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.
So I made my way down to All Vehicle Accessories (AVA) in South Melbourne with the intention of getting a cheap towbar installed. On arrival I was thinking the less money I spent on the towbar, the more I'd have for the holiday. In discussing these ideas with the AVA professionals though, I quickly learned just how silly this attitude was.
The first thing they asked me was what I wanted to tow. I told them about the camping trip and the rented caravan. Also, we enjoy riding, my wife in particular loves competing in triathlons. So I'd probably come back later and get car bike racks (which I now know are called bike beaks) for the towbar.
They then showed me the value of the objects I was going to be towing. To start with, my bike is a bit of a cheapie. I only spent about $800 on it. My wife's though, well given her passion for triathlon training, she spent over $3000 for hers.
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 really valued the advice I was given on this day. It completely changed my perspective in what I was buying when shopping for a towbar. It changed my mind regarding what I was looking for. Instead of shopping for price, I was shopping for quality, reliability, robustness and efficiency. Yes, that's right, efficiency. Different towbars actually make you vehicle perform differently too.
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.
Firstly, they have an accessory called a Weight Distribution Hitch. This important piece of equipment, when fitted properly, reduces the ball weight and therefore, the drag on the vehicle. If you are looking to save money on your towbar, think about this. Paying the extra dollars for this towbar and accessory will actually pay you back many times over down the track. Reducing the drag improves your fuel efficiency. That means that when you are towing, you use less fuel and save money at the bowser. This is an on-going saving, not the once off I was considering by going cheap with the towbar.
They also sell this cool gadget called Sway Control. It basically keeps whatever you are pulling on the straight and narrow, despite high winds, trucks coming the other way etc. Have you ever seen those retired people who are pulling a caravan behind them when a truck drives past the other way. Have you ever seen how much their caravan swerves all over the road when this happens due to the blast of air. The sway control stops this happening to you, making for a safer and once again, more efficient trip. This is very important to me given my family will be sitting next to me in the Jeep.
Its good when you go to an auto store and the professionals there actually give you advice, help you get past your preconceived ideas and make a better decision. I'm certainly glad the guys at AVA helped me see sense when it came to my towbar.
So I made my way down to All Vehicle Accessories (AVA) in South Melbourne with the intention of getting a cheap towbar installed. On arrival I was thinking the less money I spent on the towbar, the more I'd have for the holiday. In discussing these ideas with the AVA professionals though, I quickly learned just how silly this attitude was.
The first thing they asked me was what I wanted to tow. I told them about the camping trip and the rented caravan. Also, we enjoy riding, my wife in particular loves competing in triathlons. So I'd probably come back later and get car bike racks (which I now know are called bike beaks) for the towbar.
They then showed me the value of the objects I was going to be towing. To start with, my bike is a bit of a cheapie. I only spent about $800 on it. My wife's though, well given her passion for triathlon training, she spent over $3000 for hers.
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 really valued the advice I was given on this day. It completely changed my perspective in what I was buying when shopping for a towbar. It changed my mind regarding what I was looking for. Instead of shopping for price, I was shopping for quality, reliability, robustness and efficiency. Yes, that's right, efficiency. Different towbars actually make you vehicle perform differently too.
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.
Firstly, they have an accessory called a Weight Distribution Hitch. This important piece of equipment, when fitted properly, reduces the ball weight and therefore, the drag on the vehicle. If you are looking to save money on your towbar, think about this. Paying the extra dollars for this towbar and accessory will actually pay you back many times over down the track. Reducing the drag improves your fuel efficiency. That means that when you are towing, you use less fuel and save money at the bowser. This is an on-going saving, not the once off I was considering by going cheap with the towbar.
They also sell this cool gadget called Sway Control. It basically keeps whatever you are pulling on the straight and narrow, despite high winds, trucks coming the other way etc. Have you ever seen those retired people who are pulling a caravan behind them when a truck drives past the other way. Have you ever seen how much their caravan swerves all over the road when this happens due to the blast of air. The sway control stops this happening to you, making for a safer and once again, more efficient trip. This is very important to me given my family will be sitting next to me in the Jeep.
Its good when you go to an auto store and the professionals there actually give you advice, help you get past your preconceived ideas and make a better decision. I'm certainly glad the guys at AVA helped me see sense when it came to my towbar.
About the Author:
Damian Papworth understands the expense of quality towbars and bike racks are mimimal in comparison to the vehicles they are towing.
1 comments:
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