Tow bar fitting - rough price guide

whitevanwoman

Guest
More of a question than a problem...

Can anyone give me a rough idea of the cost of fitting a tow bar with single electrics to a transit or similar vehicle.

It will involve removing the rear step and fitting a new small step to oane side of the tow bar (I need a step for the ladder otherwise I wouldn't bother).

I'm also having a bike rack fitted which fits on the towbar with removable brackets for the bike.

It's going to be a full days work and total cost incl VAT comes to about £490. The cost of the bike rack and step is between £150 - £200.

I think it cost me £200 to get a double electrics tow bar fitted on my old van about 12 years ago and at the time the garage said afterwards they couldn't do it again at that price as they had underestimated the labour.
 
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Bit of a guess, quality tow bar and electrics done properly anything from £180 to perhaps over £300 at a Ford garage.
 
Cheers Mark61, so not too bad a price as it includes the step and bike rack. It's a long established family firm specialising in towbars and trailers with a good rep and I'd rather pay them than Ford or a big company. And I don't want to pay for a cheaper but maybe dodgier job by some back street garage.

They seem to know their stuff, showed me a range of options, discussed pros and cons, and what would best suit my circumstances.

And it's nice to see father and son working together in the business the father's grandfather set up. I feel these family businesses should be supported. They are sadly dying out these days.
 
Father & son working together. Don't go there, you'll have blood on your new tow bar. lol ;)

I'm joking of course, just reminded me when I worked with my old man. lol
 
Lol, me and my family are best kept well apart :eek:

You can choose your friends but sadly not your family :(

And I hate it when people tell me how like my father I am :mad:
 
Wooie1958 said:
Give this fellow a ring :- Home*-*Motorhome Towbars Lancashire Blackpool Preston Manchester if it`s not too far for you.

He is very good and will happily give advice over the telephone.

He is just off the By-pass in Freckleton ( entrance via the old road then turn right into Kirkham Rd. ).

He also has a car you can use whist he fits them, Lytham is only 5-10 minutes away.
Click to expand...

Had mine fitted there, Towbar only, electrics were on already, as was supporting steel back to chassis, £80 !!
Nice bloke.

allen
 
Thing with electrics that might be worth thinking about. They may give the option of fitting a warning buzzer for indicators rather then wiring up another light in the cab. The buzzer is cheaper as a lot less work.
I find the buzzer option a bit annoying, too noisy when going slow, and on older vans, can't hear it at motorway speed. Because I'm a bit tight, I have nearly always gone for the buzzer option, but it's so much nicer with another indicator light.
 
Thanks forthe replies, am using my mobile so i can't give you any "likes" but i would if I could.

Birmingham is too far, I'm in Cumbria.

Freckleton is worth thinking about but need to factor in the cost of return trip - approx 130 miles at 25p per mile...

It could be a pig of a job getting the old step off, it looks quite rusty underneath, so I'd prefer a fixed price for the job rather than be quoted a cheaper price but then be stung withadditional labour costs afterwards.

The cost of the new smaller step plus bike rack is £160+ vat. Plus about an hour's labour @ £30+vat. Take that off the total cost means tow bar plus electrics and removal of old step is about £200-£250 which I reckon is not bad and about what I'd guessed at.

And they are local in case of any problems.

Thanks again for the suggestions. It's good to mull over options.

Ps. Wooie, I know that part of the world well, I spent a year at Queen Mary's school in Lytham, lived near Kirkham, but I bet it's changed a lot in 30 years!
 
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