In order to give you an idea of what it costs to mount a tow hitch on your Mercedes-Benz, we have calculated an average price that covers quotes including the sparepart itself as well as mounting it.
Average price: £702 (June 2020)
If you do some research on the prices for fitting you will see there can be huge differences in the quotes you receive. It usually pays off to compare rpices.
Price of mounting a tow bar
To many Mercedes-Benz owners, summer means activities that involve driving with a trailer or bike rack.
Are you one of those car owners who love camping or just need to be able to get to the civic amenity site with garden waste? Then you probably already have a tow bar on your car.
If your car does not already have a tow bar, you can easily get this retrofitted. Retrofitting of tow hitches, tow bars or coupling devices is in fact a standard task at the vast majority of garages.
Tow bar (tow hitch) – have the electronics under control
If you want to mount a new tow bar, there are a variety of online web shops that sell tow bars, tow hitches and coupling devices.
Make sure you have ordered a towing device approved for use in the UK and remember to also buy a matching wiring kit. The enclosed trailer connector is used to connect the trailer to the vehicle’s electrical system, so that the trailer works with turn signals, rear lights as well as brake and fog lights.
On the UK market, there are two different connectors, a 7-pin and a 13-pin connector with respective 7 and 13 pins in the connector.
The 7-pin plug meets the statutory requirements, but many trailers and not least caravans need more power than the 7-pin connector can provide. Therefore a 13-pin connector is used instead, which gives more power.
Speed rules for towing a trailer
Before you hitch the trailer to the car, you must be aware of the speed limits, because you may not drive as fast with a trailer as one may without.
There are basically three different speed limits for towing a trailer and the like:
- If you are driving in an urban area, you should not exceed 30 mph.
- When driving on single carriageways your speed must not exceed 50 mph.
- Finally, on dual carriageways your speed must not exceed 60 mph.
Driving with a bike rack
If you are considering mounting a tow bar on your Mercedes-Benz because you often drive with a bike rack, there are a number of rules that you should be aware of.
The rules prescribe that the license plate must always be clearly visible when using the bike rack. In other words, the bike rack, including the bicycle, should not cover the car’s license plate.
If the bicycle and the bike rack cover the license plate, a special light board and an extra license plate must be mounted.
The police give fines if the license plate is not 100% visible, and the fine increases if either the brake lights or turn signals are also covered.
If you are only driving with a bicycle on the back of the car, you should actually consider buying a bike rack, which is mounted behind the boot and not on the tow bar. But if the tow bar must also be used for towing or driving with a trailer, then there’s no way around it. Then you should have a tow bar retrofitted.
