Motorists often struggle to arrange a hire car with a tow bar due to the restrictions that many rental companies have in place. The main issue tends to be insurance, as many companies are cautious about who they will cover to tow a trailer or caravan.
Thankfully, we can help you hire a vehicle with a tow bar. You’ll just need to be aged 25 or over and have held your licence for at least two years. Crucially, as well as arranging the hire, we can also provide insurance for these vehicles. However, before you call to arrange tow bar car hire, please check that you meet the UK’s legal requirements for towing a trailer or caravan.
Types of Tow Bar
Tow bars can be either fixed or detachable, but both offer the same towing capacity. All of the vehicles with tow bars that come from our suppliers feature a fixed tow bar.
We should also add that all of the hire cars with tow bars that we supply come with either 7 or 13 pin electrics, as required by law. This ensures that the safety features of your caravan, trailer or cycle carrier function correctly.
However, there are two different types of tow bar: flange and swan neck. It is important to understand the difference between the two to ensure that you hire a car with the correct variant.
Swan Neck Tow Bars
A swan neck tow bar is attached directly to the underside of the vehicle and is less obtrusive than a flange tow bar. In the EU, a swan neck tow bar is also considerably more popular than a flange tow bar, partially because it is narrower and less likely to set off parking sensors.
A downside to this type of tow bar is that you are not able to attach a cycle carrier and tow a vehicle at the same time. This can obviously cause a problem if you’re hiring a car for a caravan holiday where you intend to go cycling. In this scenario, a flange tow bar is a better option.
Flange Tow Bars
The flange tow bar has a towball bolted onto a bar on the back of the car. This is the most common type of tow bar used in the UK. Flange tow bars are generally considered to be more versatile and better suited for purposes such as carrying bikes whilst towing.
Flanges are generally considered more expensive to buy and less attractive than swan neck tow bars. However, for short-term car hire, this isn’t a concern.
Towing Capacity
If you are planning on hiring a car to tow either a trailer or caravan, it’s essential to know the towing capacity of the vehicle you are renting. This is both a safety and legal requirement.
The two important things that you need to know when working out towing capacity are the kerb weight of the car you are planning to hire and the maximum mass of the load you will be towing.
Kerb Weight
The kerb weight of a vehicle is simply the total weight of the vehicle when it is fully fuelled and properly maintained with oil, coolants and all of the standard equipment that the vehicle requires. Kerb weight excludes any additional weight, such as passengers and non-standard luggage.
Typically, you can find the kerb weight of a car by checking in the owner’s manual, checking for a plate in the door sills or looking in the V5 document for the car.
However, when considering hiring a car, you would not have access to this information. As a result, this is an area where we can help you make the right choice. Additionally, various online services let you search by manufacturer and model in order to find the kerb weight of a car you are interested in hiring.
Maximum Mass
Once you know the kerb weight of the towing car, you need to know the maximum mass of the load you will be towing. Caravans typically display this information somewhere close to the door, but you can also check with the manufacturer to be sure that you have the correct information.
Once you know the figures above, you can divide the mass of the caravan by the kerb weight of the car and multiply it by 100 to get an idea of towing capacity as a percentage.
The RAC recommends that this should be around 85% for amateurs. However, if you’re experienced in towing heavy loads, then you may exceed this capacity. If you need any further help and advice when it comes to towing capacity, you can find more guidance on towing capacity from the RAC here.
If all of this sounds a bit confusing then don’t worry. Any of our team will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
Available Vehicles with Tow Bars
Our suppliers offer a range of different vehicles with tow bars fitted, including 4x4s, SUVs and pickups. Below are some of the available vehicles with example towing capacities:
| Make | Transmission | Number of Seats | Age Requirements | Security Deposit | Max Towing Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VW Tiguan | Manual / Automatic | 5 | 25 - 73 Years | £1000 | 1800kg |
| VW Tiguan AllSpace | Manual / Automatic | 7 | 25 - 73 Years | £1000 | 1800kg |
| Audi Q5 | Automatic | 5 | 30 - 73 Years | £1500 | 2400kg |
| Toyota Hilux | Manual | 5 | 25- 73 Years | £750 | 3200kg |
| Audi Q7 | Automatic | 7 | 30 - 73 Years | £2000 | 3500kg |
| Range Rover Sport | Automatic | 5 / 7 | 30 - 73 Years | £2000 | 3500kg |
| Ford Ranger | Automatic | 5 | 25 - 73 Years | £1000 | 3500kg |
*Please note the towing capacities shown above are examples only and depend on the specific model of vehicle. You should check with us when booking to confirm that the car has the appropriate towing capacity for your load.
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Excellent service highly recommended and I will use Indigo again
When our car broke down I didn't think I could get a hire car with towbar but you came through and found us one so we where able to take out caravan and still get our vacation. The truck was well prepared and ready as soon as the paperwork was completed. Return on a Saturday was a breeze took 5 minutes and we where done. Will use again
Matt and Jake are first class at indigo, I have used them twice now and the service and pricing is exceptional. Straightforward and easy to deal with and no hidden costs or surprises 10/10 would recommend and will use again for all my car hire needs
Having used Indigo for every car I've hired in the past 5 years or so I was delighted once again with the efficiency and friendliness of the staff and, like before, no nasty surprises when picking up the car at Edinburgh Airport.
I cannot fault them and look forward to using their services in the future.
A big thank you to the whole team.
