Detachable towbars sales grow in popularity year after year. They offer the best of both worlds: a car with a towbar when towing and a car without when not!

Untill recently 99.9% of detachable towbars have been detachable swanneck towbars, however Tow-Trust Towbars has introduced a range of flange detachable towbars, providing the versatility of both the flange and detachable systems. Witter Towing Systems have followed this lead and have launched a flange detachable towbar called "FlexTow".

They are also useful for cars fitted with reversing sensors (also know as PDC or parking distance control). This is because often with a flange or swanneck fixed in position they would be picked up by the sensors when not towing.

The standard type of towbar in the UK is the flange towbar, (in most cases the two-bolt flange.) This is the type of towbar that been available in the UK for many decades. Perhaps the best known make of flange towbars is Witter, the UK's largest towbar manufacturer.

With a flange towbar a separate towball is bolted onto the towbar via bolts on each side (normally one on either side). This system allows different types of towball to be fitted. The most popular is the standard towball, however long reach towballs are now becoming popular for caravans with a integral stabiliser such as the AL-KO system. Also many commercial vehicles also fit a combination pin, ball and jaw to allow, for example the towing of site generators which have a towing ring rather than a convention hitch.

The flange system also allows for accessories to be fitted between the towbar and the towball, these include stabilisers (such as the Bulldog or Snakemaster), cycle carriers, tow steps or bumper protector plates.

When the European towing brackett manufacturers such as Bosal and Brink (now Thule Towing Systems) began selling into Britain they introduced to the mass UK market swanneck towbars (either with a welded or bolt on neck).

The swanneck towbar is the norm in most continental European countries such as Germany, but every year they become more popular in the UK.

With a swanneck towbar instead of the neck of the towbar ending in a flange plate (to which a separate towball is bolted), the neck turns straight into the ball. Many people believe this is more aesthetically pleasing than the more common flange type, as usually the electrics are located on the main towbar out of normal view.

However they do have disadvantages in that traditional blade type stabilisers (Bulldog, Snakemaster etc) often require an expensive and intrusive adapter. Also bumper protector plates, tow steps and pins and balls etc cannot be fitted.