Most of the tow bars require the installation of a base plate which is a major expense and requires the removal of all the front panels to install. There is a British company that uses the spots where an eye bolt screws through the bumper into the front cross member. This would make it very simple to add a tow bar. BUT, I have read one report that says that the tow bar ripped loose from the tow points.I would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has used the existing tow points.This is the eyebolt that comes with the car:British tow bar:

Good morning. We are long time (12 year) smart car drivers. We have had three diesels and now down to an Electric Cabrio. The towing hooks are not meant for long term towing usage. I recommend not using them for towing behind an RV. To install the tow bar go to a Mercedes Dealer (or smart car dealer if you are in the US). An RV shop can take hours to figure out how to get the body panels off. A Mercedes dealer (or smart car dealer in the US) has technicians trained on how to remove them. It will take a trained person 20 to 30 seconds per panel to remove them. For most of the panels it is that fast. Good luck and happy camping.

My wife and I met a couple traveling through our area with a Class-A pulling a smart car (which my MIL also owns both and wants to make her SC into a toad). We talked with the owners quite a bit, and they bought a tow bar meant to screw into the eyelets, and have been towing 1000s of miles with this setup safely. His setup also included a $60 or so tow bar from Harbor freight for the MH hitch. The only other issue was you need to put bungee cords around the steering wheel to stiffen the steering gear. Unfortunately his source (I think NM located?) didn't make the tow bar anymore. Based on his advice/experience, I would think this would be a viable way to tow. Just my .02

I tow a Smart. It is my understanding that towing with the tow hooks was a European thing and I think that Mercedes says it is for emergencies. I certainly wouldn't do here. The difficulty of installing a base plate is overstated. My S.O. and myself installed a Blue Ox base plate ourselves. I wouldn't call it easy but is certainly doable. The instructions were clear. You do have to pull off the body panels but that is certainly not hard and they are fairly large and very lightweight. If you take your time and follow each step in the instructions you would have no issues.

Have you considered getting a small open trailer to put it upon ??Should be fairly inexpensive and totally safe for the mechanics of the car.

fpresto wrote:It is my understanding that towing with the tow hooks was a European thing and I think that Mercedes says it is for emergencies. I certainly wouldn't do here.Why would towing in Europe be okay and not here?The difficulty of installing a base plate is overstated. My S.O. and myself installed a Blue Ox base plate ourselves. I wouldn't call it easy but is certainly doable.I would have no problem installing a base plate myself but would prefer not having to spend $400 for one.Sam Spade wrote:Have you considered getting a small open trailer to put it upon ??Should be fairly inexpensive and totally safe for the mechanics of the car.I have a small flatbed trailer that would handle the Smart okay and may give it some more thought.

Towing Smart car | Good Sam Community

fpresto
Explorer
May 20, 2017
Tom, I have the same manual and as you posted it says "Contact an authorized smart center for information on recommended tow bar equipment and installing a matching on/off switch on the battery terminal." Do it and they will tell you to use a baseplate. You can also contact Smart USA at https://www.smartusa.com/contact and ask them. In my opinion the tow hooks are for emergencies not long distance towing at least for the cars manufactured for the US market, there are differences. I looked at the tow hook attachment points and was not satisfied with their apparent strength. If you decide to do it I suggest that you at least look. Your opinion may be different than mine. As I said in a prior post finding the correct eyebolt with the correct thread is very difficult. It is not a common type used in the USA. If you need one PM me and I will give you a link to where you can find one if I can track it down.
Tom_M1
Explorer
May 20, 2017
The towing eye is available on eBay and Amazon. I have not decided what direction I will pursue. I won't be towing until August so I will wait awhile.
janstey58
Explorer
May 23, 2017
My MIL is still going with the eyelet bumper pull, based on actual experience and 1000s of safe miles from another RVer.
Tom_M1
Explorer
Jun 02, 2017
Well I decided to go the cheap route and purchased a Curt tow bar for $100 and a tow eye from eBay for $22. I had to drill a hole through the bumper on the driver side to install the second tow eye. I got the tow bar rigged up and hitched up to my pickup truck then went for a drive around the neighborhood. I accelerated and braked hard a few times to give it an extreme test. When I got back home I found that one of the tow eyes was bent. So much for that idea. I now have on order a Roadmaster base plate. I plan on using the Curt tow bar with the Roadmaster plate.

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