View Full Version : Towbars
Anyone fitted a towbar to their Exeo?
Been offered a caravan by a guy at work ('tis old, but adequate for a young family of 3, and it's free!) so i need to look at towbars.....
Been having a look, and the Seat one seems rather pricey compared to the Westfalia/Witter ones on good old ebay!
The mechanical fitting seems easy enough for a competant DIYer like myself, and the electrics don't seem like rocket-science either!
I got a Thule detachable fitted to mine, very pleased with it can remove the bar quickly and everything else is hidden in the bumper. They cut a neat hole in the bumper which isn't noticable as it is on the bottom of the bumper.
This is practically identical to mine but I have just one cut in the bumper not two - http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=478493
The next question I've got, is which electrics do I need for a Caravan? Single or double? 7 or 13 pin ?!? :confused:
Google later I think !!
That depends on how big the caravan is, the second electrics as far as I know is for brakes on some caravans I think!
It's only a small one, will double-check, but I think it's unbraked.
Get towbar express to install one for you cost about 350 quid for a detachble 13 pin towbar.
I got a Westfalia from Towequipe (http://www.towequipe.co.uk/) for my Bammer, Andy. They do proper electrics packs too.
I had a Thule detachable fitted to my Mk2 Leon FR Tdi. Only had one rectangular cutout in the valance for both the bar and the electrics, and a plastic cover that would snap in to fill the cutout. Bar was generally excellent but I wasn't so keen on the release mechanism. Am thinking about getting the Westfalia for my Exeo.
Spotted the Westfalia one on PFJones' website, and they do a 13-pin 'plug-and-play' wiring kit. Comes it at about £400 though......
Trying to save you here.... Did you pass your test after 1/1/97?
:no:
August 1996 :thumbup:
Thanks for the effort though ;)
I've been trying to convince Em that a VW T5 Camper is the way forward, but she' not too keen, and a caravan (especially a free one) is a compromise ;)
Hi All.
Trying to source a towbar for my se tech. Dealer wants £835 for genuine parts. It appears that aswell as the bar & loom the kit also has a new control unit which allows the trailer to use the fault system & disengages the reversing sensors.
All the other towbar companies offer 2 options. 1st seems to be just a bar & loom. No cutout for the parking sensors etc prices around £460. Option 2 includes rewiring so the parking sensors are disables & the correct lights on the dash work.
Any further info would be greatfully recieved.
I've been looking in to this lately, and there are 2 ways of wiring the towbar:
1. Specific wiring loom, which is somewhere in the region of £150-200 + fitting
2. Generic wiring loom, which connects via skotch-lock style connectors to the existing wiring at the rear of the car. Which is £20-25 + fitting.
The first option requires the loom routing through the car, up behind the dash so it can connect to the existing wiring harness, and then the ECU needs re programming to take in to account of the reversing sensors etc etc.
The second option only requires an additional 7-way bypass relay, which is about £25. This basically 'fools' the ECU, so that it doesn't see the extra electrical 'load' due to the tralier/caravan lights. However, this doesn't de-activate the reverse sensors etc.
Then, there's the towbar itself.
These are pretty much of a muchness to be honest. You just need to decide if you want it to be removeable or not.
The cheapest 'fixed' one I've seen, is the Westfalia (German) swan-neck towbar, with is available from Hedley-towbars for £85 (£10p&p). These look very discrete when fitted, and do not cause an interference with the reverse sensors, and do not obstruct the number-plate.
I splashed out £500 to have a Westfalia detachable with the electronic module fitted to my ST Lux. Very easy to fit and remove the towball, better mechanism than my previous Thule detachable IMO. The fitter had to change some ECU settings and am very impressed: the car has reported specific non-working trailer bulbs a couple of times while I've been towing.