Towbar needed

[white exec]

Does anyone know of any manufacturer who currently lists a complete towbar (hardware, not worried about the electrics) for BX hatch?

Have tried some of the usual ones - Witter, Bosal, Al-Ko - but no luck so far.
Needs to be new, and CE/TuV etc approved, as it needs certificating and ITV (MoT) signing off here in Spain.

[Kaapelimies]

I'm quite sure you will not find CE-approval from a BX towbar, CE was not invented when the car was new, and surely no-one will test them for any approval for a 30 year old car! Are you certain it has to be approved, and how? In finland the towbar can be even home made for old cars, pre 1997 or something like that.

[white exec]

The situation in the UK used to be similar (may not be now?), whereby you could fit your own towbar, and maybe even construct your own.

In Spain - and certainly since 2003, when we arrived here - towbars must be
(a) of an approved type and construction
(b) carry a 'rating plate' with maker/model/type approval number on it
(c) fitted by a qualified person (usually a professional workshop or main dealer), who completes a one-page form issued by the vehicle testing authority.

The presence of the towbar (and its type) is then entered on to the vehicle's Paperwork, and becomes part of the annual Vehicle Test (even if it us rarely looked at). Even the increase in vehicle length (if any) is noted.

When we brought our 1996 XM into Spain in 2003, the towbar it was fitted with was rejected by Testing, because it lacked both rating plate and paperwork. The quickest way to get the car matriculated/registered was to remove the bar, which we did.

Such is Spain - seriously bureaucratic, but likely after years and years of bodged and dangerous vehicles which once populated the roads here, a lot safer.

Hence the need for a new bar, of approved design and type. I appreciate your point about on-vehicle approval, though: not at all likely now.

[white exec]

Some progress in finding a new towbar for the car.
(As explained, in Spain the item has to have (pre-CE, in this case) type-approval and manufacturer's paperwork and rating plate, be professionally fitted, and is then subject to a revision of Vehicle Test paperwork.)

Nothing listed for BX from Witter or Al-Ko, but did find these two on a web search:

https://www.rameder.eu/gdw-towbar-compl ... 410-1.html
The accompanying drawing shows it to be made by GDW, in Belgium.

https://www.gdwtowbars.com/en/shop/sear ... mit=submit
...but almost €100 more expensive!

One supplier in Greece looked interesting:
https://www.ahellas.gr/citroen-p-799.ht ... 9to3i29ve2
but they came back within 24h saying they could no longer supply.
_____

A call to a friend in the trade here cautioned against buying the hardware and getting someone to sign-off the fitting, as that was only the tip of the bureaucratic requirement. He did, though, recommend an outfit in Malaga (less than an hour's drive away) that both manufactured, fitted and provided all necessary paperwork to satisfy ITV (MoT) Testing...
https://www.lafuente.eu/towbars/citroen/bx/car/1992
.

To this cost needs to be added €11.50 for the 7-pin electrics, and €150 for the "Technical Project paperwork" that needs to be created in lieu of CE certification. So, all in, it'll be around €500, including IVA/VAT. Expensive, but no real alternative here. At least it will be legal, and safe.

Lafuente will be manufacturing the bar themselves, and fitting it.
They also export their products, should anyone be interested.

[rutter123]

So the one I have here that looks like it was made by "a bloke in a shed" from 1 1/2 box section iron which bolts only to the towing eye brackets probably wouldn't meet their requirements then.
I was told by an mot tester many years ago to remove it as it was not fit for purpose because the towing eye brackets are only spot welded in place and all legal towbars should fix to the chassis with a minimum of 4 fixing points or something like that (which mine did but in the wrong place)
Didn't like to tell him a few weeks before I ran down to Worthing with trailer to pick up another bx combined weight 2ton, the spot welds held good.
I still have the towbar.