Tow bar

[Richard straw]

I’ve had. Tow bar fitted by Indespension of derby now the exhaust is hitting it has anyone else had this problem It’s on Alphard 2.5  06 

[Rojie]

1 hour ago, Richard straw said:

I’ve had. Tow bar fitted by Indespension of derby now the exhaust is hitting it has anyone else had this problem It’s on Alphard 2.5  06 

 

Hello Richard,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

[Nigel Heyward]

Hi Richard, I have also had a tow bar fitted recently by a company in Tonbridge and have noticed that I now also get a knocking and thumping sound from the back, especially when at low speed or under load, I was going to check that the spare wheel had been put back properly as apparently this can cause noise if not, might be worth a look initially.

[Rojie]

12 hours ago, Nigel Heyward said:

Hi Richard, I have also had a tow bar fitted recently by a company in Tonbridge and have noticed that I now also get a knocking and thumping sound from the back, especially when at low speed or under load, I was going to check that the spare wheel had been put back properly as apparently this can cause noise if not, might be worth a look initially.

 

Hi Nigel, Hi Richard,

 

Just to be clear, are you experiencing these noises when NOT towing ?

 

Did you have all the bushes in the rear end renewed at the time of the modifications ?

[Nigel Heyward]

Rojie, in answer to your questions, yes, intermittently when not towing, and with regard to the bushes definitely not as my Alphard had only done 6000 miles at the time, do you think that fitting a tow bar would affect them then?.

[Richard straw]

Hello Nigel I have now cured my problem .I don’t know which tow bar you had fitted but mine was about 2 cm above the exhaust end pipe ,on tickover or low revs it was hitting it .I bought 2 10 cm rubber hangers and slightly lowered the end box and cut the hanging bracket shorter it is now perfect 
,

[Nigel Heyward]

Good news that you have had a positive result Richard, I will take a look at that possible cause on mine as the spare wheel was not the culprit.

[Rojie]

Hello Nigel,

 

Clearly your problem is not while towing then.

 

However, I would expect towing to compress rear end bushings and probably make matters worse.

 

I do not know whether Alphards were designed for towing.

However, many members have fitted tow bars.

 

Hopefully Richard's solution will work for you too.

Good Luck.

[Nigel Heyward]

Thanks.

[Nigel Heyward]

Just as an update on this thread, I have established that the knocking noise is indeed the exhaust banging on the tow bar frame, I cable tied a piece of hard foam to the tow bar fitting and it was all quiet until the heat from the exhaust melted it then the banging started again, so now just need to find a permanent solution.