Picked up my car at the weekend and 'think' I've got to the bottom of (some) issues with the towbar. Here's my description so far, but bear in mind I've never had a towbar before!

1. The Skoda dedicated towbar is very neat. Might be best to describe it as roughly U-shaped, where one of the legs fits vertically upwards into a hole beneath the car and is then key locked into place; by an arrangement on the towbar fitting that uses retractable ball bearings. The other end of the u has the towball.

2. There is no need to 'cut the bumper' or anything similar.

3. If the manufacturers towbar is used then the 'system' somehow becomes aware of that fact and the effect on the rear parking sensors is described on p115 of the car Owner's Manual .

'If the vehicle is equipped with a factory-fitted towing device, the border of the danger area starts - continuous tone - 5 cm further behind the vehicle'

So no continuous or false readings are received under those conditions.

4. When the towbar is fitted, the 'factory towbar prep' is connected to the 'Electrics for Towbar' (a Dealer fitted accessory) and then plugged into whatever you're towing, then the car system recognises your towing and switches off the rear sensors and Park Assist. It's not yet clear if whatever your towing just needs to be electrically connected to the wiring - or connected and under electrical load - in order to do so. My guess is that it just has to be connected via 13-pin etc.

5. The reason so little was known about the towbar by dealers was simple. It seems the 'electrical' parts had to be tested for UK use. The tests weren't completed and parts signed off for use until last week. At the end of last week there were only 25 of the accessories available in the country.

Simple. Pity nobody told us what was going on.

So how was the car selected as Towcar of the Year? It must have been the left hand drive that was tested!

My 'electrics for towbar' aren't yet installed, as the parts turned up too late last week to be fitted before the weekend, and the car needs to be returned to the dealer soon for the work to be completed.

thanks. I am thinking of getting the genuine skoda bar but fitted by my local towbar specialist. He is really good an seems very knowledgable. I dont have the factory fit towbar prep but he tells me this is not an issue as he always uses vehicle specific wiring kits and can set the relevant flags in the ECU to turn off parking sensors etc.

you should alo get trailer stability program activated as well with your skoda bar - its linked to the ESP and brakes the towcar rear wheels if it detects a sway.

Chris I got my Elegance end of November and had the tow bar prep done at the factory. My dealer has been trying to get the tow bar for me since then. In the end i rang Skoda UK and they told me they were testing it that day and would let me know. It seems that proplem is only with the cars that were preped at the factory. They called back and i am getting my bar fitted this thursday. Only proplem is that it will not charge the van battery and and work the fridge.

Chris I got my Elegance end of November and had the tow bar prep done at the factory. My dealer has been trying to get the tow bar for me since then. In the end i rang Skoda UK and they told me they were testing it that day and would let me know. It seems that proplem is only with the cars that were preped at the factory. They called back and i am getting my bar fitted this thursday. Only proplem is that it will not charge the van battery and and work the fridge.

Re above, if it doesn't charge caravan (or trailer) battery, nor work the fridge while towing in transit, then there is something wrong and you should reject the installation. The 13 pin Euro socket should deal with these issues - that's the point of having them! Of course if your caravan has the old twin seven pin plugs, then an adapter cable will be needed. My Superb won't be delivered until 1st March but it is ordered with the Skoda towbar and all electrics and I will certainly expect them all to work on delivery!

Picked up my car at the weekend and 'think' I've got to the bottom of (some) issues with the towbar. Here's my description so far, but bear in mind I've never had a towbar before!

1. The Skoda dedicated towbar is very neat. Might be best to describe it as roughly U-shaped, where one of the legs fits vertically upwards into a hole beneath the car and is then key locked into place; by an arrangement on the towbar fitting that uses retractable ball bearings. The other end of the u has the towball.

2. There is no need to 'cut the bumper' or anything similar.

3. If the manufacturers towbar is used then the 'system' somehow becomes aware of that fact and the effect on the rear parking sensors is described on p115 of the car Owner's Manual .

'If the vehicle is equipped with a factory-fitted towing device, the border of the danger area starts - continuous tone - 5 cm further behind the vehicle'

So no continuous or false readings are received under those conditions.

4. When the towbar is fitted, the 'factory towbar prep' is connected to the 'Electrics for Towbar' (a Dealer fitted accessory) and then plugged into whatever you're towing, then the car system recognises your towing and switches off the rear sensors and Park Assist. It's not yet clear if whatever your towing just needs to be electrically connected to the wiring - or connected and under electrical load - in order to do so. My guess is that it just has to be connected via 13-pin etc.

5. The reason so little was known about the towbar by dealers was simple. It seems the 'electrical' parts had to be tested for UK use. The tests weren't completed and parts signed off for use until last week. At the end of last week there were only 25 of the accessories available in the country.

Simple. Pity nobody told us what was going on.

So how was the car selected as Towcar of the Year? It must have been the left hand drive that was tested!

My 'electrics for towbar' aren't yet installed, as the parts turned up too late last week to be fitted before the weekend, and the car needs to be returned to the dealer soon for the work to be completed.

Thanks Chris, the generic name for this type of towbar is detachable swan neck. As I have commented previously, this Skoda design is very neat and seems well thought out except that one is clearly going to get dirty knees when hooking up. One issue with swan necks is where to attach the caravan breakaway cable - if there isn't a designated attachment point, one should refer to the manufacturer. Without seeing the Skoda detachable swan neck (except in pictures), I suspect it hasn't a designated attachment point. It is likely that one can only loop the cable around the swan neck itself, with the definite risk that if the caravan becomes detached, the breakaway cable will also detach without actuating the van brakes. Another issue to refer to Skoda UK!!

Chris I got my Elegance end of November and had the tow bar prep done at the factory. My dealer has been trying to get the tow bar for me since then. In the end i rang Skoda UK and they told me they were testing it that day and would let me know. It seems that proplem is only with the cars that were preped at the factory. They called back and i am getting my bar fitted this thursday. Only proplem is that it will not charge the van battery and and work the fridge.

probably fitting it this week because of getting 'approval' last week. Sorry don't know anything about charging but my car is back in tomorrow so I'll ask and see if there is an answer.

Edit: Have noted Caravan Man's answer above. He seems to know about this. Note that the 'accessories' at 'accessories.skoda' website has different 13pin to 7pin connections for (I think) pre-1997 vans and those following on later.

Thanks Chris, the generic name for this type of towbar is detachable swan neck. As I have commented previously, this Skoda design is very neat and seems well thought out except that one is clearly going to get dirty knees when hooking up. One issue with swan necks is where to attach the caravan breakaway cable - if there isn't a designated attachment point, one should refer to the manufacturer. Without seeing the Skoda detachable swan neck (except in pictures), I suspect it hasn't a designated attachment point. It is likely that one can only loop the cable around the swan neck itself, with the definite risk that if the caravan becomes detached, the breakaway cable will also detach without actuating the van brakes. Another issue to refer to Skoda UK!!

Comments noted thanks. This won't cause me a problem short term. I've actually given my dealer a number of things to look into already so might leave this for you in March or maybe Superb Lady could ask the question for an early response on Thursday. All questions will get put back to Technical Support to answer.

2. There is no need to 'cut the bumper' or anything similar.

I've had to go out to the car so got on my knees in the frost to have a look.

Firstly, 2 above was wrong (I was misled), a rectangular hole has indeed been cut across 'part' of the underside of the bumper.

Second, I have checked the 'swan-neck' towbar. There are no holes, loops or anything else to connect a cable to. There is no other connection point beneath the car anyway.

Caravan Man: Could the rear towing eye not be put in place and used for that purpose?

I've had to go out to the car so got on my knees in the frost to have a look.

Firstly, 2 above was wrong (I was misled), a rectangular hole has indeed been cut across 'part' of the underside of the bumper.

Second, I have checked the 'swan-neck' towbar. There are no holes, loops or anything else to connect a cable to. There is no other connection point beneath the car anyway.

Caravan Man: Could the rear towing eye not be put in place and used for that purpose?

Interesting solution Chris. If the towing eye is fairly central this would work. If not, as the car turns, forming an angle between car and caravan, from one lock to another, there would be a big difference in the length of breakaway cable needed - unsatisfactory as there usually isn't much spare and in any case the standard advice is never have too much slack in this cable. If it were to operate due to a lack of slack, while towing, it could well cause an accident. As my Superb II hasn't arrived yet I can't physically look at this possible solution. Most aftermarket systems, such as Witter, have an eye for the breakaway cable attached to the tow bar system which makes the decision simple. I'll check whether there is a British/European standard applicable which deals with this. Skoda have probably forgotten about this requirement.

For those without much towing experience, if the caravan becomes unhitched in transit, the breakaway cable is designed to apply the caravan brakes (which then lock on) and then break away. It is not designed to keep the van attached, which is why it is fairly thin! Of course if one takes care when hitching up, and make sure the tell tale has risen in the hitch mechanism, one should never become unhitched. It hasn't happened to me in 30 years. Unhitched and divorced are not the same!

Many of these issues are well covered in the Caravan Club site

Brian.

probably fitting it this week because of getting 'approval' last week. Sorry don't know anything about charging but my car is back in tomorrow so I'll ask and see if there is an answer.

Edit: Have noted Caravan Man's answer above. He seems to know about this. Note that the 'accessories' at 'accessories.skoda' website has different 13pin to 7pin connections for (I think) pre-1997 vans and those following on later.

Regretfully there remains some confusion with the wiring of 13 pin Euro connectors. The best advice is given via the Caravan Club website and the Towsafe website, who have clear diagrams of the correct connections. It was pointed out recently that Swift, who make a large proportion of UK caravans actually include an incorrect wiring diagram in all their current manuals - one would have expected them to get it correct. I haven't seen the Skoda manual so I hope they have got it correct! All caravans now manufactured in the UK have single, 13 pin Euro connectors, the change was mandatory after around October 2008. Immediately before that one could usually chose what one wanted, and dealers would fit as required. The twin 7 pin system was by far the most common but had a number of drawbacks with not very good contacts. With the plugs exposed to the elements, I often had to plug, unplug, re-plug etc before everything worked. I started in the '70's, when virtually everything in a caravan was gas powered (including lights) and the single 7 pin plug was really only to work the various rear lights when towing. Nowadays most people hook up to electrics on site and also expect electric facilities even on the move to charge the battery and keep the fridge cold, hence the move to a better system. The 7 pin system was not well designed for an outdoor component and is well past it's shelf life.

Brian

The twin 7 pin system was by far the most common but had a number of drawbacks with not very good contacts. With the plugs exposed to the elements, I often had to plug, unplug, re-plug etc before everything worked. I started in the '70's,.................

The 7 pin system was not well designed for an outdoor component and is well past it's shelf life.

Brian

Having only seen pictures of the 13 pin plugs can you explain how these differ from a 7 pin plug (apart from the obvious extra 6 pins) they look like they use the same pin system, which as you say is far from ideal.

lots to talk about here :

1) visit caravantalk.org to answer most queries. lots of useful info on this caravan forum

2) breakaway cables should be looped round the ball and clipped back onto themselves. NEVER attach to an eye. these are hopeless and the clip will simply pull off the cable before it applies the brakes (i know as it happened to me). the weak point of a breakaway cable is the crimp where the clamp is attached to teh cable. you MUST loop the cable round the ball to prevent a disaster or pass the cable through the attachment eye and clip back onto itself.

see here : http://www.nationalcaravan.co.uk/downloads/resources/breakawaycable.pdf

3) 13 pin...well i looked into this a lot. seems the EU standard is different to what we use and unless you specify that the pin for charging and fridge use is connected then the car manufacturer is likely to not connect these pins up. Apparently many vans in europe dot use the fridge running from the car facility. I have read about many disgruntled VW and Audi customers over on the caravan forum who have not got these pins wired up either. Its fine if you buy an aftermarket bar as the UK contractor who fits it will connect these pins. factory fit is a different scenario. you have to specify ISO 11446 Electrics when you order and not just "towbar electrics" in order to get all 12 wires connected (pin 13 is not allocated yet).

read this thread here for much much more info :Audi Factory Fit Towbar Problem - Caravan Talk

i am going for a retro fit bar - might be a brink or might be the skoda one but fitted by a 3rd party dealer. That way I can ensure what i get is what i need. The lack of info and ambiquity over the skoda factory wiring is one of th reasons i chose not to add it to me car when i ordered.

sorry for you guys that are having issues - the caravan forum is full of very helpful and very knowledgeable folk who will help you out. I have been on there for a couple of years and got all sorts of tips. cheers

lots to talk about here :

1) visit caravantalk.org to answer most queries. lots of useful info on this caravan forum

2) breakaway cables should be looped round the ball and clipped back onto themselves. NEVER attach to an eye. these are hopeless and the clip will simply pull off the cable before it applies the brakes (i know as it happened to me). the weak point of a breakaway cable is the crimp where the clamp is attached to teh cable. you MUST loop the cable round the ball to prevent a disaster or pass the cable through the attachment eye and clip back onto itself.

see here : http://www.nationalcaravan.co.uk/downloads/resources/breakawaycable.pdf

3) 13 pin...well i looked into this a lot. seems the EU standard is different to what we use and unless you specify that the pin for charging and fridge use is connected then the car manufacturer is likely to not connect these pins up. Apparently many vans in europe dot use the fridge running from the car facility. I have read about many disgruntled VW and Audi customers over on the caravan forum who have not got these pins wired up either. Its fine if you buy an aftermarket bar as the UK contractor who fits it will connect these pins. factory fit is a different scenario. you have to specify ISO 11446 Electrics when you order and not just "towbar electrics" in order to get all 12 wires connected (pin 13 is not allocated yet).

read this thread here for much much more info :Audi Factory Fit Towbar Problem - Caravan Talk

i am going for a retro fit bar - might be a brink or might be the skoda one but fitted by a 3rd party dealer. That way I can ensure what i get is what i need. The lack of info and ambiquity over the skoda factory wiring is one of th reasons i chose not to add it to me car when i ordered.

sorry for you guys that are having issues - the caravan forum is full of very helpful and very knowledgeable folk who will help you out. I have been on there for a couple of years and got all sorts of tips. cheers

Just to clear up any confusion that may have arisen from my previous comment on attachment of the breakaway cable, I certainly agree that if there is an eye, then the cable must be passed through and clipped back on itself, as you say above. I still believe this is more positive than looping it around the tow ball as if the trailer somehow were to disengage, there must surely be some risk that the breakaway cable loop will also lift off, if there is nothing positively restraining it from doing so.

Having only seen pictures of the 13 pin plugs can you explain how these differ from a 7 pin plug (apart from the obvious extra 6 pins) they look like they use the same pin system, which as you say is far from ideal.

This link shows the Euro socket -

13 pin euro socket for trailer towbar caravan

You will note that each pin is well insulated from the others and no doubt the quality of the socket/pin mating surfaces is satisfactory for it's intended environment - at the dirty end of a vehicle!

Just to clear up any confusion that may have arisen from my previous comment on attachment of the breakaway cable, I certainly agree that if there is an eye, then the cable must be passed through and clipped back on itself, as you say above. I still believe this is more positive than looping it around the tow ball as if the trailer somehow were to disengage, there must surely be some risk that the breakaway cable loop will also lift off, if there is nothing positively restraining it from doing so.

i have found that the cable will not pass through some eyes which is very annoying !!

just had a quote for after market fitting of a bosal towbar and a genuine skoda one. I was surprised at the low cost of the skoda one but the bosal one is higher than expected (both were around £650 including the 13 pin to 7 pin converter). this includes all the coding to enable parking sensors to be turned off and trailer stability control to be activated.

My local specialist says the skoda bar looks like a good one. He has the bosal one in stock so i plan to go have a look at it. He is confident with the wiring and bumper cut. skoda dealer tells me 3 other specialists refuse to tackle the superb bar as the wiring / coding is too complicated !