tow bar on a mini ????????????????????

[dell]

i was thinking to but a tow bar on my mini cooper 2004 bmw ??? could any one tell me if it could tow a super car/ weight of the car is 1000 ks + the weight of the trailer is about 300 kgs , ???????????? thanks dell

[118118]

i would say towing something that is heavier than the car you are towing is a no no, we have a 2007 mini cooper s and reguarly use it to tow our jet ski which is lovely to tow. prob 600kg all in

J

[dell]

so do you know the weight of the mini, thanks

[Catherine197]

It should show the kerb weight in your handbook.

Ideally you should tow no more than 75% of the kerb weight, but the law is that you should not tow any more than the kerb weight. I would guess your mini will be circa 1,200kgs.

[dell]

thanks for your help ??

[marlinmunro]

118118 said:

i would say towing something that is heavier than the car you are towing is a no no, we have a 2007 mini cooper s and reguarly use it to tow our jet ski which is lovely to tow. prob 600kg all in

J

How do you get round the center exhaust, any pic"s ?

[Silent1]

dell said:

thanks for your help ??

How is that a question?

[118118]

here are a few pics it removes above the exhausts







J

[Essential]

That would suit me down to the ground. Who, where and hopw much fitted? Like the idea of it being removable.

Mike

[Loui]

It wont tow it simple as. Btw my car 04/54 works S weighs in at around 2900 lbs with me in it if thats any help

[118118]

Loui said:

It wont tow it simple as. Btw my car 04/54 works S weighs in at around 2900 lbs with me in it if thats any help

i dissagree this is from the weekend just gone a trip to norfolk, the only thing it could have done with is some caravan rubber blocks in the spring which are only £10 ish and simply slide in




J

Edited by 118118 on Tuesday 17th June 06:42

[Stuart_McGill]

dell - I've sent you a PM about a detachable towbar I may be selling

[Catherine197]

Surely towing with a Cooper S is illegal, the car isn't homologated for towing?

[uk_vette]

118118 said:

Loui said:

It wont tow it simple as. Btw my car 04/54 works S weighs in at around 2900 lbs with me in it if thats any help

i dissagree this is from the weekend just gone a trip to norfolk, the only thing it could have done with is some caravan rubber blocks in the spring which are only £10 ish and simply slide in




J

Edited by 118118 on Tuesday 17th June 06:42

.
.
I am sorry, but that looks stupid.
I can't believe a Mini should be allowed to have a tow bar fitted.

[CooperS]

uk_vette said:

118118 said:

Loui said:

It wont tow it simple as. Btw my car 04/54 works S weighs in at around 2900 lbs with me in it if thats any help

i dissagree this is from the weekend just gone a trip to norfolk, the only thing it could have done with is some caravan rubber blocks in the spring which are only £10 ish and simply slide in




J

Edited by 118118 on Tuesday 17th June 06:42

.
.
I am sorry, but that looks stupid.
I can't believe a Mini should be allowed to have a tow bar fitted.

Why its like any hatch, it has enough torque one would presume to pull something fairly light i think it looks like a good solution.

What your objections to mini towing certain weights of trailers?

[B16JUS]

lol to some of the reply's

the mini tows the jetski all the time launches fine and is generally a pleasure to tow with.

the boat was hocked up for a laugh so dont worry it wasnt actually towing it on a public road !!

alought it pulled the boat it was well down on the bump stops at the rear but couldnt belive it pulled it so well it would have no chance of launching the boat lol

mini have got type approval for the towbars as the clubman, dooper etc can all have one the reason they dont do it for the cooper s is because of the exhausts but there are ways round this like the one i have fitted.

if anyone wants a kit for a cooper s i have a spare as we removed the one off my friends mini as he has sold it complete kit with electrics etc

Edited by B16JUS on Monday 22 September 06:07

[Catherine197]

B16JUS said:

lol to some of the reply's

the mini tows the jetski all the time launches fine and is generally a pleasure to tow with.

the boat was hocked up for a laugh so dont worry it wasnt actually towing it on a public road !!

alought it pulled the boat it was well down on the bump stops at the rear but couldnt belive it pulled it so well it would have no chance of launching the boat lol

mini have got type approval for the towbars as the clubman, dooper etc can all have one the reason they dont do it for the cooper s is because of the exhausts but there are ways round this like the one i have fitted.

if anyone wants a kit for a cooper s i have a spare as we removed the one off my friends mini as he has sold it complete kit with electrics etc

Edited by B16JUS on Monday 22 September 06:07

The reason i'm interested is that we are looking at a Cooper D at the moment because it can tow. Coming from a Clio 197 an S would be the most appropriate, but my concern is that if there was an accident we would be stuffed by the insurance on the basis that the car cannot officially tow?

[B16JUS]

who says it cant officially tow ? its just mini dont make a towbar for it other companies do.

same as a bmw m3 a 318 / 325 / 330 etc all have tow bars available for it but they just dont make one for the m3 as the exhaust systems is massive and in the way same with the golf tdi / r32

[Catherine197]

It is not homologated for towing.

[B16JUS]

i think the word your looking for is european type approval and its not tha car which needs type approval its the tow bar.

a car company quote if a car is suitable to have a tow bar fitted and give weights and tow weights etc do you think bmw take a 316i a 316i m sport a 318i a 318i m sport a 320i a 320i m sport 325i a 325i m sport etc etc etc etc then the same for a coupe and same for a cab same for a touring etc etc its the basic car that gets it.

if you are driving safely with correct lighting and nice well maintained trailer etc etc why do you think the bib will be so interested ??? im sure they take more note of a 1986 metro towing a 1986 trailer with a wobbily wheel going off to the dump full of old trees etc are you saying that a 1986 metro is much safer to tow with because its allowed too as it was before the 1998 date which tow bard need type approval

you seem to be making a argument not to get a mini if you dont want one just buy something else then the mini tows what i need fine recovers it from the lake fine and for every other day gets her to and from work fine.

Edited by B16JUS on Monday 22 September 12:40