Tow bars

[Gem86]

Has anyone put a tow bar on a ford focus zetec s 1.6 hatchback 2010 and if so which is the right one ? Thanx in advance or if anyone has towed aswel please

[unofix]

Do you have a licence to tow ?

[Gem86]

I can tow aslong as the car and caravan is weighing under 3 500kg, I've read everything I've passed my test after 1997. 2006 to be precise lol I just quering about things.

[unofix]

So Gemma you haven't passed your towing test. Your licence only allows you to tow a small trailer of a maximum weight of 750Kg or a tiny car and a bigger trailer with a combined weight of 3500Kg

Taken form the UK goverments site on towing:

If you passed your car driving test on or after 1 January 1997 you can: drive a car or van up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass ( MAM ) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM. tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg.

 

In answer to your first question. Only tow bars with European Type Approval can be fitted to vehicles now. The days of home made or back street garage tow bars is long gone. So any Tow Bar with the 'E' type approval will be fine. If your planning to fit yourself remember you will need to get in to the cars software with something like ForScan and turn on the 'Towing' option so that the lights will work correctly and that the towing indicator repeater light on the dashbord functions. For ease of fittment I would get the Ford Tow Bar but it can be more expensive than others.

 

In answer to your second question about towing in general, I would say that without passing the seperate test for towing the chances of you finding a car and caravan combination that work and that are less than 3500Kg is very small (a bit like the caravan will be).

[Gem86]

I've got a 947kg caravan already 2 berth so I just need a tow for the car just need to know which one roughly 

[unofix]

Hi Gemma, well looks like you're good to go.

Empty weight of Focus is about 1200Kg + Empty weight of caravan 947Kg = 2147kg 🙂

So that leaves you 1353Kg for a couple of people, some lugage and fuel 👍

You just need a Tow Bar, are you fitting it yourself ? or getting the garage to do it ?

[F0CUE]

TBH I think the 1.6 would struggle pulling a caravan as it can even struggle going up hill sometimes 😂 it would probs just manage it but would cause some strain and plenty gear drops. 

[south_bound]

I fitted a Witter to my Mk 2, they do have one that fits the Zetec S https://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/towbars/ford/focus/hatchback/37/mk-2-zetec-s-7049.  A lot more expensive now than what I remember paying about 10 years ago.  I got a flange type and use it to fit a bike rack and for towing a trailer - pulled a good lot more than 1 ton without any problems.

To follow on from Unifix comments above, you need to check the allowable towing weight given on the sticker in the door frame.  My Mk2 allows up to 1300kg (total gross train weight minus vehicle weight) but yours might be different.  My Mk 4 with 2 ltr diesel engine allows up to 1800kg.

Edit: BTW I fitted it myself without any great problem, and didn't need to programme anything for the electrics to work.

[unofix]

Hi South_Bound, just a quick up date on the electrics. I don't doubt you for a minute when you say that your Mk2 focus didn't need any changes but I found when I fitted a towbar to my 2010 Kuga and connected up the trailer the indicators flashed at the wrong speed and the supplementary/aux towing indicator light on the dash also didn't work. I took it to a local Ford dealership who kindly did the what needed to be done to the cars software for free (never happen now). 🙂

[Gem86]

 Hiya yeah My car can tow a maximum of 1200, I know I probably be using the lower gears going up hills and I know what to look out for with certain things, No I wouldn't be fitting it myself but my old man knows of people who does tow bar fittings, thanks for Ur advice much appreciated

[Tdci-Peter]

1 hour ago, Gem86 said:

My car can tow a maximum of 1200, I know I probably be using the lower gears going up hills and I know what to look out for with certain things, No I wouldn't be fitting it myself but my old man knows of people who does tow bar fittings, thanks for Ur advice much appreciated

I have been towing trailers, often quite heavy, for many, many years,  from using an 1.5l old Triumph which has a lot less power than the 1.6 Focus, up to my current 1.8l diesel Focus which hardly notices the heavy trailer at all, except for more fuel consumption. As you say, it is just a matter of adjusting driving style to suit, and not dashing out into a narrow gap in traffic when pulling a heavy trailer!

I fitted an approved towbar (from Just Tow) to my Mk2 Focus, and it was really very straightforward, the drilling points in the floor of the car boot were clearly marked with dimples. Mine is estate, but I suspect hatchback will be similar. I just used a standard bypass relay for the lighting (with buzzer), and there was absolutely no problem with fast flashing or anything like that. No software updates were done, and have not been needed over thousands of miles since (2011 it was done). I did have to add in an override relay to disable the reverse sensors. It was easy, on the Ford standard control unit there is an input to silence them. But my Ford standard unit failed soon after I bought the car, and as a new sensor for it would cost over £100, I just fitted an cheaper complete sensing system for about £15. Why bother with over-priced Ford rubbish!

The reverse over-ride relay is triggered by the reverse lamp to turn off the sensing system. I also have a current sensing system for an in-car tell tale for the trailer brake lamps, but that is a non-standard luxury. Although it may be available on some bypass relay systems today.

 

[south_bound]

13 hours ago, unofix said:

Hi South_Bound, just a quick up date on the electrics. I don't doubt you for a minute when you say that your Mk2 focus didn't need any changes but I found when I fitted a towbar to my 2010 Kuga and connected up the trailer the indicators flashed at the wrong speed and the supplementary/aux towing indicator light on the dash also didn't work. I took it to a local Ford dealership who kindly did the what needed to be done to the cars software for free (never happen now). 🙂

Yeah, I was describing the Mk 2 Focus and I understand the 2010 facelift Mk 2.5 is essentially the same, no idea what it was like for a Kuga.  I didn't do the electrical installation anywhere as fancy as Peter above, just spliced the wires individually for each of the lights and included the buzzer in line for the indicators which flash at the correct speed.  The wiring colours are in the Haynes manual, but I there might have been some errors in there so worth checking with a multimeter beforehand.  I also have reverse sensors but just live with the constant beep when reversing with trailer attached, doesn't happen all that often but I admit it is a distraction when concentrating on reversing in a tight space.  I didn't think about the relay option which sounds like it would be a useful upgrade, but doubt I will ever get around to it.