifey's six year old Range Rover Sport had the fitting points. Apparently it was better to have the seat wobble around 'secured' by the lap seat belt.

The tow bar is really nicely made (in Germany... with the TUV approval etc) and as we are on a farm the pin comes in very handy for attaching ropes etc.

Hilariously, the fitting instructions DEMANDED (German instructions) that several of the important bolts be tightened to 250nm. I know very little about such things so I asked a mate who is a mechanic if I could borrow his big torque wrench and he just laughed his head off. Ended up using a long bit of pipe in the wheel brace!

So I am in loads of trouble when it comes to the regs!

Originally Posted by nosliwedaw

How about this one?

It looks like it is different again, still HR hitch style, I have seen a few of these now. This on on an MY11.

That is the same towbar as I have on my D90: P/N RAA623.

Cheers
KarlB

That one does look a bit nicer than mine I must admit.

As long as it fits and does the job though, hey...?

I have had the stock Land Rover tow bar put on my 2012 Puma 90. Great quality!

Me too. I had to wait a few weeks as they diidnt have any but it is finally on. Now I am building a trailer and intend to fit saw tooth alloys to match. I haven't asked the dealership yet if they have any, but I know they are in short supply.

Well I'm waiting on a quote from my local dealer now on the part number supplied, see what I get back. . .

Could one of the 90 owners with a tow bar tell me the measurement from the centre of the ball to the ground?

I'm working on a design for a camper trailer, thanks for the help.

Cheers
David