Hi, wondering if anyone can help, i have just purchased a fiat doblo wheelchair adapted vehicle to enable my daughter to travel in her wheelchair......it has a lowered floor and because of this the fuel tank has been moved to below the vehicle......i would like to fit a towbar to the doblo to enable us to tow our caravan.....i guess i would have to use a detachable towball to enable the ramp to drop, just wondering if anyone has ever done this or has anyone any ideas on how to....regards julie
General How to fit a towbar on a wheelchair doblo
- Thread starter woodstoke
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General How to fit a towbar on a wheelchair doblo
Don't they remove some of the structure from the rear to allow for a lowering floor to be fitted? I'm not sure there's anything to mount a towbar to..
A large chunk of floor is removed as well as the rear bumper.
To fit a towbar normally, the bumper comes off then the box section is removed. The towbar is a reinforced box section which replaces the original, there are also a couple of extra outriggers for support. The ball is on a plate attached to the box section. A small part of the bumper plastic has to be cut to accommodate the ball support plate.
On the adapted doblo, it may be possible to install just the side supports so that when you want to tow, you load the car up then offer up the reinforced box section to the side supports and bolt it in position. The reinforced box is welded to side supports (as far as I remember) but I can't see bolts being weaker.
The side supports could be covered by the plastic bumpers either side.
I guess you'd need to discuss this with a towbar manufacturer - although I can't see them agreeing to this.
To fit a towbar normally, the bumper comes off then the box section is removed. The towbar is a reinforced box section which replaces the original, there are also a couple of extra outriggers for support. The ball is on a plate attached to the box section. A small part of the bumper plastic has to be cut to accommodate the ball support plate.
On the adapted doblo, it may be possible to install just the side supports so that when you want to tow, you load the car up then offer up the reinforced box section to the side supports and bolt it in position. The reinforced box is welded to side supports (as far as I remember) but I can't see bolts being weaker.
The side supports could be covered by the plastic bumpers either side.
I guess you'd need to discuss this with a towbar manufacturer - although I can't see them agreeing to this.
Judging by the date of the posts, this might be a bit late but having a disabled son and having had lowered floored vehicles I understand that fitting a towbar to a lowered floor is illegal on two counts, one being the structual integrity of the vehicle is compromised by the lower floor and would be illegal under construction and use regs and carrying a disabled person in a wheelchir whose exit would be hampered by towing a trailer is also illegal.
Imagine if the vehicle caught fire!
Imagine if the vehicle caught fire!
Funny you should say that.
I drive a 'welfare vehicle' based on a fiat ducatto. This has been adapted to carry either 16 passengers or 7 wheelchairs.
If the vehicle caught fire, I'm not sure how I'd get the people out as there is a tail-lift blocking the rear doors and you'd never get wheelchairs between the front seats to get them off the bus.
And talking of structural integrity, surely the lowered floor is as strong as (if not stronger) than the existing floor - I'm thinking that it has to cope with the weight of a wheelchair plus passenger. Then there is also anchor points for the chair plus anchor points for the seatbelt.
