[kothamasi]

My query is why do car manufacturers discourage attaching a tow bar hook to car models in India. For instance, while tow bar hooks with detailed drawings are available for a Swift or Jimny in the UK, the same are not available in India.

Does anyone know of after market suppliers who are engaged in this. I would like to attach a tow-bar hook to my Brezza. The Brezza manual indicates the weight I can tow, but does not provide any instructions on the attachment points for the tow-bar. I could get the tow-bar hook of a similarly sized Vitara from the UK, but without detailed drawings I won't be able to fix it.

Any tips would be welcomed and appreciated

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by kothamasi

My query is why do car manufacturers discourage attaching a tow bar hook to car models in India. For instance, while tow bar hooks with detailed drawings are available for a Swift or Jimny in the UK, the same are not available in India.

Does anyone know of after market suppliers who are engaged in this. I would like to attach a tow-bar hook to my Brezza. The Brezza manual indicates the weight I can tow, but does not provide any instructions on the attachment points for the tow-bar. I could get the tow-bar hook of a similarly sized Vitara from the UK, but without detailed drawings I won't be able to fix it.

Any tips would be welcomed and appreciated

Unfortunately the laws on towing are unclear in this country and/or the enforcers are unaware and interpret as per their whims.

Secondly, we still don't have a culture of towing stuff so the domestic market doesn't put in an effort to get these made.

I'd suggest you contact Vijay Kumar from Swastik Fabs.

www.swastikfabs.in

He will be your best bet to fabricate one for you.

I doubt the Vitara one would be a direct fit to the Brezza.

[Jeroen]

I really can’t comment on the tow hook in India. But a few things how it works in other countries. In general the manufacturer needs to provide the required anchor points on the car, at the factory.

Here in Europe as part of their roadworthy test, towing weights for trailers (with and without brakes) are also tested. In most countries both these towing weights are also mentioned on the original registration papers.

The maximum permissible towing weight varies per country, due to different legislation. E.g. my Jeep Cherokee is allowed to tow much heavier trailers in the USA compared to here in the Netherlands.

Lastly, there are differences between countries when it comes to insuring a car / trailer combination. In some it is just part of your normal car insurance, be it 3rd party or fully comprehensive. In some countries you need a special insurance to pull a trailer with your car.

So, difficult as it might be, it might be worthwhile checking the formalities in India before attaching a hook to your car. And unless your car has the anchor points provided by the manufacturer I would never attach a hook by just drilling and welling into a cars chassis. Impossible to tell what that means.

What towing weight is permissible is, as I mentioned, a bit of black magic. Identical cars in different countries might have considerable different towing weights specified.

Jeroen

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by kothamasi

Any tips would be welcomed and appreciated

Guess this would be helpful for you.

AIS-091

[kothamasi]

>> So, difficult as it might be, it might be worthwhile checking the formalities in India before attaching a hook to your car. And unless your car has the anchor points provided by the manufacturer I would never attach a hook by just drilling and welling into a cars chassis.

I agree with you totally on not drilling or welding onto the chassis. I expect the necessary anchor points/holes will be there on the cross-members. In any case the manual does briefly mention towing. I will of course not make any changes that the manufacturer has not provided. But this is a question that has plagued me for a long time.

Earlier, I had a Swift and I had noticed several examples of my model of the Swift had tow bars fixed in UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. Which means Suzuki provided the anchor points and the same must have been the case in India.

Any ways thanks for your detailed advise. Much appreciated

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I really can’t comment on the tow hook in India. But a few things how it works in other countries. In general the manufacturer needs to provide the required anchor points on the car, at the factory.
Jeroen

[kothamasi]

Thanks friend.This is useful. Since this is an Indian document, one thing is clear that towing is allowed in India.
Hope this culture and awareness of recreational towing catches up in India.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Guess this would be helpful for you.

AIS-091