Thread: Fitting Hayman Reese 1974R Towbar to '02 110 Defender

G'day all!

Firstly, apologies if this isn't the correct forum... "technical" was the closest I could find for towbar-related stuff.

I picked up yesterday afternoon a new Hayman Reese 1974R towbar, to fit the '02 110 Defender. We have a Long Ranger 127L fuel tank fitted.

I lined the towbar up on the Defender yesterday afternoon in the failing light, after reading the instructions. I must admit to being a little confused - the instructions are for both a 90 and a 110.

Attached is the installation diagram. The bolt mounting up to the rear cross-member fit in perfectly, and the bar easily clears the long range tank, so no problems there. The issue I have is with the bolts and holes into the chassis rails.

I've circled and labelled in red the areas I'm having trouble with. From what I can determine, the points labelled A are for the 110, and the points labelled B are for the 90. On the 110, there are holes (close!) to points A in the chassis ,but nothing near point B. Also, when the bar is bolted up neatly to the rear cross-member, the holes at A on the bar are about 10-15mm too far towards the back of the vehicle, when compared to the holes in the chassis.

Has anybody fitted this bar to a 110 before?

If so:

• Does it require bolts in both points A and B? If so, do you just drill holes in the chassis for point B?
• Did the holes at point A line up for you? If not, what was the solution?

If the holes in the chassis at point A were the other way (ie. the towbar holes were forward of the chassis holes), I could space the bar where it bolts to the cross-member to align the holes, but I'm a bit stuck as to what to do here.


Thanks!
Michael

I've fitted one to an 86 County (not sure if it was a 1974A, but it is stamped for a Defender). I think the chassis bolts should be the same as yours. I did need to elongate the holes maked "A" slightly with a file to make it fit well. Don't think mine had holes in position "B".
I found it best to loosley fix it initially at holes "A", then swing it up to line up the holes in the rear cross member. That gave it a nice snug fit and solved most of the problem you are having with fitting the bolts through the chassis and hole "A".
Adam.