Fixed Flange, Fixed Swan, Detachable Flange, Detachable Swan?
There are different types of towbar styles to choose from each having its advantages and disadvantages. When you are choosing a towbar you need to consider what it will be used for, then you can pick a towbar to best suit your needs. Below we list the main types with a brief description of their uses.
The Fixed Flange Towbar
The Fixed Flange Towbar is probably the most common type of towbar in the UK and traditionally used for all serious forms of towing. Generally it is considered the most cost effective option.
A towball is fixed using either two or four bolts attached to a plate.
It is the most versatile towbar because it can be used with awide range of accessories such as spacers to gain more clearance, bumper guards to protect your bumper when hitching up, cycle carrier mounting plates to carry bicycles and tow at the same time (nose limit dependent).
The Fixed Flange Towbar can be fitted with an AL-KO towball to accommodate the Al-KO stabilizers.
On commercial vehicles the towing height can be adjusted via the use of drop plates and adjustable height couplings.
The Fixed Swan Towbar
The Fixed Swan Neck towbar is the most common used towbar in the E.U. At one time it was little used in the UK but now it is gaining in popularity.
The fixed swan neck towbar is usually favoured for its aesthetic appearance although does not support many accessories and tends to cost slightly more. Its less likely to been seen by reversing sensors but this cannot always be guaranteed.
It is not as versatile as a flange type towbar, for example there are cycle carriers available for this type of bar but you cannot tow at the same time.
The swan neck towbar is AL-KO compatable.
This type of towbar is non-removable.
Detachable Flange Towbar
This is the newest type of detachable tow bar recently introduced by Witter.
It offers all the versatility of a regular fixed flange towbar but when detached it leaves little of the towbar fixings visible. Please note the detachable flange towbar is not available for all vehicles.
The neck is attached/removed using a lock and key system. Detachable towbars avoid any issues with parking sensors picking up the towbar neck, so ultimately if your car has reverse parking sensors this would be the best option for you.
When the neck section is removed it leaves little to the eye or in some cases nothing at all. This means not only will it have very little visual impact on the rear end appearance of your car but will not be in the way of your shins when accessing your boot.
The tow ball is an Alko ball by default and so is compatible with Alko stabilisers.
Detachable Swan Towbar
The swan neck towbar was the first to offer a detachable option. The detachable swan has all the advantages of the fixed swan but has wider availability and tends to be the preferred, cheaper, alternative to the detachable flange.
As it is a detachable tow bar it has the added bonus of a removable neck section which means you can simply just remove it when your not towing. When the neck section is removed it leaves little visible to the eye or in some cases nothing at all. This means not only will it hardly effect the rear end appearance of your car but wont be in the way of your shins when accessing your boot.
There are a few different types of fittings for this type of towbar, each one varying in the way it is locked into place.
The main types are:
- Swan Neck Horizontal Detachable Tow Bar
- Swan Neck Vertical Detachable Tow Bar
- Swan Neck Pin & Nut Detachable Tow Bar
The NTTA Quality Secured Accredited scheme takes the guesswork out of choosing a towbar or trailer centre.
As an accredited member of this prestigious scheme The Towbar Mechanic (Barnsley Towbar Centre) are proud to display the NTTA logo.
We are an ALKO accredited service centre, and have on site ALKO trained personnel, ensuring your ALKO products are serviced by ALKO trained technicians, and that where possible genuine ALKO service parts can be offered.
We fit towbars tailored to your preference. Although there are a range of manufacturers there are two main types of towbar fixed and detachable which we can offer in both flange and swan neck versions depending on the vehicle.