Tow Bars for Stageas

[Duncan]

pretty sure there is drilling, cutting and maybe even welding, I'll be getting a local workshop to do it for me.

[Sydneykid]

What is the maximum towing capacity of the rb25 ? that is all I need to know

The R32GTST and the trailer weigh around 1.75 tonnes with at least 300 kgs of stuff (toolbox, wheels & spares etc) in the wagon. So add that to the Stagea weight, plus 1 passenger and 1 driver and you get almost 4 tonnes in total. The trailer has electric brakes, so it has sufficient braking such that the Stagea brakes don’t do any extra work.

Our Stagea (an S1) has the usual, boost up, turbo back exhaust, filter and piggy back (DFA, IEBC & SITC) tune. With the standard turbo at 10 psi it makes around 170 rwkw, with noticeable boost at 2,000 rpm. Torque is pretty flat (over 5,000 newtons) from 2,500 rpm to 6,000 rpm, so it has no problem hauling 4 tonnes around. The transmission is protected by a large cooler, plus the standard loop through the radiator bottom tank.

The only thing I would change is the fuel tank, it simply isn’t big enough at 65 litres. Moving along briskly at the speed limit it uses a bit over 20 litres per 100k’s on the highway/freeway, so every 250 to 270 k’s I start looking for a service station. The transporter does 1000k’s before it needs diesel and the other tow car (Prado) will do 500k’s on its tank of 92 ron. So we basically stop twice as often as our travelling companions and have to seek out (and pay for) 100 ron This gets rather annoying on long trips, such as Philip Island. But its OK for 95% of what we do, Oran Park, Eastern Creek, WSID, Bathurst and Wakefield Park.

Compared to the 4 litre EL Foulcan wagon we used for towing before, the Stagea is pretty much a perfect fit.

cheers

[edison]

appreciate the very long reply alot of usefull information thanks again !

I've decided what I'm getting as my tow car =]

[waffenschmiede]

May somebody can help me to get a tow bar for my S1 Stagea?

I need one for 2.5 or 2 tons.

Including shipping to austria.

Thanks

[Terminal]

Austria is a long way to get a tow bar sent, are you sure you wouldn't be better off getting someone there to build it for you? I didn't know you get get Stagea's sent to Austria, don't you drive on the right?

[Raysboostin]

did u guys ever get ur towbars load rated?? if they r 2000kgs i'll have one. if not has anyone found some1 that will make a 2000kg load rated (and fully approved) towbar?

[Duncan]

rated by whom? Max rates his towbars at 2000kg. But he was at pains to say it is not legal until it has been engineered, although he is confident the engineer will find it legal.

if that all makes sense.

[Raysboostin]

well if its not engineer approved and legal, u better hope and pray ur never involved in an accident when towing (at fault or not). cos ur insurance company will probably just laugh at u. ive never heard of an insurance company taking someones word, that "the towbar is rated to XXXXkg" without some form of documentation. besides that, in the very unlikely event it does fail and writes off ur car, trailer and whatever ur carrying, u wont have a leg to stand on cos u have no proof it was rated to tow what ur pulling. unless he is nice enough to give a legally binding document stating its maximum safe working load (document would be an engineer certificate).

[petrolfix]

well if its not engineer approved and legal, u better hope and pray ur never involved in an accident when towing (at fault or not). cos ur insurance company will probably just laugh at u. ive never heard of an insurance company taking someones word, that "the towbar is rated to XXXXkg" without some form of documentation. besides that, in the very unlikely event it does fail and writes off ur car, trailer and whatever ur carrying, u wont have a leg to stand on cos u have no proof it was rated to tow what ur pulling. unless he is nice enough to give a legally binding document stating its maximum safe working load (document would be an engineer certificate).

who cares...

1 if your a qualified welder and/or are a shit hot welder make your own.

2 find a car that has your rated tow bar you want at the wrekers

3 steel the adr plate.

4 weld it onto yours

that sipmle as long as it has that plate the inshurance companys won't check the rest just make shure you do it right and strong and looking like a haymenn rice tow bar and your good as gold

who cares...

[Stinky Rooster]

who cares...

1 if your a qualified welder and/or are a shit hot welder make your own.

2 find a car that has your rated tow bar you want at the wrekers

3 steel the adr plate.

4 weld it onto yours

that sipmle as long as it has that plate the inshurance companys won't check the rest just make shure you do it right and strong and looking like a haymenn rice tow bar and your good as gold

who cares...

I can't even begin to say how stupid that is. Apart from the fact that you are suggesting that breaking the law is simple and effective, if anyone gets hurt in an accident that involves that towbar, then the amount of shit that would rain down upon you from a great height is almost incalculable.

Can you say "culpable negligence"????

everytime I am in my car with my kids, and stuck behind a car pulling a trailer, I am gonna pray its not you, I don't care how good a welder you think you are.

Oh, and LAWL @ "haymenn rice"

[petrolfix]

fair call. but i make tow bars and traillers at work (for trucks mostly) and know how the system works. it is not so much about the tow bar it's self but where and how you mount it. as long that you are sensible and have common engenering sense no one will ever pick the diffrence.

p.s if your not confident don't attempt this and breaking the law is bad.

[Duncan]

my point of view is that pretty much every stagea/skyline/silvia etc on the roads has some sort of mods from factory and therefore is not legal either.

if it worries you get it engineered. I've chosen not to. and BTW my stagea only has 3rd party anyway because its only worth 10k

[Raysboostin]

who cares...

1 if your a qualified welder and/or are a shit hot welder make your own.

2 find a car that has your rated tow bar you want at the wrekers

3 steel the adr plate.

4 weld it onto yours

that sipmle as long as it has that plate the inshurance companys won't check the rest just make shure you do it right and strong and looking like a haymenn rice tow bar and your good as gold

who cares...

its not that simple the plate has the vehicle model stamped on it specifically to stop ppl like urself doing exactly that.

I can't even begin to say how stupid that is. Apart from the fact that you are suggesting that breaking the law is simple and effective, if anyone gets hurt in an accident that involves that towbar, then the amount of shit that would rain down upon you from a great height is almost incalculable.

Can you say "culpable negligence"????

everytime I am in my car with my kids, and stuck behind a car pulling a trailer, I am gonna pray its not you, I don't care how good a welder you think you are.

Oh, and LAWL @ "haymenn rice"

im with u on this 1 rooster.

[Raysboostin]

i got in touch with the 2 only places in brisvegas that make towbars. both of them said u'd b crazy to tow more than 1200kg max with a stagea. apparently the thickness of the steal used to build the car isnt strong enough to handle that kind of stress. which was surprising as some of u guys said u had towed car trailers with urs. have any of u noticed any damage, stress fractures, elongation of mounting holes or anything of that nature??

[_Ryan_]

i got in touch with the 2 only places in brisvegas that make towbars. both of them said u'd b crazy to tow more than 1200kg max with a stagea. apparently the thickness of the steal used to build the car isnt strong enough to handle that kind of stress. which was surprising as some of u guys said u had towed car trailers with urs. have any of u noticed any damage, stress fractures, elongation of mounting holes or anything of that nature??

i would also be interested to hear as a tow bar is on my shopping list...

[Duncan]

Hi Ray, I regularly tow big loads, and regularly check underneath. No sign of crack in ths chasis rails or joins or movement in the bolts. Mine attaches to the chasis rails on each side and there is an additional brace in the wheel well where they welded a reinforcing plate in.

[Raysboostin]

well sounds like these guys may be holding on to it just a bit tight. is urs one of those ones from "max"??

[Duncan]

yeah sure is. I understand their concern if they have never done them before 2000kg is a big load, and there are still people out there who think cars with independant suspension just can't tow.

I've literally towed over 2000kg with my car more than 30 times - I can't imagine most people doing that in the lifetime of their towbar (would you tow a car every weekend?) and there has been no problem.

[xr8eater]

2000kg's should be ok for a stag as long as it isnt long haul or dirt roads and the trailer is electricly braked

but i think you guys should fight to the death with sticks just to get a firm answer lol

[Sydneykid]

i got in touch with the 2 only places in brisvegas that make towbars. both of them said u'd b crazy to tow more than 1200kg max with a stagea. apparently the thickness of the steal used to build the car isnt strong enough to handle that kind of stress. which was surprising as some of u guys said u had towed car trailers with urs. have any of u noticed any damage, stress fractures, elongation of mounting holes or anything of that nature??

My trailer is pretty much the same as Duncan's, electronic brakes, load stabilisers etc. The R32GTST is bit lighter than his GTR though, but I do carry around 300 kgs of stuff inside the waggon. I have towed well over 50 times and I started off checking the tow bar mountings, nuts and bolts after every race meeting. Never found one single thing loose, cracked or even remotely showing any sign of stress or damage at all. So lately I have resorted to only checking it when it is on the hoist to do services, so every 5,000 k's or so.

This "thin metal" stuff is pretty illogical anyway, my tow bar has 8 mounting bolts to spread the load around the rear of a 1.7 tonne waggon that is designed to carry 5 adults and big load space full of junk. So I don't think it matters how strong one single bit is, the load spread is what matters.

Cheers

Gary