Tow Bar

David,

I have been towing with Tractions for many years.  There are several towbars on the market but, in my opinion, the best type is an original design which is constructed from a pair of shaped parallel tubes running under the car, bolted through the boot floor and cantilevered with clamps at the rear torsion bars.  There are several sizes depending on model and big/small boot.

I have a second hand one for a Légère for sale and I think I also have a brand new one for a Normale available because it is not quite right for my 15/6 for which it was bought.  Let me know if you might be interested – or just want a bit more info – and I shall be happy to contact you off-line to discuss further in detail.

Bernie.

David,

In the 80s I regularly toured with an Avondale Mayfly caravan – just under 1 tonne fully loaded – behind the Normale.  The only problem I ever experienced was in Scotland on a cold damp morning when I had to wait for the engine to warm up enough to tackle a steep unmade track out of the campsite.

I also regularly toured Europe and Scandinavia with a trailer tent.  The only problem with that was that it had little or no effect on the car’s performance and, because you could not see it through the rear window, it was easy to forget it was there.

In 2012 I towed the same Avondale caravan to Harrogate  with the Legere which had a 10 x 31 cwp.   That was straight up the A1 and the car did not have any problems.  However it did struggle on a couple of Gloucester hills when I used it to tow the Cloverleaf on a trailer to a meeting in that region.

I have never seen any official (Citroen) figures re towing capacities but the following general information is gleaned from the web where there is a plethora of confusing information:

• If you passed your driving test after 1 January 1997 and have an ordinary category B (car) licence, you can: Drive a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes or 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM. Tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combinedweight of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg.

Hope this helps,

b………………

David

I have recently made a tow bar for my Legere using Bernie’s design and it tows very well but I did locate it on the large diameter chassis tube with large U bolts rather than the torsion bars. All trailers above 750 Kg have to be braked irrespective of the towing car.

Cheers

Richard