as above

just had mine doe 3hour job

well the Missis was there at 11:30 And sent home at 14:30

gulp!

Ps

I was upset that the Courtsey car was not a Yeti.

:(

Edited 5 October, 201015 yr by dieseldogg

When I had one fitted to my 1 series BMW it took 2 days!!!! Luckily the dealer gave me a fixed price based on a few hours work. He swore he would never do another again, after he and his techies read the full spec on fitting the tow bar and struggled on with the job. Mine was the easiest model to fit it too as I already had the extra fan

I would like a TB on my A4 but I think the fitting is also a couple of days :(

Full day plus courtesy car for me too. That's because I had the full 13 pin socket fitted which requires cables to be installed all the way up to the front of the car. An awful lot of trim to remove!

Ditto for us, re the 13 pin fitment, hence my origional intention to have it "factory fitted"

cheers

M

Ps

No word as yet today as at 12:10

as of 15:30................still no word

PS

Had a wee drive in the courtsey car a petrol automatic.

I did not warm to it, it might well have been "quick" but so was the movement of the fuel guage, plus the Skoda felt sooooo much better screwed together.............with a much superior seat.

Edited 6 October, 201015 yr by dieseldogg

I had mine done by a mobile fitter at my house .All done in under 2 hours £241 .

Probably using a bypass relay by Ryder or similar.

Sniff!

Ps

Wor supplying dealer's Service Manager has said that he does not think they will ever do another,

seems the supplied fitting instructions were more than a bit " VW generic" "one size fits all"

PPs

they have apparently not heard of self amalgating tape either nor indeed shrink fit with , just bodge it with sticky tape

sigh

I do wonder

Assuming we are talking about the Octy II I'm surprised it could take that long. I fitted one (for another Briskoda member) and it took me about 4 hours including a couple of tea breaks. I used the OE-supplied towbar and electrics kit. The actual fitting of the towbar is pretty straightforward, its the trim removal and refitting that takes the time.

Having worked in the motor trade for 30+ years my opinion of many dealers is pretty low, TBH. Most will have one or two really good techs, but a then a bunch of other guys bonused-up to do servicing, friction etc., they probably gave the towbar fitting to one of the learners and he got into a tangle with it. Scotchlocks and a bit of scruffy insulating tape are the norm for electrical work.

I have witnessed some tremendous ****-ups over the years. I remember we once had a Rover 827 to service (this is years ago). It had a Honda autobox that needed special 'Hondamatic' type fluid. I went to the local (very big) Rover dealer to pick some up. After a lengthy discussion with the parts dept. it became obvious that they had never heard of the stuff and only ever supplied the Rover fluid (a completely different formulation meant for AP autoboxes). The service manager had no idea there was any difference and went white when he realised why all those auto 825, 827 and 216/416 were coming back with faulty transmissions right after they'd been serviced!

Now that sounds about right.

My dealer use a local speacialist. No disrespect to the dealer but I prefer the experts to do the job. Very neat job - they have done three cars for me now prior to collection. No wiring issues at all ... fridge, battery charger and Alko ATC all working as they should.

Immediately prior to collection of my new Scout, I had the dealership fit a VAG detachable tongue towbar with full wiring integration so it works properly with rear parking sensors, engine management when towing etc. I was astonished at the amount of kit that had to come off or out of the car to install it. From the photos my dealer took of the process, it appeared that the bumper, plus all of the interior trim back to the rear doors came out. He reckoned it took a good 4 hours (then again, I'd expect something of this order for the exorbitant cost of the equivalent of £850 at the current exchange rate). I persuaded my dealer to let me have one picture of the process taking place. It's not the best but gives some idea of the job:

I'm not familiar with the Scout fitment, but on the Octy II hatch and Fabia II hatch, yes, you have to remove the rear bumper and much of the internal trim at the rear. Its not as bad as it looks though. Once you know where all the fastners are its just a matter of steadily working though it.

The actual towbar fits quickly and easily. You just remove the rear bumper reinforcement, slide the towbar into place and bolt in through the chassis rails.

I had a Westfalia removable towbar and dedicated 7 pin fitted to my FL Octavia last Friday by Indespension in Reading, took less than two hours. Plus they very helpfully let me have access to the rear bumper when thay had removed it so I could fit reversing sensors at the same time.

I had a Westfalia removable towbar and dedicated 7 pin fitted to my FL Octavia last Friday by Indespension in Reading, took less than two hours. Plus they very helpfully let me have access to the rear bumper when thay had removed it so I could fit reversing sensors at the same time.

I think that the difference in time is due to your only fitting a 12N socket. Fitting a 12 S socket for caravan use would involve taking wires back to the fuse board in the dash, which is a lot more work.

I think that the difference in time is due to your only fitting a 12N socket. Fitting a 12 S socket for caravan use would involve taking wires back to the fuse board in the dash, which is a lot more work.

I thought that most cars required additional cooling to be added if the towbar was fully wired for towing? I don't know about the octy, but if the towbar electrics are coded at a Skoda dealer and the extra colling is required, then I guess Skoda would have to do a lot more work? It would have been the case for my 123D if it han't already got double fans, I was told.

I thought that most cars required additional cooling to be added if the towbar was fully wired for towing? I don't know about the octy, but if the towbar electrics are coded at a Skoda dealer and the extra colling is required, then I guess Skoda would have to do a lot more work? It would have been the case for my 123D if it han't already got double fans, I was told.

As I recall, automatic gearboxes used to require an oil cooler for towing. I've never needed or required extra cooling for a car with a manual gearbox. My current car, Octavia 4x4 has recently been fitted with tow bar and full electrics, no extra cooling was mentioned or fitted. The extra cost was the removal of all the trim all the way up to the front of the car.

I have just had a removable witter tow bar fitted by a mobile fitter on my 2010 1.8 TSI Job took less than 2 hours. Admittedly it was just single electrics i required. But he did a very neat job with the ball removed all you can see if you look carefully is the small bracket for the breakaway cable. Cost of supply and fitment £255 Quote for a tow ball from the local Skoda dealer To supply & fit a detachable towbar £875.00 inc

To supply & fit a fixed towbar £690.00 inc

Can someone explain the difference in towbar electrics? I'm getting to the age where a caravan sounds like fun . . . . so just reading up on how to tow it!

As I recall, automatic gearboxes used to require an oil cooler for towing. I've never needed or required extra cooling for a car with a manual gearbox. My current car, Octavia 4x4 has recently been fitted with tow bar and full electrics, no extra cooling was mentioned or fitted. The extra cost was the removal of all the trim all the way up to the front of the car.

Not only was extra colling mentioned with my BMW, but the salesman at Audi said if I wanted a towbar on my A4 then it might be an issue there too. Although he did concede that as I have the 3.0tdi, it might already have adequate cooling. I haven't dared go back for a quote though

Can someone explain the difference in towbar electrics? I'm getting to the age where a caravan sounds like fun . . . . so just reading up on how to tow it!

Until fairly recently, basic towing electrics (brake lights, indicators etc) were taken care of by a black 7 pin plug and socket arrangement (called 12N). Most new cars now have a connection at the rear of the car to plug straight in to and get all these requirements. Therefore these electrical connections are simple and relatively cheap.

If you want a bit more sophistication, most caravans now have onboard batteries and refrigerators that can run off 12Vdc. If you want to charge your caravan battery and keep your fridge cold whilst on the move, you need two dedicated 12Vdc supplies to run them. These supplies are connected by a white or grey socket arrangement (called 12S). The wiring for this socket has to a have a heavy duty cable running back to the car battery and fuse box, hence all the trim has to come up to run the cables, therefore an expensive business.

A further complication is that there is a newer standard for towing electrics in the form of a single 13 pin socket which can cover all the electrical connections that you require. However, beware, even though a 13 pin socket is fitted to the car, it may only have the basic lighting connections wired hence a cheap installation.

My own outfit at the moment is a fully wired 13 pin socket on the car. My older caravan has the older twin plugs (black and grey) and I have an adaptor to convert those two plugs to a single 13 pin plug. Works well enough for me but probably this winter I shall re-wire the caravan to 13 pin standard.

And am I correct in thinking that the European? 13 pin arrangment will facliate a dedicated towing ESP set up.

Assuming your car is so equipped.

Now I presume that this simply means the cars ESP electronics recognise from the 13 pin connection that sommat is being towed.

And therefore configure the ESP to account for the item being towed.

Or do some of the newer more sosphisacated caravans send electronic signals back through the 13 pin socket??

Unlikely I would have thought.

Anyway I have long been a convert to the 13 pin system instead of that silly UK two plug system

The 13 pin set up is also more secure with the rotating locking arrangement,.

And I have to say Skodas supplied 13 pin to 7 pin convertor is a very very tidy arrangment.

Cheers

M