Towbar...

[RetroRed5]

So we ordered our new Cali a week or so ago; I didn't include the towbar option thinking that I wouldn't need it.

Anyway, after doing more reading about Cali owners and their adventures, I changed my mind and thought better to have one than not, just in case (plus the Mrs said I should have added one); so I got in touch with my dealer earlier today and they've changed my order so that it now includes the towbar.

Now for some folks who already have trailers and those who know from the get-go they will purchase a trailer then the towbar option is a no-brainer, but I'd be interested to hear from folks who added the towbar option and then never used it as well as those who opted not to include the towbar but then later wished they had.

Cheers.

 

[motacyclist]

We had it fitted purely for the bike rack.



Nice low loading height, doesn't obscure the rear view and doesn't affect the height of the van.

 

[RetroRed5]

Sweet I never even considered using the towbar to hold a bike rack, I like it

Can you open the tailgate with the bike rack fitted?

Also, is this one designed specifically for the California or is it a generic rack?

BTW - Nice Cali!

 

[sidepod]

If you don’t get one what the hell are you going to bruise your shins on?

 

[motacyclist]

Can you open the tailgate with the bike rack fitted?

Also, is this one designed specifically for the California or is it a generic rack?

Yes you can open the tailgate, the rack swings down out of the way.

It's not a Cali specific one, it's designed for any car with a hatchback that you need to access. The one I have is a Thule, I think the model I have is now obselete but has been replaced with an improved version.

 

[RetroRed5]

If you don’t get one what the hell are you going to bruise your shins on?

LOL would you believe it, I was just thinking exactly that

Given my stature to weight ratio, if I walked into one it would probably snap my shin clean in half

 

[RetroRed5]

Yes you can open the tailgate, the rack swings down out of the way.

It's not a Cali specific one, it's designed for any car with a hatchback that you need to access. The one I have is a Thule, I think the model I have is now obselete but has been replaced with an improved version.

Thanks; I'll check it out

 

[Trev]

So we ordered our new Cali a week or so ago; I didn't include the towbar option thinking that I wouldn't need it.

Anyway, after doing more reading about Cali owners and their adventures, I changed my mind and thought better to have one than not, just in case (plus the Mrs said I should have added one); so I got in touch with my dealer earlier today and they've changed my order so that it now includes the towbar.

Now for some folks who already have trailers and those who know from the get-go they will purchase a trailer then the towbar option is a no-brainer, but I'd be interested to hear from folks who added the towbar option and then never used it as well as those who opted not to include the towbar but then later wished they had.

Cheers.

Ordered it, but never used it so far. Primarily for option to fit a tow bar mounted bike rack, but primarily potential rear end shunt protection (and something to bash my shins on).

 

[sapto]

Aftermarket fit and one of the best purchose, wanted a tow bar bike rack (me not so tall), sold the tailgate bike rack and also wanted something to stand on to check the roof and canvas.
Altghough it‘s removable we never remove it.

 

[NZCol]

The Atera Strada works well with the Cali. A small word of warning - I had the towbar cut off my van with my bikes on it - 3x5 grand bikes. I was parked backwards jammed against a wall, rack locked onto bar, bikes locked onto rack and then another 3 kryptonite chains. They simply cut the whole lot off, i was away from the van for < 1 hour. I was so depressed by it I sold my van and will only buy something i can keep my bikes inside well out of sight. Roof carriers are even worse, i got a bike off a Thule carrier for someone in keswick yesterday quicker than they could find the key, and it was locked.

 

[Moakesy]

The Atera Strada works well with the Cali. A small word of warning - I had the towbar cut off my van with my bikes on it - 3x5 grand bikes. I was parked backwards jammed against a wall, rack locked onto bar, bikes locked onto rack and then another 3 kryptonite chains. They simply cut the whole lot off, i was away from the van for < 1 hour. I was so depressed by it I sold my van and will only buy something i can keep my bikes inside well out of sight. Roof carriers are even worse, i got a bike off a Thule carrier for someone in keswick yesterday quicker than they could find the key, and it was locked.

OMG, really sorry to hear that. What did they cut...was it the frame of the bike rack itself? They couldn't cut the tow bar ball could they?

I plan to put expensive bikes on there, but had assumed with the Strada locks + bike locks they would be be safe. Clearly not for the determined thieves...

 

[T6 CFO]

The Atera Strada works well with the Cali. A small word of warning - I had the towbar cut off my van with my bikes on it - 3x5 grand bikes. I was parked backwards jammed against a wall, rack locked onto bar, bikes locked onto rack and then another 3 kryptonite chains. They simply cut the whole lot off, i was away from the van for < 1 hour. I was so depressed by it I sold my van and will only buy something i can keep my bikes inside well out of sight. Roof carriers are even worse, i got a bike off a Thule carrier for someone in keswick yesterday quicker than they could find the key, and it was locked.

As the above show, nothing is ever entirely safe but you will stop the opportunist or the amateur which are the majority. Situation in my flats is similar, most bikes would be ok with good protection but there’s no way my carbon road bikes goes outside. It lives on brackets on my wall and I don’t leave it unattended. Shame but that’s where we are.

Mike

 

[Moakesy]

As the above show, nothing is ever entirely safe but you will stop the opportunist or the amateur which are the majority. Situation in my flats is similar, most bikes would be ok with good protection but there’s no way my carbon road bikes goes outside. It lives on brackets on my wall and I don’t leave it unattended. Shame but that’s where we are.

Mike

Just that my other half is doing the London to Brighton ride this weekend, and I planned to leave her bike on the rack whist we enjoyed being by the coast. Feeling far less happy doing so now, as such an event is bound to attract those who prefer to obtain other people's stuff without paying for them.

 

[NZCol]

Yep they cut the actual towbar off. It happened quite a while ago, in fact we've sold the van but you can buy powerful Li-Ion disc cutters now and they will get through anything. This was a pretty busy car park, i'd done everything I possibly could and assumed it was OK but they took the whole shooting match. Thankfully they were insured to full value but we're burnt and will only replace when i find something I think will work (Hymer Car Free 600 is top of list right now). They looked like they had cut the (Gold) Kryptonite new york chain attached to the van first then set about the removeable bar from underneath, all that was left was a stub. Assume they put the whole thing in a van. I found one bike on Gumtree about 4 months later about 200 miles away but was too late to get it back. I was literally 250m away and left van for less than an hour, and I'm quite paranoid as have had someone try and get my bike off at night while i've slept in the van!

EDIT: As pointed out you can only take reasonable precautions but I really want to be able to go running in the hills and leave my bike on/in my van without fear of it being taken. In 99.99% of cases it will be fine, we were very unlucky. There are some epic hotspots, service stations esp. M6 seem bad at the moment and Tweed Valley (there are more, these are where we have had issues). Night before Glentress 7 there were 9 bikes taken from the campsite nearby...scrotes.

 

[Moakesy]

Must have been quite a light show as they cut through, sparks everywhere. Unbelievable how brazen they are these days. I guess they are confident they'll get away with it.

Think I'm going to empty the van before hand so the bike can be stored inside the van as we'll leave it unattended for a number of hours. Regardless of the insurance, I'd just rather not have the hassle of trying to recover the loss.

 

[cbdubs]

Tow bar is also good rear protection against people that don't know how long their bonnet is. My tow bar has a couple of scratches from people trying to park and the plastic cap is cracked. Mine is a removable one but never remove it now. Seems a shame as the removable one was dearer than the fixed.

 

[Steve&Bev]

So we ordered our new Cali a week or so ago; I didn't include the towbar option thinking that I wouldn't need it.

Anyway, after doing more reading about Cali owners and their adventures, I changed my mind and thought better to have one than not, just in case (plus the Mrs said I should have added one); so I got in touch with my dealer earlier today and they've changed my order so that it now includes the towbar.

Now for some folks who already have trailers and those who know from the get-go they will purchase a trailer then the towbar option is a no-brainer, but I'd be interested to hear from folks who added the towbar option and then never used it as well as those who opted not to include the towbar but then later wished they had.

Cheers.

I ordered the towbar for the same reason you did. I have a small trailer but will probably never use it as the Cali should make a pretty good van. Strange thing is I am now thinking of buying a bike rack for the tailgate. Strange because I own two fold up bikes. It appears this vehicle has the amazing ability to rid us of our hard earned cash, bit like love I suppose.

 

[hirsty]

I had a standard towbar retrofitted to my previous T5 conversion & would’ve preferred my current T6 Beach to have come with one, but it was a pre-registered demo so literally wasn’t an option.

I’d like another towbar for rear protection, a small trailer occasionally & have also been tempted to borrow the small cheap but perfectly formed caravan my parents have recently acquired ...

I’m a little nervous after reading on the forum around two-years back of a VW Dealer who fritzed an entire T6 straight off the boat retrofitting a towbar ahead of new owner collection. Like many things, you never hear about the 99.9% that go just fine (hopefully).

 

[hirsty]

Yep they cut the actual towbar off. It happened quite a while ago, in fact we've sold the van but you can buy powerful Li-Ion disc cutters now and they will get through anything. This was a pretty busy car park, i'd done everything I possibly could and assumed it was OK but they took the whole shooting match.

Sorry to hear, that’s horrendous! I once read an article on motorbike security in BIKE magazine where a guy said that thieves had broken into his garage and stolen a Harley Davidson by lifting it over the top of his Landrover Discovery & out the door ...

If someone wants your stuff badly enough then they’ll take it, sadly nothing can ever be 100%.

 

[Moakesy]

Sorry to hear, that’s horrendous! I once read an article on motorbike security in BIKE magazine where a guy said that thieves had broken into his garage and stolen a Harley Davidson by lifting it over the top of his Landrover Discovery & out the door ...

If someone wants your stuff badly enough then they’ll take it, sadly nothing can ever be 100%.

If someone can lift a Harley over a LR, they can have the bike! Ain’t no way I’m gonna mess with them!

 

[hirsty]

quite!