Dan discusses an important point in the video above. You need to degrease the towball before you hook up to a caravan. However, even manufacturers such as Ford are now offering the option of an electronic deployable towbar. As I’ve stated above, there are three main categories of towbars, they are either fixed, detachable or retractable. The pros, as discussed above, with a detachable towbar are that it can be relatively easily detached when towing is not required.

With added convenience/ease of use for such a discrete towbar with the use of electric motors/hinges, there are more components to potentially fail at some point. Ergonomics covers how well something is designed for human use. In other words, how efficiently and safely can a person interact with an object? However, the video also discusses something very important when a towbar is not actually suitable/capable of towing. In terms of the downsides of fixed towbars, some people do not like how they look. Hence, when their car is not towing a caravan/trailer, they feel the towbar ruins the aesthetics of the car. Well, bolt-on/flange-mounted towbars are generally considered by some to be the ‘ugly’ option as more of the components are on display.The Westfalia Automotive Detachable TowBar is one of the most popular towing systems on the market and is catered towards more high-end vehicles due to its removable operation. While a fixed towbar performs perfectly well as a device for towing, its ergonomic issues are present when its not in use. So no more banging your legs on a towbar when you’re just going to the shops. Furthermore, other than the towbar fixing point, when the detachable towbar is not fitted the car retains its original appearance.

However, proper maintenance and servicing will reduce any potential reliability issues. Hence, always read the instructions.

Over the last couple of years, we have had a few guests with Land Rover Discoveries with electrically deployable towbars. We inspect towbars that are sent to us using a special reference gauge. If the dimensions of the towbar are no longer within the reference gauge, you can assume that the towbar has been damaged by overloading. It is not permissible to use a damaged towbar.