2006 Media ReleasesJump To | |
Oct 06 - Its Time To Take Towbars SeriouslyEver thought how much stress and strain is exerted through a tow bar when you are pulling your two-and-half-tonne caravan to the beach?Michael Parker has. In fact, he’s thought of little else for the past 25 years. As the founder of New Zealand’s leading towbar manufacturer, Best Bars Limited, he knows more about tow bars than just about anyone else in the country. Thanks to his experience and know-how, towbars made by Best Bars are now selected as OE fitment by most vehicle manufacturers in New Zealand. When making a towbar, manufacturers have to take into account the huge forces applied when a vehicle pulls a heavy caravan or trailer and what happens during sudden manoeuvres like a lane change or heavy braking. So Michael designed and built a special machine that actually replicates those forces on a vehicle fitted with a towbar, testing almost to the point of destruction – and sometimes beyond that point. After all, it’s better to find out whether a towbar can handle your precious caravan on the Bombay Hills or Arthur’s Pass before it’s fitted to your vehicle. So how much stress does a towbar actually go through during towing? According to Michael the forces exerted on a towbar can be as much as five times the weight of the towed object under certain circumstances. So think about that when you are preparing to have a towbar fitted to your vehicle. Oh, and think about the vehicle itself, too. You may not be aware of it, but a number of used Japanese imported cars are just not designed for towing. There is little call for towing in Japan so their cars don’t have reinforced rear tow points. Used Japanese SUVs are probably OK, and so are most vehicles that originated as new in New Zealand. The towing vehicle needs to have a sturdy point where the towbar is to be fixed. On monocoque cars and SUVs that means a strong box section not a light panel. SUVs with separate chassis provide much stronger fixing points for a towbar. And think twice about fitting the towbar yourself – in fact, don’t even think about it at all. Get a professional to do the fitting and you’ll have a guaranteed job and peace of mind. But make sure that the towbar fitted to your vehicle is certified. As many as 20% of all towbars fitted to New Zealand cars and light commercial vehicles may not certified to meet the New Zealand Standard and some may be liable to fail. Unfortunately, the NZ Standard is not enforced and is merely an advisory guide rather than one that is backed by law. Which is unfortunate, given the consequences should a shoddy towbar give way, leading to a trailer or caravan becoming an unguided missile on the road. Mr Parker who was instrumental in drawing up the standard in 1990, has been campaigning to have all towbars made and sold in this country meet stringent certification standards. But the regulation has been gathering dust on a Wellington bureaucrat’s shelves for several years. “At present, anyone can make up a towbar, to whatever standard they like, fit it to a vehicle and if it is less than safe, no one is going to stop them – that’s criminal in my books and someone will die as a result,” says Mr Parker. The towbar standard not only covers the certification of the towbar design but the way it is attached to the vehicle. Mr Parker says some non-conforming towbars he has inspected have cut corners by using sub-standard welding practices or scrimping on the mounting points, either to save money or through ignorance. Ideally, all towbars should be subjected to a proper certification process and it should also come under the regular WoF check, meaning that all the sub-standard towbars fitted in the past would be picked up and an ongoing system would keep them up to scratch. Until that happens it is up to the towbar manufacturers in New Zealand to maintain proper standards and for buyers to be wary. So how can buyers be sure. “If you want piece of mind, specify only “Genuine Part” towbars. These are towbars that have been manufactured in conjunction with the motor vehicle manufacturer’s engineers. They can be identified by the label which usually shows the motor company logo and the words ‘Genuine Part’- the label will also state the towing weights the towbar and towing vehicle have been certified to.” says Mr Parker. Select a reputable supplier that stocks and fits products made to meet the New Zealand towbar standard, NZS5467 or the equivalent Australian or European standard. Never use a second-hand towbar, especially if you don’t know the vehicle it was originally fitted to - it may not fit your vehicle properly. Don’t attempt to fit the towbar yourself, get a professional to do the job. Make sure that the towbar has at least one tested safety chain mount conforming to an Australian Standard or you won’t be able to legally use it on the road for towing. Under a recently introduced rule all trailers are required, when connected to a towing vehicle, to have at least one safety chain attached. In addition the rule requires that those between 2000kg and 2500kg will need two crossed over safety chains, unless the trailer is fitted with a break-away brake system. Trailers weighing over 2500kg need just one safety chain because of their superior braking requirements. Although it is recommended that anyone towing a trailer of 2000kg or heavier should use twin safety chain mounts, regardless of the braking system fitted to the trailer. Previously, trailers weighing more than 2000kg required only a single safety chain as it was assumed that this provided sufficient safety margins. The change was instituted by the LTSA to reduce the number of accidents involving light trailers, including those fitted with brakes. In the five years prior to the rule change there were more than 700 accidents involving vehicles towing light trailers, 43 of them fatal. And here’s another legal tip, if your have a light caravan or camping trailer that does not have brakes, the chances are you are breaking the law when you tow. While the law states that trailers/caravans with a laden weight of 2000kg or less do not require brakes, that does not take into account the fact that the majority of vehicles doing the towing have a manufacturers’ unbraked towing capacity no more than 750kg – some are considerably lower. A loaded camper trailer could easily surpass that limit, along with light caravans and, according to the LTSA and Police that would be illegal – not to mention that it may also make the insurance policy invalid whilst towing. Anyone caught towing an unbraked camper trailer or caravan over the vehicle manufacturer’s limit would face: << BACK TO TOP >> | |
Sept 06 - Best Bars Invest Millions To GrowBest Bars has completed a multi-million dollar investment to lift quality and production, enabling it to target more exports of vehicle tow bars to Australia.The investment means New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of tow bars has more than doubled its production capacity. Until now it has sold most of its output to local car companies and aftermarket accessory outlets.A small number of specialised tow bar system are exported to Australia, designed for upmarket European cars such as Audi and Peugeot and the upgrade provides Best Bars with an opportunity to build on that business. “Our ability to build more tow bars for export has been constrained by production bottlenecks at our factory and a shortage of skilled labour, particularly welders – we’ve even had to outsource work to keep up with demand,” says Michael Parker, Managing Director of Best Bars Limited. A year ago, Best Bars decided to take a major step forward by re-investing in new automated manufacturing processes that will substantially lift production capacity, maintain quality and improve productivity, thus reducing overall costs. That means Best Bars will be able to compete more effectively in the Australian market with tow bars made at its Manurewa factory. Upgrades in five key manufacturing areas have now been completed and Best Bars will not only be able to pursue its goal to increase exports of tow bars to Australia, it will also be able to undertake custom steel fabrication work for other companies, which will assist in the goal of achieving economies of scale. Mr Parker says: “To achieve the quality and performance for our own products, we invested in processes that have delivered a much greater capacity, which we can now share with other companies. With the automated systems we’ve installed, Best Bars has the ability to produce large runs of fabricated steel products at very competitive prices. Not only will our tow bars customers benefit from that, but so will other manufactuers who want to use our production facilities.” Mr Parker says it could result in some companies being able to maintain production in New Zealand, rather than move it off-shore and also introduce new products in the future, with Best Bars able to share the economies of scale brought about by the new equipment, which includes: << BACK TO TOP >> |
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Mar 06 - New Alloy Deck Carries More LoadOwners of large capacity light commercial vehicles in New Zealand can carry greater loads by swapping to a new alloy deck recently introduced to the market by Best Bars. This new deck is designed for maximum 2-tonne load capacity and is ideal for fitting to warrant of fitness class light commercial trucks up to 3500kg GVM.Specific fit trays are available to suit most WoF-class Mitsubishi Canter, Isuzu N-series, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ford Transit, VW LT Series and Transporter models with custom fit trays to suit most other warrant of fitness class trucks including imports. In some cases it can enable them to carry up to 400kg more weight simply because the alloy construction is much lighter than most traditional steel and timber trays. “With most steel and wood decks you are already carrying a lot of weight around before you even start to load the vehicle, which restricts the carrying capacity,”says Rolf Wilson, Executive Product Representative for Best Bars. He continues to say, “Our new deck is constructed from high-strength extruded alloy, a much lighter material. In effect it means the driver can shift up to 20% more load per trip when required. And when it is not driven fully loaded, the lighter weight has another advantage because it causes less wear and tear on the driveline components. Reduced weight can also contribute to less fuel consumption. The alloy floor is every bit as strong and in some cases stronger than timber floors and because it doesn’t rust or rot it retains its strength and appearance for much longer. It can be installed as a rigid deck on a vehicle’s cab/chassis or with a tipping mechanism and it has three hinged drop sides to make loading and unloading easier. Accessories include ladder racks, side toolboxes, custom internal lashing points and a heavy-duty canvass tent cover to protect loads from the weather. A marine grade plywood overlay can be specified to protect the alloy tray surface and to add grip to the tray when carrying awkward products. The new 2-tonne deck joins the 1-tonne alloy deck family that Best Bars introduced to New Zealand three years ago and has become a popular fitment to utes such as the Toyota Hilux, Toyota Landcruiser, Ford Courier, Holden Rodeo, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton. This desk also fits the cab and chassis versions of the Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore, Nissan Patrol and Ssangyong Musso. The new range of light commercial alloy trays is available through Best Bars direct (see www.bestbars.co.nz), with the complete range of 1-tonne alloy trays available through all leading new vehicle dealers nationwide. << BACK TO TOP >> |
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