Towbar Fitting for Vans, Pickups and Land Rovers
A towbar is one of the few things you bolt to a vehicle that has to hold up under load, in the wet, on a motorway, with somebody else's trailer behind it. We treat it accordingly. We fit Tow-Trust towbars with dedicated ECS wiring at our workshop in Chelmsford, Essex, on Land Rovers, vans, pickups and trucks.
We do not fit towbars to cars. It is a deliberate decision, not a capacity problem. Commercial vehicles and Land Rovers are what we work on every week, and that is where we are quick, tidy and certain of the result.
What we fit
- Fixed flange towbars. The workhorse. Strongest bolt pattern, takes drop plates, bumper protectors and cycle carriers, and the cheapest to live with.
- Fixed swan neck towbars. A cleaner look at the back of the vehicle, with the ball and neck as one piece.
- Detachable towbars. The neck lifts out in seconds when you are not towing, so the vehicle keeps its lines and the parking sensors keep working properly.
- Dedicated ECS towing electrics. 7-pin and 13-pin, vehicle specific, wired through the vehicle's own connectors.
- Coding and enabling. Where the vehicle needs a software session to switch the towing functions on, we do it here with the right diagnostic kit.
Vehicles we cover
- Land Rover Defender L663, Defender pre-2016, Discovery and Range Rover
- Modern panel vans, including the Ford Transit and Transit Custom, VW Transporter and Crafter, Vauxhall Vivaro and Movano, Peugeot Expert and Boxer, Citroen Dispatch and Relay, Renault Trafic and Master, and the Mercedes-Benz Vito and Sprinter
- Pickups, including the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, VW Amarok and Nissan Navara
- Light trucks and chassis cab conversions
If your vehicle is not on that list, ask. If it is a car, the honest answer is no, and we would rather tell you now than waste your morning.
Why Tow-Trust
We fit Tow-Trust almost exclusively. They are a UK manufacturer based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, and they describe themselves as sitting at the premium end of the market. Having fitted a lot of them, we agree. The steel, the welds and the way the brackets line up on the vehicle are consistently better than the cheaper alternatives, and a towbar that lines up first time is a towbar that gets fitted properly.
Consistency matters too. Fitting one manufacturer week in, week out means we know the quirks, we know which fixings the vehicle does not like, and the job takes the time we quoted rather than twice that.
Why dedicated ECS wiring, not a universal kit
The wiring is where most towbar installs go wrong, and it is where the money is worth spending.
A universal kit taps into the vehicle's existing lighting circuits. On a modern van or Land Rover, with CAN bus lighting, LED lamps and bulb failure monitoring, that is asking for dashboard warnings, phantom faults and a bill later.
A dedicated ECS kit is built for your specific vehicle. It comes as a vehicle-specific harness and control module with the matching connectors, so it plugs into the vehicle's own towing connectors rather than being spliced into the loom. Nothing is cut, nothing is taped over, and the factory wiring is left as the manufacturer made it.
Fitted properly, that also gives you the functions the vehicle is meant to have when towing: rear fog light cut-off, parking sensor cut-off where the vehicle supports it, and the permanent and switched live feeds on pins 9 and 10 that a caravan or a powered trailer needs.
On some vehicles the towing functions have to be enabled in the vehicle's software before any of it works. That is included in what we quote.
Where the work is carried out
Our workshop
Towbar fitting is a workshop job. It is done at our unit in Chelmsford, Essex, where we have the lift, the tooling and the diagnostic equipment. Most single vehicle installs are booked in and out on the same day.
Supply only
We are suppliers as well as fitters, so you can buy the towbar and the wiring kit on their own with a VAT invoice and fit them yourself. Tell us the registration and we will make sure the right parts arrive.
Fleet and trade
For fleets and dealers we record the specification once and repeat it across every vehicle, schedule in batches so you are never short of vans, and invoice on consolidated VAT invoices.
How the process works
- Send us the vehicle. Registration or VIN, and what you intend to tow. The registration tells us the exact variant, which matters more than the model name.
- We quote in writing. Towbar, ECS wiring kit, coding if the vehicle needs it, and fitting, as one figure with a realistic lead time.
- You book a date. We order the parts for your vehicle.
- We fit and test. Torqued to specification, every lighting function checked on a trailer board, and parking sensors and fog light cut-off verified before the vehicle leaves us.
- Handover. With the fitting paperwork, the towbar's plated details for your records and a VAT invoice.
Why Pro-Van
- Our own engineers, our own workshop. Nothing is subcontracted.
- One brand, done properly. Tow-Trust towbars and dedicated ECS wiring, fitted the same way every time.
- Wired into the vehicle, not into a chocolate block. Dedicated connectors, no splicing, no scotch locks.
- We tell you what we will not do. If a job is not right for us, you get a straight answer rather than a bodge.
- You can speak to someone. Call the workshop and get an answer from the person who would be doing the work.
Common questions
Do you fit towbars to cars?
No. We fit towbars to Land Rovers, vans, pickups and trucks only. If you need a towbar on a car, a general towbar fitter will look after you better than we would.
Why only Tow-Trust?
Because we would rather fit one manufacturer properly than six of them occasionally. Tow-Trust build at the premium end of the market and their brackets line up on the vehicle, which is not true of everything on the market. If you have a specific reason for wanting another brand, tell us and we will talk it through.
Flange, swan neck or detachable?
Flange is the strongest and most versatile, and it is the one to have if you want a drop plate, a bumper protector or a cycle carrier. Swan neck is tidier. Detachable is the one to pick if you tow occasionally and want the back of the vehicle to look standard the rest of the time. We will recommend one when you tell us what you are towing and how often.
What is the difference between dedicated and universal wiring?
A dedicated kit is built for your exact vehicle and connects through its own towing connectors, so the factory loom is not cut or spliced. A universal kit taps into the existing lighting circuits. On a modern vehicle with CAN bus lighting and bulb monitoring, dedicated is the only sensible answer. We fit dedicated ECS kits.
Will a towbar affect the vehicle's parking sensors?
Not if it is done properly. The ECS kits we fit support parking sensor cut-off on vehicles that have factory sensors, so the sensors switch off when a trailer is plugged in rather than screaming at you all the way down the road.
Does the vehicle need coding?
Some do, some do not. It depends on the vehicle and the kit. Where coding is needed to enable the towing functions we do it here with the correct diagnostic equipment, and it is included in the quoted price.
How long does it take?
Most towbar and wiring installs are a same day job once the vehicle is with us. Lead time to the booking date depends on parts availability for your vehicle, and we quote the honest figure rather than the optimistic one.
Can I buy the parts and fit them myself?
Yes. We supply as well as fit. Send us the registration and we will quote the towbar and the ECS kit on their own with a VAT invoice.
Do I need to tell my insurer?
Tell them. It is a modification, most insurers want to know, and it takes two minutes. We will give you the fitting paperwork for your records.
Will you fit a towbar I have bought elsewhere?
Usually yes, provided the kit is complete and made for your vehicle. Send us the make and part numbers with your enquiry and we will confirm before you book a date.
Get a quote
Tell us the registration, the vehicle and what you are towing, and we will come back with a written quote covering the towbar, the wiring, any coding and the fitting.
Call 01245 392225, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or send an enquiry and we will come back to you the same working day.