Typically when we go camping, we go pretty spartan. A tent, a few sleeping bags and half a car of camping gear is all we really need. Late last year though, we decided to go a bit more "classy" and hired a caravan instead. It was a pleasant change. In order to pull the caravan though, I needed a new towbar installed on the jeep.
With this in mind, I took the jeep down to the professionals at All Vehicle Accessories (AVA) to get a towbar installed. Initially I wanted the cheapest model I could find, the less I spent here, the more I could spend on the caravan. I am glad I talked to the guys though, in their experience they showed me the folly of my ways.
They were actually pretty good about it. What they did was show me the nominal cost increments between cheap and expensive towbars. They pointed out that this piece of equipment was all that was protecting whatever it was I was towing. In my case, obviously I wanted to tow the caravan on the trip we were taking. But I also intended buying some bike racks as my wife loves triathlon. Bike racks would be really helpful on those early morning trips into the hills for a training session.
From there is was a simple comparison of the increments (between cheap and quality) with the prices of the items the towbar was looking after. So between the two bikes we own, there is about $6,000 worth of equipment to start with.
I didn't know how much caravans were worth, I had to do some research on them to figure that one out. But I now know that you'll be lucky to get anything under $5000 for a caravan and they actually go all the way up to about $120,000. That certainly is a "heavy" load for the towbar.
I was convinced. I had to change my attitude toward this towbar. If I was going to pay the money regardless, I may as well have it done properly. Instead of finding a cheap towbar, I realised I needed to find a quality towbar. Paying the few extra dollars didn't matter anymore, when taken in perspective with the items being towed.
Having a better idea of what I was looking for made the product choice a little bit easier. For example, did you know that Hayman Reece are the only towbar that comes with a lifetime warranty anywhere in Australia. Personally I think this speaks volumes for the quality of their products. They are clearly the only brand which fully trusts their own product. The great thing about Hayman Reece towbars too ,are the accessories you can get with them. They have accessories which make their towbars safer and work better with your vehicle.
They have this thing they call a "Weight Distribution Hitch". When applied to your towbar, this hitch actually reduces the drag on your vehicle by reducing ball weight. And you know what that means. By paying a little more for a quality towbar and weight distribution hitch, all of a sudden you are saving money on fuel, on tyre wear and all the other things that wear out faster when you are pulling something. So it actually is a dis-economy to go the cheaper option on a towbar.
The second feature was their Sway Control accessory. Have you ever been driving behind a caravan which, when a truck drives past, swerves all over the road? The sway control accessory stops this. Given my family are going to be sitting in the car pulling my caravan, this is a safety feature I definitely wanted. They are just too precious to me.
I have to thank the guys at AVA for their help on this one. They gave me perspective, an understanding that finding the cheapest towbar is probably not the cheapest way to tow and ensured my tow set up was as safe as it could be. What more could you ask for?
With this in mind, I took the jeep down to the professionals at All Vehicle Accessories (AVA) to get a towbar installed. Initially I wanted the cheapest model I could find, the less I spent here, the more I could spend on the caravan. I am glad I talked to the guys though, in their experience they showed me the folly of my ways.
They were actually pretty good about it. What they did was show me the nominal cost increments between cheap and expensive towbars. They pointed out that this piece of equipment was all that was protecting whatever it was I was towing. In my case, obviously I wanted to tow the caravan on the trip we were taking. But I also intended buying some bike racks as my wife loves triathlon. Bike racks would be really helpful on those early morning trips into the hills for a training session.
From there is was a simple comparison of the increments (between cheap and quality) with the prices of the items the towbar was looking after. So between the two bikes we own, there is about $6,000 worth of equipment to start with.
I didn't know how much caravans were worth, I had to do some research on them to figure that one out. But I now know that you'll be lucky to get anything under $5000 for a caravan and they actually go all the way up to about $120,000. That certainly is a "heavy" load for the towbar.
I was convinced. I had to change my attitude toward this towbar. If I was going to pay the money regardless, I may as well have it done properly. Instead of finding a cheap towbar, I realised I needed to find a quality towbar. Paying the few extra dollars didn't matter anymore, when taken in perspective with the items being towed.
Having a better idea of what I was looking for made the product choice a little bit easier. For example, did you know that Hayman Reece are the only towbar that comes with a lifetime warranty anywhere in Australia. Personally I think this speaks volumes for the quality of their products. They are clearly the only brand which fully trusts their own product. The great thing about Hayman Reece towbars too ,are the accessories you can get with them. They have accessories which make their towbars safer and work better with your vehicle.
They have this thing they call a "Weight Distribution Hitch". When applied to your towbar, this hitch actually reduces the drag on your vehicle by reducing ball weight. And you know what that means. By paying a little more for a quality towbar and weight distribution hitch, all of a sudden you are saving money on fuel, on tyre wear and all the other things that wear out faster when you are pulling something. So it actually is a dis-economy to go the cheaper option on a towbar.
The second feature was their Sway Control accessory. Have you ever been driving behind a caravan which, when a truck drives past, swerves all over the road? The sway control accessory stops this. Given my family are going to be sitting in the car pulling my caravan, this is a safety feature I definitely wanted. They are just too precious to me.
I have to thank the guys at AVA for their help on this one. They gave me perspective, an understanding that finding the cheapest towbar is probably not the cheapest way to tow and ensured my tow set up was as safe as it could be. What more could you ask for?
About the Author:
Damian Papworth understands the cost of quality towbars and bike racks are mimimal in comparison to the vehicles they are towing.
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