Recently coming home from a trip to QLD towbar decided to drop it's guts on the ground. Was towing my Jayco Swan which I've had for over five years, at the time. She is 1500kg fully loaded and a towball weight of 135kg. Hardly pushing the limits. Seems the brackets that holds the towbar to the chassis had cracked through,(rust along both cracks indicated they had been on their way for awhile.) This in turn cracked the chassis rails on both sides. Question is has this happened to anyone before and what did you do to fix it? I am currently in discussion with Hayman Reece over the issue. The picture is typical for the right side also.
Towbar issues D22
- Thread starter Deanosan
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happy john
Member
Hi mate, that certainly is bad luck I have seen a few cases discussed on the caravan forum where the exact same thing has happened. But the cause is "apparently" the bolts loosening over time and causing movement and eventually metal fatigue and failure. As mine tows on a daily basis I do check and tighten them occasionally and they do loosen. Would be interesting if H/R can give an explanation it would be good to know.
sadly there has been many. a few threads on here about it.
there was a run of bad towbar designs.
yours is missing a half of the mounting lugs and the chassis support brackets.
there was a run of bad towbar designs.
yours is missing a half of the mounting lugs and the chassis support brackets.
happy john
Member
What year was the problem Tweak'd, and what models?, the mounting irons are internal and not evident in the provided picture.
if i remember right it was early zd30 navaras but may have continued for a while. i thought there was a recall for them. there was a load of light tow bars made by someone and i think nissan might have sold some of them.
should be some threads on it around here somewhere.
should be some threads on it around here somewhere.
04SilverSTR
Member
yeah looks like you are missing the internal brackets for the tow bar.
happy john
Member
Yep I did see that a while ago, the loose bolt idea was never proven nor contested.
nakedape
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Have got pics of a good one for comparison?
i was trying to find pics, i thought i saved some. but no joy.
if i remember right the faulty bars lacked either the side or the bottom bolts and supports.
i'll have to check in the morning, i think there is also a U shaped bracket which bolts the top of the chassis to the bottom on the rear bolts.
bolts shouldn't come loose unless wrong grade or possibly over tightened.
if i remember right the faulty bars lacked either the side or the bottom bolts and supports.
i'll have to check in the morning, i think there is also a U shaped bracket which bolts the top of the chassis to the bottom on the rear bolts.
bolts shouldn't come loose unless wrong grade or possibly over tightened.
bradm84
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Here's mine... The original brackets are 6mm thick but I bought this towbar without brackets so made some to the same design as factory ones but with 10mm angle instead...
bradm84
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Yeah, its about 500mm long the bracket. Which means its got that bolt 500mm further into the chassis rail so that all the weight is not distributed only on the last 200mm of the chassis but spread a bit further along the chassis. Is a bit of a pain to get that bolt in there though. I cant tell from the OP's photos exactly what bracket setup there is, but if it had that 500mm of spread or even that U shaped bracket as seen in the previous post that 200mm on the end of the chassis wouldn't have taken all the weight and fatigued like it did... Here is what my brackets look like out of the car.
Towbar issues
Sorry forgot the pics of the internal brackets. My Nav D22 is a 2006 model. The recall was for D40s' and Pathfinders in 2013 in relation to their Nissan fitted towbars. All my bolts were tight when I removed the towbar and brackets from the car. It does seem a poor design as most of the weight is on the bottom part of the bracket and those bolts. I like what Bradm 84 has done , looks a lot stronger. I will most likely go that way myself, maybe even add a cross member to brace the end of the chassis and also attach it to the centre of the towbar as extra strength. I will see What Hayman Reece decides, I'm still waiting on their decision. I don't think I will accept anything other than a replacement and repair.
Sorry forgot the pics of the internal brackets. My Nav D22 is a 2006 model. The recall was for D40s' and Pathfinders in 2013 in relation to their Nissan fitted towbars. All my bolts were tight when I removed the towbar and brackets from the car. It does seem a poor design as most of the weight is on the bottom part of the bracket and those bolts. I like what Bradm 84 has done , looks a lot stronger. I will most likely go that way myself, maybe even add a cross member to brace the end of the chassis and also attach it to the centre of the towbar as extra strength. I will see What Hayman Reece decides, I'm still waiting on their decision. I don't think I will accept anything other than a replacement and repair.
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bods
Member
Wow. That looks bad. Have you had the vehicle since new and has the towbar been fitted since new? I moved my factory nissan one from the bottom of the chassis to the top of the chassis, this requires removal of the rear chrome bumper though...
any grade markings on the bolt heads? might be a number or lines.
Towbar issues
I bought the car second hand. The towbar was fitted afterwoods at opposite lock in Dubbo, I have the receipt to prove it. The markings on the bolts are 8.8 and x. H/R are trying to say that because I am the second owner that they will not honor the warranty.
I bought the car second hand. The towbar was fitted afterwoods at opposite lock in Dubbo, I have the receipt to prove it. The markings on the bolts are 8.8 and x. H/R are trying to say that because I am the second owner that they will not honor the warranty.
bods
Member
Well if the towbar was new when fitted and you owned the car at the time I would have thought they would have to honour the warranty... If they don't want to play the game then you might have to seek legal advice...
grade 8.8 bolts sounds ok.
i can only think that either it wasn't tightened up properly, or put on dirty.
the only other possible cause is what you have been towing.
i can only think that either it wasn't tightened up properly, or put on dirty.
the only other possible cause is what you have been towing.
