SafetowUK

In August 1998 a radical change in towbar fitting came into force it was the European Type Approval regulation 94/20, this  has totally change the way towbars were manufactured and fitted.

It is now the responsibility of vehicle manufacturers to designate where towbars are fitted on their vehicles. The towbars have to be made to certain standards and must fit on the points designated by the vehicle manufacturer, they must all meet stringent safety stress checks before the approval is given to put the bar into production and only after the approval certificate is issued can this be done. All towbars covered by the regulations carry a type approval certificate badge on them.

 A typical type approval identification plate.

Vehicle electrics is another area where there have been enormous changes. It is no longer possible in most vehicles to simple scotchlok into the lighting cables to make your trailer socket work.

Most cars now have engine management systems containing bus bars and/or multiplex wiring systems with on board computer bulb failure warning devices. Some cars such as New Vauxhalls, Volkswagen and Audi only have one wire each side to operate the rear and brake light. This has seen the formation of the smart by pass which was invented by Ryder Towing. This little beauty does the lot, it not only fools the management system that there is nothing there (thereby preventing false overload warnings,or false bulb failure warning). It also smartly switches the one cable into two so that you can operate the much simpler trailer lights.

There are many types of relays that fitters may have to use simply to make the trailer lights work properly and thanks to Ryder Towing we remain at the head of the game in this field.

This is a Ryder Smart by pass relay. Taking only half an amp of power it fools the lighting management system that there is nothing there when you plug in your trailer lights. Thereby preventing overload on the circuit.

 This is the auxilliary charging relay that operates the battery charger, fridge and gives a live feed to the caravans interior. The pins are exposed for viewing but as can be seen there is a lid on either side that closes over the connectors. The beauty of this relay is that it only requires one live feed to the battery or ignition live.

A view of a detachable tow bar although it gives a neater finish when not towing the drawbacks are that it is a lot more expensive than a fixed one and being swan necked there is a limit on accessories that can be used.So they are more expensive as well.