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Which Weight Class Is Your Towbar Rated For?

8 October 2019

Ethan Andrews

Towbars are commonly used across rural Australia to pull great loads across vast distances and are very good at what they do. Towbars are an extremely useful tool for both the average camper and the professional tradesman, as well as everyone in between. However if you are new to towbars you might assume that they are a one size fits all sort of deal, and one towbar is as strong as any other. This could not be further from the truth and you could find yourself in trouble operating under this impression, so it is important to discuss what the weight ranges are and what your towbar is rated for.

Light Duty

Light-duty towbars might not seem that impressive but for many uses they have more than enough power to do what you need. Most light-duty towbars are only rated to tow up to 1200-1250 kilograms of weight, which means they are really only useful for recreational purposes. A small trailer with some camping gear, a bicycle rack or a single dirt-bike trailer are generally all that you can get away with on light-duty towbars and you risk serious injury if you try to go for any more.

Medium Duty

Medium-duty towbars are the next class up and are rated for 3-400 kilograms more than their lighter counterparts, usually topping out at about 1600 kilograms. Medium-duty towbars are commonly used for small boats (like a tinnie) but other than that they are primarily used for just getting a bit more gear into your trailer. The extra few hundred kilograms means you can load up a lot more of your supplies and equipment without worrying about getting close to the upper threshold of the weight limit. For motorcycle enthusiasts this is the weight level where you can start storing multiple bikes on your trailer.

Heavy Duty

The upper echelon of towbars, heavy-duty rated tobwars can take an astounding 3000+ kilograms of weight, meaning they are perfect for towing your family caravan around. This is also the class where larger construction items and boats can be towed safely on the road. It is still important to check how much your particular towbar is rated for, but when you get to heavy-duty towbars you are covered in most situations. Remember that a heavy-duty towbar isn't safe to attach to every type of car, and only stronger, 4-wheel drive vehicles can pull this much weight.

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