{"product_id":"fixed-swan-neck-towbar-for-a-small-car-in-powder-coated-steel","title":"Fixed Swan Neck Towbar for a Small Car in Powder Coated Steel","description":"\u003cp\u003eA swan neck towbar: a light swan neck for a small car, honest about what it will and will not pull.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTowing is the one thing you can buy for a car where the wrong part is not merely disappointing. Every towbar listing here states the type approval number, the D value, the maximum noseweight and whether the bumper has to be cut, because those four facts decide whether a bar is legal on your vehicle and whether it will pull what you want to pull. Every electrical listing says plainly whether it is a dedicated loom or a universal one with a bypass relay, and what each will and will not do. We would rather lose a sale to a cheaper part than sell you one that does not fit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFits: vehicle specific. Registration first, part number second, and we will tell you about the bumper before you commit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eApproval: UNECE R55 for your exact vehicle. Every car first registered in the UK after 1 August 1998 must be fitted with a type approved towbar, approved for that specific make, model and body shape. The approval number is printed on a plate riveted to the bar and it is stated on every towbar listing on this site. A bar without one is not a cheaper towbar, it is an uninsured one.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRating: up to 1675kg gross trailer mass on the bar, subject to the vehicle handbook\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eD value: 6.7 kN. The D value is the measure of how hard a towbar can be pulled. It is worked out from the towing vehicle's maximum mass and the trailer's maximum mass together, in kilonewtons, and the bar's D value has to be equal to or greater than the figure your combination produces. We publish it on every bar and there is a calculator linked from every towbar page.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNoseweight: 75kg. Noseweight is the downward load the trailer puts on the ball, and the figure you may use is the lowest of four numbers: the towbar's S value, the vehicle handbook's noseweight limit, the towball's rating and the caravan coupling's rating. Most people know the first and none of the other three, and a combination that is legal on paper is often over the limit on the one that matters.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBall height: 350 to 420mm laden. A swan neck has a fixed ball height and cannot take a drop plate, which is the trade off for how neat it is\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eElectrics: chosen above. A 7 pin 12N plug carries lighting only. A 13 pin plug to ISO 11446 carries the lighting plus a permanent feed, a switched feed and a fridge feed for a caravan, in one connector. If you are towing a caravan or anything with a battery in it, 13 pin is the answer. If you are towing a trailer with nothing but lamps on it, 7 pin is genuinely enough and we will not upsell you.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFitting time: one and a half to three hours\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBumper: usually no cut, and this is the main practical reason people choose a swan neck. Where a cut is needed we say so before you order\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaterials: a chromate primed and powder coated S355 steel weldment, which is the standard finish and will last the life of most cars\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeight: approximately 14.6 kilograms\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGuarantee: a lifetime guarantee on the towbar weldment and two years on the electrics\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParking sensors: a swan neck sits closer to the bumper than a flange and interferes less with the sensor cone, though on a dedicated loom the sensors mute anyway when a trailer is plugged in\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccessories: a swan neck takes clamp on cycle carriers but not bolt on ones, and it takes no drop plate at all. If either matters, buy a flange\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStabiliser: check the stabiliser's clearance before you buy, because some necks foul the pads\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBall: integral, 50mm, and it cannot be removed. A permanently fitted ball must not obscure the number plate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat arrives\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe towbar weldment with the integral ball\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eevery mounting bolt and washer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe loom chosen above\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003evehicle specific instructions with torque figures\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe type approval plate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFitting\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne and a half to three hours, usually with no bumper modification, which is the practical reason most people end up here. Fitting available at our centres and mobile, with coding included on a dedicated loom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBefore you order\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuy a swan neck if you are towing a caravan or a trailer and nothing else, and if the back of the car matters to you. Buy a flange if you want a drop plate, a bolt on cycle carrier or a stabiliser bracket. That is genuinely the whole decision, and the rest of the difference between them is marketing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tow Tide","offers":[{"title":"13 pin dedicated loom","offer_id":54819755000141,"sku":"HHT-SWN-017-13D","price":154.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"7 pin 12N dedicated loom","offer_id":54819755032909,"sku":"HHT-SWN-017-7PD","price":144.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"13 pin universal loom with a bypass relay","offer_id":54819755065677,"sku":"HHT-SWN-017-13U","price":139.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"No electrics, towbar only","offer_id":54819755098445,"sku":"HHT-SWN-017-NOE","price":119.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0993\/6230\/8429\/files\/Fixed_Swan_Neck_Towbar_for_a_Small_Car_in_Powder_Coated_Steel.jpg?v=1789739912","url":"https:\/\/towtide.com\/products\/fixed-swan-neck-towbar-for-a-small-car-in-powder-coated-steel","provider":"Tow Tide","version":"1.0","type":"link"}