On a recent family camping trip, we decided to go “luxury”. So instead of packing tents, we hired a caravan. Almost belatedly I realised I’d need to get a towbar fitted to the jeep. (This was actually an accessory I’d wanted for ages, I just needed a good enough reason to convince my wife it was necessary)

With this in mind, I took the jeep down to the professionals at All Vehicle Accessories (AVA) to get a towbar installed. Initially I wanted the cheapest model I could find, the less I spent here, the more I could spend on the caravan. I am glad I talked to the guys though, in their experience they showed me the folly of my ways.

They were actually pretty good about it. What they did was show me the nominal cost increments between cheap and expensive towbars. They pointed out that this piece of equipment was all that was protecting whatever it was I was towing. In my case, obviously I wanted to tow the caravan on the trip we were taking. But I also intended buying some bike racks as my wife loves triathlon. Bike racks would be really helpful on those early morning trips into the hills for a training session.

Having compiled my list, we discussed the cost of the items we were going to tow. Our bikes (two of them) are worth about $6,000 all up. Mine isn’t all that valuable, but my wife, boy she spent a mint on hers. Such is her love for the triathlon.

I ended up Googling caravan sales to get a feel for how much they are to buy. I didn’t realise they were so expensive. I couldn’t find anything for less than $5000 and I found quite a few which cost more than $100,000. You can buy property for that much… The one we rented was mid range, costing around $50,000 new. Its quite a “load” on the towbar when you think about it in those terms.

The conversation really changed my opinion on the type of towbar I needed. When you really start thinking about the value of the goods you are towing, from bikes, to caravans, to boats, its a bit silly scrimping and saving on the only piece of equipment that is holding it to the vehicle. Its certainly a risk I decided not to take. I’d upgraded my preferences on quality lines. Instead of going cheap I decided I wanted as robust and safe a towbar I could get.

The AVA professionals pointed out to me that the Hayman Reese towbars are the only brand in Australia which carries a lifetime guarantee. This I thought was pretty telling, especially as quality was now the issue. I was almost sold. These particular towbars though had two additional features which absolutely convinced me.

They have this thing they call a “Weight Distribution Hitch”. When applied to your towbar, this hitch actually reduces the drag on your vehicle by reducing ball weight. And you know what that means. By paying a little more for a quality towbar and weight distribution hitch, all of a sudden you are saving money on fuel, on tyre wear and all the other things that wear out faster when you are pulling something. So it actually is a dis-economy to go the cheaper option on a towbar.

They also sell this cool gadget called Sway Control. It basically keeps whatever you are pulling on the straight and narrow, despite high winds, trucks coming the other way etc. Have you ever seen those retired people who are pulling a caravan behind them when a truck drives past the other way. Have you ever seen how much their caravan swerves all over the road when this happens due to the blast of air. The sway control stops this happening to you, making for a safer and once again, more efficient trip. This is very important to me given my family will be sitting next to me in the Jeep.

Its good when you go to an auto store and the professionals there actually give you advice, help you get past your preconceived ideas and make a better decision. I’m certainly glad the guys at AVA helped me see sense when it came to my towbar.

Damian Papworth understands the expense of quality towbars and bike racks are mimimal compared to the goods they are carrying.