Fauna protector and tow bar fitment

[jx2mad]

Due to the unavailibility of a decent bar for the front of my L322 what protection against roo strikes is there other than the soft moulded protector? Do SHOO ROOS work? Secondly, my L322 3L TD6 came with factory fitted tow bar. When I went to get a drawbar to fit and the salesman had kittens. The towbar is recessed way under the car and needs a LONG tongue to clear the body. The length required is longer than the recommended maximum length by the manufacturer by about one inch, and the salesman would not recommend towing anywhere near capacity. Your thoughts? Jim

[neil 90]

I got my tongue from a local trailer spares place, they said that the one to fit mine was the longest they made. it fits well and tows no worries, have shoo roos as well, i havnt hit any thing but still have close calls so the jurys out on that one.
hope this helps.

neil

[PAT303]

Mines long and to be honest I have never worried about it. Pat

[harlie]

The tongue is long to allow for the larger than average crumple zone – it brings that heavy cross member forward away from the rear bumper.

If you look deep in the owner’s manual there is a spec for the towbar tongue. It provides the max allowable length measurements. You will also find it should have a solid shaft as apposed to RHS due to the length. Have a look under the car, it’s more substantial than jap built 3.5t rated vehicles (and D2,3,4 for that mater). Combine that with a solid shaft and there’s no issues. The 4 HT bolts securing the trailer coupling will shear long before the towbar fails.

Suggest you talk to Hayman Reece they have a clue and have one in their cat. that will suite, but you will find no one will have in stock – order in from china...

If you are interested I have a genuine tongue I can sell - PM for details although freight could be a killer – they are heavy.

Is the trailer ECU present? It’s expensive.

The Genuine moulded front bar is the ONLY SRS approved bar for the L322 in AUS. I read they are much stronger than they look.

[andrew e]

The previous owner of my 322 said he has hit several roos (including big reds) with the factory bar. (it is steel framed under the rubber). The only damage was a smashed fog light, missing tow cover and cracked blinker.

From experience the best thing for not hitting animals are good HID spot lights and loud horns (not kidding).

Andy

Bullbar.... watch this space ;)