Frequently Asked Questions

A detailed printed installation manual is included with every Steinhof tow bar. It can also be downloaded directly from our website or from the product finder.

Type approval confirms that a tow bar meets defined technical and safety requirements and may be legally used on vehicles. Before a tow bar can be sold, it must pass a series of specialist tests — verifying, among other things, its strength under loads related to trailer towing and vertical load on the ball, as well as its resistance to external factors.

Type approval is required for tow bars intended for use on public roads. It gives the driver confidence that the product has been properly tested and meets the applicable safety standards.

Before reaching the market, tow bars undergo specialist testing that results in type approval. Every tow bar carries a type-approval mark and is also subject to official registration once installed on a vehicle. Once fitted, a tow bar becomes an integral part of that vehicle, and transferring it to another vehicle is prohibited.

Used tow bars offered on the market mainly come from vehicles that have been in accidents or scrapped. Tow bars from such sources can be seriously damaged even when their outward appearance raises no concerns. The most common and most dangerous defects in used tow bars are: a weakened ball caused by a rear-end impact (without visible bending of the ball), deformation of the ball or crossbar after a rear-end impact (not always visible to the naked eye), corrosion of welds and steel parts (often masked with a coat of paint before sale), damage to the release mechanism (risking the ball detaching unexpectedly during use), missing key structural components, and missing documentation and rating plate.

To tow a trailer safely and in accordance with traffic regulations, the trailer must have proper lighting — for this you need to purchase a wiring kit for the tow bar. The market offers 7- and 13-pin kits: universal, universal with a control module, and dedicated (vehicle-specific) versions. The right kit depends on what you are towing or which carrier you use.

The right wiring kit depends on what you intend to tow or which carrier you want to fit. A tow bar's towing capability is considerable — you can tow a small trailer (up to 750 kg) but also a caravan. A bike carrier can also be mounted on the tow ball.

• 7-pin wiring — carries only the basic lights (indicators, side/position lights, brake lights, rear fog light). Under EU regulations it may only be used for trailers under 750 kg GVW.
• 13-pin wiring — required for heavier trailers, which must have their own reversing light (only a 13-pin kit can pass this signal to the trailer). It additionally allows a permanent power supply to be passed to the trailer, e.g. for equipment in a caravan, a charging line, and reversing lights for the trailer.

This depends on how complex the electronic system of the given vehicle model is — in many cases a kit without a module is sufficient. A wiring kit with an electronic control module is necessary for vehicles fitted with:

• a CAN bus control system (a kind of "operating system" for the vehicle);
• Check Control lighting monitoring (the on-board computer informs the driver of a blown bulb);
• parking sensors — if you want the useful feature of automatic sensor deactivation once the trailer plug is connected.

An accident that damages the rear of a vehicle with a tow bar fitted creates a serious risk that the tow bar itself has also been deformed by overload. A faulty tow bar can usually be identified by permanent deformation. Other signs of damage may include:

• damage to the anti-corrosion / paint coating,
• unnatural notches or displacement of the ball relative to the centre of the vehicle,
• displacement in the area where the ball is mounted,
• excessive play (in detachable tow bars).

A tow bar showing such damage must not be used further.

Choosing the correct tow bar for a van requires knowing the characteristic features of this vehicle category.

Body type:

• Panel van — a closed body with a rigid roof and walls, hinged rear doors and often hinged or sliding side doors; used mainly for transporting goods.
• Minibus — designed to carry people; the load area has seats, upholstery and windows.
• Dropside / flatbed — an open body with a driver's cab and a separate load area (floor, drop sides, tailgate); can be fixed or tipping (as in a tipper truck).
• Box body — a vehicle with a load container, often insulated (isotherm) or fitted with a refrigeration unit.
• Chassis cab — a vehicle intended for a custom body to be fitted.

Other parameters to check:

• Gross vehicle weight (GVW) — the maximum weight of the vehicle, including passengers and load, permitted on the road; shown in the vehicle registration document.
• Wheelbase — the distance between the centres of the front and rear wheels; can be measured directly or checked in the registration document.
• Rear wheel type — single or twin (dual) rear wheels.
• Drive type — front-wheel drive (FWD) or rear-wheel drive (RWD).
• Presence of a rear step — provides easy access to the load area; a common piece of additional equipment on vans.

How heavy a trailer you can tow is determined by the vehicle manufacturer. The relevant parameters are shown in the vehicle registration document:

None of these parameters may be exceeded — even if the tow bar's own rated parameters are higher.

Category "B" driving licence — what trailer can I tow?

With a category "B" licence and a vehicle with a gross weight of 1,800 kg (field F1 in the registration document), you can tow a trailer with a total weight of up to 1,353 kg. The ratio of the car's weight to the trailer's weight should be no more than 1 to 33, and the combined weight of the whole outfit (car + trailer) must not exceed 3,500 kg.

For larger vehicles with a gross weight of 3,500 kg, you can additionally tow a trailer of up to 750 kg GVW, giving a combined total of 4,250 kg (for example, a VW Caddy Maxi with a GVW of 3,500 kg can tow a trailer of up to 750 kg).

How heavy a trailer you can tow with a class E tow bar depends on how heavy the towing vehicle is. Two parameters describe the strength of a tow bar: D [kN] — the theoretical reference force acting on the tow bar, and S [kg] — the maximum permissible vertical load on the tow ball.

• T — maximum permissible vehicle mass [kg]
• R — maximum permissible trailer mass [kg]

The T and R parameters are set by the vehicle manufacturer and can be read from the registration document; they must not be exceeded by the user. Rearranging the formula lets you calculate the maximum vehicle mass (T) for a given trailer (R), or the maximum trailer mass (R) for a given vehicle (T):

Note that the S [kg] parameter set by the vehicle manufacturer (given in the owner's manual and the vehicle's type-approval certificate) must also not be exceeded — the tow bar's S value must not be lower than the S value specified by the vehicle manufacturer.

We recommend the most universal bedding-in method for brake pads, suitable for most drivers who use their vehicle under normal, everyday conditions. The key rules are:

• Avoid hard braking — for the first 200–300 km after fitting new pads, avoid hard and sudden braking. This allows a friction film to build up gradually without the risk of overheating the components.
• Brake gently — the first few brake applications should be gentle, at a speed no higher than 50 km/h, ideally without coming to a complete stop if the traffic situation allows.
• Use the brakes fairly often — using the brakes reasonably often, without overloading them, helps spread the friction film evenly across the whole disc surface.
• Avoid holding the brake pedal down for long periods — when stopped at traffic lights or in queues, avoid keeping the brake pedal pressed for a long time, as this can cause local overheating of the disc.

A tow bar is checked by an inspector only once — during the first roadworthiness test, which is required to have the tow bar entered in the vehicle registration document. During subsequent annual roadworthiness tests, the tow bar is only given a visual assessment: the ball should be in good condition, with no signs of mechanical interference with the tow bar's structure. Any signs of welding or straightening of the tow bar will be assessed negatively.

"Towing capacity" — a term customers often use — is simply the force that a given tow bar is able to transmit. Two parameters describe the strength of a tow bar: D [kN] (the theoretical reference force acting on the tow bar) and S [kg] (the maximum permissible vertical load on the tow ball).

• T — maximum permissible vehicle mass [kg]
• R — maximum permissible trailer mass [kg]

The T and R parameters are set by the vehicle manufacturer (read them from the registration document) and must not be exceeded by the user. A tow bar can be fitted to the chosen vehicle if its D value is equal to or greater than the calculated value:

Remember that the S [kg] parameter set by the vehicle manufacturer (given in the owner's manual and the type-approval certificate) also must not be exceeded — the tow bar's S value must not be lower than the S value specified by the vehicle manufacturer.

Parking sensors work by detecting obstacles within their range. After a tow bar is fitted, they may "see" the ball as an obstacle close to the rear bumper. As a result, when reversing, the sensors may sound a warning even though there is no real obstacle behind the car.

Depending on the vehicle model and the system fitted, it may be possible to manually switch off the rear parking sensors using a button or the vehicle's settings. In some cars the system can automatically detect the presence of a trailer once the appropriate wiring kit is connected and deactivate the sensors itself.

That's why, when fitting a tow bar, it's worth making sure not only that it is correctly matched to the vehicle, but also that you choose the right wiring kit, which will ensure the tow bar works correctly together with the vehicle's electronics.