Frequently Asked Questions

• Is your vehicle a Japanese import or a NZ made car?
• What is the make, model and year or your vehicle?
• Is your vehicle 4WD or 2WD?
• What do you want to tow?
• Is your car a commercial or standard vehicle?
• If buying a bullbar or nudgebar – do you have airbags?

Yes, we do as above, however allowances are made for normal wear and tear.

We accept Mastercard and Visa and Amex.

It varies, depending on product.

Products such as towbars carry a lifetime warranty (see under Warranty) meaning your vehicle is covered against workmanship and materials for as long as you own it. Some products carry a 3-year or 100,000Km warranty (whichever comes first). 

Yes. Please note however that some goods are marked as one-off or non-returnable. Read more about our return policy 

Due to airbags being fitted to all modern vehicles this cannot be achieved safely.. Contact us for more information.

Your Hayman Reese towbar is supplied in a semi gloss black finish and the towball, clip & hitch pin are made from stainless steel. 

Many of our towbars are designed with a detachable tongue and towball.

When you are not towing, simply remove the retaining clip & hitch pin, and the tongue slides straight out. Contact us for more information.

When towing a trailer, strong winds and wind buffets from large trucks can result in unnerving trailer sway.

We can supply a sway controller that is designed to be used in conjunction with a Hayman Reese Weight Distribution System and prevents trailer sway by retarding the pivotal movement between the tow hitch and the trailer.

We can provide an adapter from round to square, or we will replace the wiring loom in your vehicle. Contact us to arrange.

There are three sizes of towballs commonly in use – 

1. 7/8-inch towball, supplied as standard with your Hayman Reese towbar; 50mm towball; 
2. 5/16-inch towball (only used on larger trailers). Hayman Reese can provide you with a Convert-A-Ball to swap 1 7/8-inch and 50mm sizes, which is a safe, quick and convenient way of enabling different size towballs to be changed in minutes.

For more information on Convert-A-Ball or if you need a non-standard size contact us.

A trailer puts its towball weight on the coupling which, when connected to the vehicle, is held by the suspension over the back axle.

This load is redistributed to all wheels of the vehicle and trailer using a weight distributing hitch to return the vehicle to its normal height. If towing heavy trailers constantly, it may be appropriate to replace the standard springs with higher rated (carrying capacity) springs.

These will not transfer any load away from the axle but will provide better support for the higher load being carried. It is preferable to transfer the ball weight when towing to ensure that the vehicle's rear axle is not overloaded and to ensure maximum traction of all wheels on the road for optimum braking and steering control.

Towing increases the workload on a vehicle's engine. This can cause the engine transmission to become hotter than under normal driving conditions.

Refer to the vehicle’s handbook or your dealer for instructions covering the fitment of additional cooling equipment if necessary.

Towball weight refers to the weight on the front end of the trailer not carried over the axles. As a rule, aim to have 10% of the total trailer weight as towball weight. This can be measured at a weigh bridge by resting the jockey wheel only on the scale.

Alternatively, Hayman Reese had a Towball Weight Scale with which you can measure your ball weight by placing it under the coupling and winding the weight off the jockey wheel.

The towbar must have a capacity that exceeds the loaded weight of the trailer you are intending to tow.

Check the rating of the towbar and the vehicle’s rated towing capacity, which is included in the towing section of the cars handbook.

There are two types of towbar available. For light duty towing generally up to 1,250 Kg 'standard' towbars with a bolt on tongue are used.

For heavy duty towing a hitch receiver is used, which has a square hole designed for a removable ball mount or the Hayman Reese Weight Distributing Hitch.

This can be done up to 24 hours in advance. Contact the Hayman Reese Sales team. A 10% cancellation fee applies.

On some models this is required to achieve a good design. It also allows ample ground clearance and safety. The installer will discuss this with you if your vehicle requires a bumper cut, or contact us if you need to know before you buy.

There are very few vehicles that are not approved for towing, so normally no. We have a wide range of bars available and can custom build those we don’t have designs for.

We produce in excess of 600 models. However, due to demand not all models are held in stock. Hayman Reese caters for these by manufacturing to order in a very short lead-time, typically 4-to-5 days.

The installer will endeavour to fit you in to a date and time that suits you, or you can select a different installer.

This depends on vehicle type. Allow typically 3-4 hours. If you have a tight time frame discuss this with your installer when booking.

Tell us your registration on the home page of our website, and well ask some simple questions, and recommend a towbar for your vehicle. You can purchase it online, and suggest an installation time at an installer near you. They will confirm a time, and instal your towbar.