Romahome towbar

[Robej]

Hi there.
I have a 1991 C15 Romahome HiLo and want to fit a tow bar. I want to tow a small trailer carrying a motorcycle. The combined weight of both is 275 Kg. (I have read an earlier thread (2007) about towing a vintage Austin car which was a lot heavier.) I can find a tow bar on ebay from a firm called Watling. I saw a HyLo with a tow bar but could not find the owner. Is anyone towing a motorcycle? Can anyone help?
Many thanks
Rob

[Graham]

Hi Rob

Welcome to the forum I have found a couple of previous threads about towbars you might find interesting.

http://www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/foru...read.php?t=560

http://smallmotorhome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4099

[Ian.C.S]

Hi there.
I have a 1991 C15 Romahome HiLo and want to fit a tow bar. I want to tow a small trailer carrying a motorcycle. The combined weight of both is 275 Kg. (I have read an earlier thread (2007) about towing a vintage Austin car which was a lot heavier.) I can find a tow bar on ebay from a firm called Watling. I saw a HyLo with a tow bar but could not find the owner. Is anyone towing a motorcycle? Can anyone help?
Many thanks
Rob

funnily enough we were discussing this at Kingsbury this weekend.Romahomes C15 and R20`s tend to be front end light,so be very careful about applying weight to the backend,you might lift the front.

[di allen]

Hi, Robej and welcome to the forum.

Can't help with your query but as you're finding out there are lots of members who will be along to offer their advice. Everyone is really friendly and have a wealth of information which they're happy to share.

Hope you manage to sort out your towbar.

Di.

[karenw]

Just before buying my Hylo in December, I had a quote from a company in Poole although I was apprehensive re the practicalities of towing in a RH.

From memory, the cost was about £450 supplied and fitted.

[oldun]

Towbar

Hello,
I don't know if this is any help to you.
I recently purchased a seconhand R20 Lo manufactured in 2010 & registered in 2011, it was fitted with a towbar & step. They were supplied by PWS Engineering Ltd, Old Wareham Road, Pool Dorset BH12 4PE in may 2011. The cost then was £412.66 + vat

[RRH]

A towbar for a C15 Romahome would have the rear chasis cross beam as the anchor point for the towbar. There is also an extension going under the rear overhang that has to be supported by 3 or 4 bolts going down through the floor with wide pieces of wood to spread the nose weight out across the rear floor area.

I looked at making one for myself but then I have nothing to tow. It's a bit tricky and I think £400 ish is about right for a company to do.

[Robej]

Romahome tow bar

Hi everyone. Thanks for the great welcome and all the fantastic advice. I've just spoken to PWS and it looks like I'll get them to sort out the tow bar. This will probably be in late May. I'll see what the van tows like and perhaps may think about uprating the rea springs if needed.
Thanks once again.
Rob

[Tony]

towingwith a romahome

Hi. I have a set of spring assisters for sale at 60pnds. Made by forum member rio. I have my C15 on ebay at moment not doing well and had to relist so i have removed them for sale seperately. I have now aquired a larger van so these are no longer wanted
Pm me if you are interested.Thanks Tony

[Robej]

Towing with C15

Thanks Tony.
I'm off to Poole this week so will ask PWS advice about uprating springs and then will get back to you. Very new to this so thanks for your help and to everyone else who replied.
Rob

[Ribs]

Making a C15 towbar.

Hi everyone,
At last we are owners of a Romahome - mixed feelings as it will be a wrench parting with our trusty old Merc. We have a 1996 Hylo with 39,000 on the clock. Getting towards the end of major service before we swap from the Merc. Have changed all fluids, filters and belts including cambelt, pulleys and waterpump. Dealing with bits of rust before they get too bad.

The new van is too nice inside to be doing our usual tip runs etc, so will have to use our camping size trailer. This trailer also doubles as a motorcycle trailer (we are both bikers) when needed. What we need now is a towbar. Have looked at the threads so far and two problems crop up. The cost (to me,) is prohibitive, plus from what I have read, the people that do the job properly are in Dorset and we are in yorkshire.

In the past I have fabricated a couple of towbars, including one for the Merc which was for pulling a 20ft x 8ft x 8ft box trailer (it carried a fix-wing microlight aircraft)! The Romahome presents a challenge. I've had a bit of a look and it would seem to make sense to use the rear cross member's existing holes. Support for the rearmost part is a problem. I thought about using the mounts for the screw down legs - presumably they are designed to take weight.

Any ideas, does anyone know how the proprietary towbars fit exactly? I have quite a bit of experience of laminating with both polyester and epoxy resins and could glass-in backing pads if necessary. The main problem seems to be getting support far enough back.

So far I've only given it a cursory glance and thought it would be useful to see what others think, or have experienced, before giving it some serious attention. I've read somewhere that towbars are now part of the MoT - presumably home-made is ok as long as its secure and the wiring legal?
Best wishes to all.

[Twolitre]

I cannot remember the new MOT regulations for towbars, but I do recall that only proprietory ones properly marked are acceptable. I don't think home made ones are any longer acceptable.
Jim.

[NomadSue]

I can't escape the vision that has appeared in my mind, of a small romahome eg R20 Hilo, towing a smart car (just like 'the big boys' do, pulling some tiny car behind an enormous motorhome, for everyday use).

[saltflybum]

What sized motorbike are you attempting to tow. I have a Triumph Bonneville which I would find hard to put on a trailer and attempt to tow.

I reckon the Suzuki van van is a perfct bike for such use.
http://www.themotodb.com/2011-suzuki-van-van-125/

Rick

[Ribs]

Towing motor bikes.

Generally, it would be a Velocette Venom-based race bike - very light as these things have to be. If necessary (and I can't really see it being necessary), we both have MZ Skorpions - 660cc singles, again relatively light machines. I mean I once towed an 11ft caravan, from Scotland home to yorkshire, with a Morris 1000 traveller!