[How To Fit A Towbar To A Vs Commodore TOP
Facunda Ganesh
With a tow capacity of 2100kg and a ball weight of 95kg this towbar is specifically designed for towing caravans, large trailers, boats or horse floats. This towbar has a concealed design and requires a bumper cut. The Towbar has a removable Tow ball mount (TBM) with 50mm tow ball, rated D-shackles and Smart Pin all included.
The Holden Commodore ZB Wagon (10/2017 on) heavy duty (Class 4) towbar has a towing capacity of 2100kg with a ball weight of 95kg this towbar is specifically designed for towing caravans, large trailers, boats or horse floats. Ensure that when carrying bike racks and other items with vertical force on the towbar that you check the owners handbook for weight limits.
Hayman Reese towbars are designed to be compatible with Weight Distribution systems, used to safely tow Caravans and large loads, along with hitch mounted accessories such as bike racks and platforms. They come standard with a tow ball but also work with a DO35 Pin and off-road coupling.
The light duty towbar is rated up to 1200kg and a ball weight of 120kg and is a designed for light towing and mounting bike racks. This towbar has a concealed design and requires a bumper cut. The Towbar comes with a standard bolt on tongue with 50mm tow ball, rated D-shackles and Smart Pin all included.
The Holden Commodore VF Sedan (5/2013 to 10/2017) light duty towbar (Class 2) has a towing capacity of 1200kg with a ball weight of 120kg this towbar is specifically designed for towing light loads and accessories such as bike racks. Ensure that when carrying bike racks and other items with vertical force on the towbar that you check the owners handbook for weight limits.
This towbar has a black powdercoat finish and a concealed design which hides the majority of the bar from view, with only a hitch receiver visible. The ball mount is an industry leading bolt-on tongue, made of thick high grade steel that attaches to the crossmember using two bolts and comes standard with rated D-shackles.
With a tow capacity of 2100kg and a ball weight of 210kg this towbar is specifically designed for towing caravans, large trailers, boats or horse floats. This towbar has an exposed design and doesn't require a bumper cut. The Towbar has a removable Tow ball mount (TBM) with 50mm tow ball, rated D-shackles and Smart Pin all included.
The Holden Commodore VY & VZ 2D C/C - 7FT 6"" Tray (6/2003 to 2/2006) heavy duty (Class 4) towbar has a towing capacity of 2100kg with a ball weight of 210kg this towbar is specifically designed for towing caravans, large trailers, boats or horse floats. Ensure that when carrying bike racks and other items with vertical force on the towbar that you check the owners handbook for weight limits.
With a tow capacity of 1250kg and a ball weight of 90kg and is a designed for light towing and mounting bike racks. This towbar has a concealed design and requires a bumper cut. The Towbar has a removable Tow ball mount (TBM) with 50mm tow ball, rated D-shackles and Smart Pin all included.
I do feel that one is in a better position to make a sound decision if one drops the "Holden fan/Ford fan/Toyota fan" (or whatever) bit and approaches it with an open mind. Important decisions should be made on the basis of logic, not emotion or prejudice.
Having been "burnt" I can see where you're coming from with the Ford. Some folks however treat their Holden/Ford loyalty like a religion.
My late neighbour had Polyair air bags fitted to the rear suspension of his Commodore sedan (I also have them fitted to my Pajero) as well as using a Camec style weight distribution hitch (WDH). No need to go for a "full-on" Hayman Reece WDH for a small rig like yours, in fact I'd be inclined to see if you need a WDH at all before committing to one. Whether one needs both the Polyairs and a WDH is a moot point. I don't have a WDH.
More info on Polyairs at
Regarding the towbar etc, Even though you rig is quite small I'd suggest you consider fitting the heaviest duty tow package available as your future needs could change. (unless a towbar is already fitted of course)
Tess,
The Commodore is an excellent tow vehicle for lighter vans, as heavy ball weightsincrease rear tyre wear.
I recommend you check the vehicle handbook for correct towing advice and requirements.
Cheers, Ozjohn
I am hesitatingly looking at replacing my car after recently getting into strife on a steep drive while towing. Toyota being front wheel drive lost all traction of course.... I never considered that my wonder car could ever let me down. Short of putting a jet engine on the tail is there anything that I can do to remedy the situation?
Way back I towed a 12' 6" Franklin with a Morris Nomad (remember those east/west engines.) I never had traction problems even though my van was heavier and had a very heavy ball weight (for those days.)
I used a WDH with my rig. Are you using one? If so what type? No front wheel drive vehicle vehicle should be towing a van without one. If you come back with details of your vehicle and van then John or I will be able to assist you. A few hundred bucks for some equipment will be cheaper then swapping tugs.
Tess, I'm not sure if that line of Toyotas have a hitch receiver type of tow bar available. However the standard tongue style bars will carry any WDH that will suit your purpose. I suggest you look at getting this style of WDH (not necessarily from this retailer) - _info.php?products_id=9576 -I would suggest steering clear of the shepherds crook type. They are not really up to carrying the maximum specified ball weight and they are not as easy to adjust. The ball weight of your van is likely to exceed 90 kg which is the weight that Toyota specify that you should be using WDH.
That's a better looking arrangement than the one my neigbour had, price seems reasonable. I have dealt with Caravans Plus and found them very prompt and good to do business with. If you use one of these it's most unlikely you would need the Polyairs too.
In a previous post I stated the problem that we have found with our BOTH new to us Buccaneer Commodore and Kia Sorento. The Sorento replaced our previous Sorento Titan (2007) which we had had since new and had been a superb tow car in every way. The Commodore which we bought AFTER the car was on offer at a local dealer at a too-good-to-miss price and condition. We had put Buccaneers on our short list at the February Caravan Show at the NEC. We have been caravanning for nearly 30 years, all over the Continent, and UK and owned 2 single and one twin-axle caravans in that time so quite a bit of experience!!
However, on our first recent trip to Merseyside with the new combination we struggled to get the noseweight down to the towbar/Sorento noseweigh limit of 100Kg even after lightening the front end of the 'van, putting some heavier items just behind the axles and transferring a lot of caravan contents to the Sorento's boot. I realise that the van's MPTLM of 1954Kg is a heavy one considering the car's Kerb weight of 1954Kg and that the best achievable Noseweight is 5.11%. However, Sthe orento has a Gross Weight of 2,600 Kg and a Max Tow of 2,500Kg. This means that this combination IS LEGAL. I have checked with our car (Saga) and caravan insurers (Caravan Club) and neither have any restrictions on the 'van's MPTLM of 1957Kg exceeding 100% of the Sorento's Kerbweight of 1954Kg (a percentage of 100.2%)
On our return journey from Merseyside to Criccieth we experimented with changing the noseweigth on the towbar by rear-loading the 'van by putting a few heavier items over the 'van axles and leaving the internal water tank (under the rear bed) full with 50L of water and put most heavy equipment in the car. That was NOT a stable combination and we had to pull overASAP and drain the water tank. After that the caravan towed well on motorway and dual-carriageway for the 100 miles home to Criccieth, North Wales although I must confess I descended the infamous Rhuallt Hill at under 40mph.
(3) If is NOT a SENSIBLE combination what car would people recommend - we don't want any type of electric vehicle as we do not yet think they are suitable for our towing needs. We would want a new/newish (up to 2 years old) car with 7 seats and good model reliability (so sorry NOT anything from the Landrover "stable") We are in the fortunate position of cost not really being an issue.
We have a 2019 Sorento (our third). It is an auto and the book tow weight is 2000kg. (It would be 2500Kg for a manual). Our Swift Elegance has a MTPLM of 2000Kg. The car tows it perfectly. The previous caravan had a MTPLM of 1900Kg and we towed that for 9 years in Europe, again, no issues. Once we worked out our correct loading we stuck to it.
When in holiday mode, we have bikes on the back of the caravan and struggle to get the noseweight up to a decent figure. When in steam fair mode we have no bikes and have to travel with no water in any of the system to get the noseweight down to a decent figure!
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