Towbar for an out of warranty L30?

peposhi

Hi, lads

I’ve been looong wanting to fit a towbar on one my Ls and since I have now only the L30 left to play with and it’s out of the 3 years warranty my hands are itchy again. I won’t be towing caravans or anything. Just the odd bits of wood from the sawmills for my small DIY projects, a few bales of briquettes or compost for my OHs flower garden...
I did find back in time a bolt on one, but it was only available in USA and they refused to ship to Ireland...
I’ve seen a Leaf with a hitch a while back. It was sticking through the whole where the rear fog light was. Have a pic somehwere...
What’s your take on that?

kanuseeme

https://addresspal.anpost.ie/pricing-sizing get it delivered to the address in the states provided by An post and they will deliver it to you for around 54 euro could be cheaper but that price is for 20 a kg package.

peposhi

kanuseeme wrote: »

https://addresspal.anpost.ie/pricing-sizing get it delivered to the address in the states provided by An post and they will deliver it to you for around 54 euro could be cheaper but that price is for 20 a kg package.

Excellent!
Thank you

kanuseeme

I use it alot for UK orders, only 4 euro when you pick it up at your local Post office.

peposhi

kanuseeme wrote: »

I use it alot for UK orders, only 4 euro when you pick it up at your local Post office.

They wouldn’t deliver to UK either

peposhi

Here a picture I took a few years back

kanuseeme

When your signing up for it, get a UK address as well, a lot of companies in the UK will not deliver here or charge you a bundle, so from the UK to your local post office costs 4 euro.

unkel

Leaf is not approved for towing. You will not be insured, even towing a tiny trailer. Don't do it.

sgalvin

Not necessarily.

Anything that is replaced with a different make/model item technically changes the car from what was submitted for “type approval”.
Different brand of tyre with different rolling resistance will affect the fuel consumption.
So you have invalidated your vehicle certification. It still however will meet requirements of road traffic act.

Drink driving, speeding, reckless driving etc are all illegal but are all covered by your insurance.

The test used to determine the towing weigh is as follows:

Hill starting ability
5.1. The towing vehicle shall be able to start the vehicle combination five times on an uphill gradient of at least
12 % within five minutes.

So basically it is to the point where the clutch is at the point of overheating or the motor overheats. Hardly a safety issue.

Even from a powertrain warranty point of view, if the total weight of the car and small trailer is below the cars gvw, the transmission doesn’t know/care whether the weight is in the car on the roof, bike rack or trailer.

No one seems to raise any concerns about fitting roof bars. Same thing really a load attachment device.....


From Fbd’s website ref trailers:

FBD have also stated that "when we issue a policy of insurance which provides Third Party Liability, we are obliged to pay claims to any injured third party arising in connection with the use of the insured vehicle…. this obligation rests with insurers regardless of the driver's adherence to RTA (road traffic act) provisions whether they be in connection with the testing of vehicles or licence category of a driver, wearing of a seatbelt and so on".

unkel wrote: »

Leaf is not approved for towing. You will not be insured, even towing a tiny trailer. Don't do it.

peposhi

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Nissan/Leaf/2016/306-X7221.html?VehicleID=201648275


That’s the one I was thinking off...

unkel

Aye, you are right there. Even if you drive drunk, without a license, in a car without NCT, and you crash into someone else, your insurer will still pay out

The intent of my post stays the same though. Leaf is not approved for towing. Do not pull any trailers with it.

peposhi

unkel wrote: »

Aye, you are right there. Even if you drive drunk, without a license, in a car without NCT, and you crash into someone else, your insurer will still pay out

The intent of my post stays the same though. Leaf is not approved for towing. Do not pull any trailers with it.

Unkel, you really have me unsettled now

Lantus

While you are insured if you drink, tow a caravan with no license, drive at 200km/h etc it's not advisable.

This car is not approved for towing and insurers will likely refuse or overload your policy if it transpired you had not informed them.

2 questions though. Does a tow bar bike rack count as towing? And can the guards do anything if stopped.?

zilog_jones

Do insurers ever ask if you have a tow bar installed? I know you should declare modifications, but we're not talking about performance modifications here.

I wouldn't think the guards have a readily accessible list of cars which are not type approved for towing. Insurers probably don't know either.

unkel

zilog_jones wrote: »

Do insurers ever ask if you have a tow bar installed? I know you should declare modifications, but we're not talking about performance modifications here.

I wouldn't think the guards have a readily accessible list of cars which are not type approved for towing. Insurers probably don't know either.

And if you rob a bank at knife point wearing a balaclava, you will probably get away with it too...

pdpmur

zilog_jones wrote: »

Do insurers ever ask if you have a tow bar installed? I know you should declare modifications, but we're not talking about performance modifications here.

I wouldn't think the guards have a readily accessible list of cars which are not type approved for towing. Insurers probably don't know either.

Your car will be scrutinised by an assessor for your insurance company after any claimable accident. They will pick up any obvious modifications straight away - that's their job. The insurance company will be looking to minimise their exposure and so even though they might pay out to the third party, you can forget about being covered comprehensively.
I suggest you contact your insurers to enquire as to whether it will cover the proposed tow bar modification.

If there are personal injuries then you are at risk of being prosecuted, particularly if it is considered that the modification made your car "unsafe". Having been injured in a recent accident (thanfully recovered) my experience is that the gardaí take accidents involving significant injuries seriously.

peposhi

pdpmur wrote: »

Your car will be scrutinised by an assessor for your insurance company after any claimable accident. They will pick up any obvious modifications straight away - that's their job. The insurance company will be looking to minimise their exposure and so even though they might pay out to the third party, you can forget about being covered comprehensively.
I suggest you contact your insurers to enquire as to whether it will cover the proposed tow bar modification.

If there are personal injuries then you are at risk of being prosecuted, particularly if it is considered that the modification made your car "unsafe". Having been injured in a recent accident (thanfully recovered) my experience is that the gardaí take accidents involving significant injuries seriously.

May well give them a ring to find out... imagine I have it all approved by the insurer on a recorded conversation... best case scenario.

peposhi

So... spoke to a lad in Aviva.
At first he said to me there’s no issue having a hitch on my Leaf as this is not a performance modification and if I’m not planing to pull a caravan I’d be fine.
I asked him for an official document to back his words and he said he’d comeback to me

Lumen

peposhi wrote: »

I asked him for an official document to back his words and he said he’d comeback to me

I would put money on you not getting that in writing.

sgalvin

My car insurance policy states my name, my car make model and lists trailer cover for single axle 500 kg trailer as included. (But excludes caravans!)

This was also stated on the policy document when I previously had the Fluence Z.E.
Neither have a quoted tow figure.

Just because something hasn’t been tested in a particular application doesn’t mean it’s unsafe.

IP rating is tested with water. I would be confident it will be fine with coffee although never tested with it.

Lumen wrote: »

I would put money on you not getting that in writing.

Del2005

peposhi wrote: »

So... spoke to a lad in Aviva.
At first he said to me there’s no issue having a hitch on my Leaf as this is not a performance modification and if I’m not planing to pull a caravan I’d be fine.
I asked him for an official document to back his words and he said he’d comeback to me

Is the car plated for towing? Because if there's no tow rating on the vehicle getting a note from your insurance company won't make a difference as its always the drivers job to make sure that they are legal.

blackbox

peposhi wrote: »

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Nissan/Leaf/2016/306-X7221.html?VehicleID=201648275


That’s the one I was thinking off...

You will note that the US uses a different system. That doesn't seem to include the towball. You will need a 50mm towball rather than the US size. Would probably have to get one specially made. You will also need custom electrical connections.

As well as the car not being plated or towing, that towbar will not be CE marked.

peposhi

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/thedriven.io/2019/06/10/towing-a-caravan-with-an-electric-car-can-it-be-done/amp/

And interesting read from OZ