Suzuki Club UK

Why don't more people use them in the UK?



I think I'm going to incorporate a receiver into my front and rear bumpers for recovery purposes, no more faffing around trying to undo/do up shackles with muddy hands, just slip the hitch in put the pin through will also mean I could run a demountable winch system to run on the front or rear

I think its the type approval thing...

Cars made after August 1998 legally need to have "type approved" tow bars fitted.

I don't think these receiver hitches are type approved in the UK

No problem if your motor is pre- August 1998 but if you fit one on a post 98 vehicle its not legal unless approved

Won't fail an MOT with one fitted, just don't have an insurance claim!

Ah but a lot of modern vehicles now like disco 2s have receiver hitch's so theft must be type approved now?

Anyway mine will be for offroad recoveries not towing so I can't see that it will matter, it's just like having a tow point fitted at the end of the day.

Disco's must be approved then.

I know a guy who fabricated one into a rear bumper on a 2003 Hilux only to find out it wasn't legal to use as a tow bar because it wasn't type approved

Great idea too, he had all sorts of attachment ideas for his.

hmm interesting havent seen that before but if i was to use it i would take it of for the mot then chuck it back on after,

they cant test it ifs its not there

Yeah, they are useful! I'll prob make a few things that use it like a bike rack etc. Or one of these for taking spares along with me to p&p or camping gear etc.




Only hard bit is finding seamless box section, however I'm just going to weld two bits of angle together to make the receiver, should work a treat!

turbo-tom wrote:hmm interesting havent seen that before but if i was to use it i would take it of for the mot then chuck it back on after,

they cant test it ifs its not there

It wouldn't be a testable item, it isn't a tow bar! anyway without the recovery hitch in it's just a square hole, i wouldn't leave the recovery hitch in anyway as it would just get nicked.

Type approval isn't tested on MOT anyway so it wouldn't fail ( I did mention that )

The only problem would arise in the event of an accident/insurance claim.

If you were found to be towing with a non type approved tow bar in a post 98 vehicle your insurance company will walk away...

But yeah, a great idea for recovery/winches/jacking points/seats etc

I am thinking about a rear bumper with receiver hitch this year Scottie and was toying with the rear basket idea too!

Does anyone have pics of how they mounted rear bumpers. I have two thoughts at the mo but don't want to "re-invent the wheel"?

Cheers! Geoff

Oh and Merry Chrimbo!

Mine is bolted to the towbar cross member mounts with side plates to brace the mounting brackets also doubling as the tow points. Have a flick through my build thread for some photos and rough paint sketches.