Just got my new Octy 1.6 Tdi Elegance. (Sorry to see the Fabia go but 100k miles saw her looking a little worse for wear).

The loss of ccs and heavier body doesn't seem to impact as much as might be thought reading some reviews.

However, having shelled out £135 for factory towbar preparation, I was surprised to be told by my towbar fitter (independant firm which I have used for years) that he could not see anything different to the wiring as compared to other Octavias which he had worked on which didn't have the extra.

Does anyone know what the factory towbar preparation consists of?

Edited 1 November, 201015 yr by TonyLeTourneur

This means that you should have the wiring for the tow bar pre-installed from the fuse box, back to the control box in the boot.

You basically then plug the socket wiring into the control box.

Without tow bar prep, you have to have half the car interior stripped to wire up back to the fuse box.

If people do not care about disabling rear parking sensors or the bulb warning system working on the towing system, then most installers can tap into the wiring successfully.

HTH

So does this mean your independent uses a bypass relay & therefore will not see any difference to the wiring cos from his perspective there isnt?, since he taps into the wires between the control box and the lamp unit?

I was advised by my dealer that the factory towbar prep was a waste of money if you want the full electrical wiring. IT does not include the heavy duty cables from the rear to the front for caravan battery charging and refrigerator. So the towbar installer still has to rip out all of your trim, a massive and expensive job.

This is poor of Skoda. My previous Vauxhall Zafira (05 plate) was fully wired to a socket at the rear of the car. Electrical instalaltion took about 5 minutes!

I was advised by my dealer that the factory towbar prep was a waste of money if you want the full electrical wiring.

Me too, I tried to order it and the salesman told me not too bother.

Hmmmm,

Yes I got the extra Caravan loom in a box as the dealer declined to fit,

However however, yes this whole Skoda towbar electrics fitment is a complete *******s, I could not properly understand from the brochure what was really needed, and if "factory prep" was offered for a model but not on a car as purchased could it be retrofitted by the dealer etc etc.

The dealers appear to be as bad , not wishing to get involved, advising us to either use an independent, independently by one dealer or or subbed in by the dealer themselves.

I am aware that not all motorists fit towbars and fewer again need caravan electrics, but if GM found it cost effective to leave all cars ready to "plug & play" why could the VW group not do the same.

Sigh

So does this mean your independent uses a bypass relay & therefore will not see any difference to the wiring cos from his perspective there isnt?, since he taps into the wires between the control box and the lamp unit?

That's almost right yeah...they tap into the lighting circuit with a bypass relay.

The control box is mounted on one of the rear wheel arches IIRC (under the boot carpet).

Did you get the rest of the loom that connects from the control box to the socket?

Another thing to consider is the programming in VAGCOM - I don't know whether they do this as part of the towbar prep...if not then someone would need to make all of the code adjustments.

dealer states its 8 hours labour charge hence why most advice going third party. I was also told that the tow prep is not worth the money, though after I ordered it!

mine didnt have towbar prep and the local towbar place didnt have a problem fitting the whole system in under three hours. :yes:

I was advised by my dealer that the factory towbar prep was a waste of money if you want the full electrical wiring. IT does not include the heavy duty cables from the rear to the front for caravan battery charging and refrigerator. So the towbar installer still has to rip out all of your trim, a massive and expensive job.

This is poor of Skoda. My previous Vauxhall Zafira (05 plate) was fully wired to a socket at the rear of the car. Electrical instalaltion took about 5 minutes!

Same here. Was advised against as stupidly it doesn't offer the necessary feeds for caravan battery/fridge/Alko ATC ... all of which I need.

The comments seems to confirm that the "preparation" if done is a rip-off. I am not sure that it was done on my car.

My fitter didn't use Scotchloks etc. He supplied a vehicle specific loom and re-programmed the VAGCOM/Canbus. My concern is that he had to lift most of the carpeting on the driver's side, install cables to the fusebox etc which he said he would have had to do on a non towbar prepared car. I have asked Skoda for an explanation but I am not holding my breath!

Edited 4 November, 201015 yr by TonyLeTourneur

I suspect that the factory "towbar" prep is simply installing this heavy "feed" wire to the rear with the necc "fuse box" connections.

Simpler & cheaper ( & better?)if done at the factory.

I suspect that the factory "towbar" prep is simply installing this heavy "feed" wire to the rear with the necc "fuse box" connections.

Simpler & cheaper ( & better?)if done at the factory.

It's certainly not better if it doesn't offer all the connections that caravanners need. The idea is a good one, one that I would be happy to pay for if it offered full connectivity.

As I hope I mentioned we do not caravan............. therefore were not interested in caravan electrics.

But after the poor initial installation using a very poorly installed 7 pin bypass kit, we negioted with the supplying dealer to fit the proper Westfalia towbar "loom", and .......................since the 13 pin kit was cheaper than our UK 7 pin kit opted for the 13 pin kit.

The dealer ordered in two separate "looms"............ one for the basic? 13 pin trailer wiring...................

PLUS a separate £40.00 caravan loom.( for the split charging function I can only presume)

Which puzzled me as I understood that the Continental 13 pin system was a complete..........i.e. permed every which way...........fully compatabile caravan towing and split charging kit. .

Period.Endex.Complete. Finis.

So why a supplementary Westfalia loom for the split charging function??

Are there two different factory towbar wiring options??

And if so Is this unique to the UK market??

Puzzled.

Is all.

Edited 5 November, 201015 yr by dieseldogg

I have a factory fitted towbar with 13 pin electrics and it wasn't wired for a caravan :'( , I then found out you have to order a supplementary wiring kit for £40 which I ordered and a box came with a fused relay and some thin cable and a couple of connections for the fusebox, trouble is the pins in the 13 socket were NOT fitted and did not come in the extra kit so I sent the extra kit back, I then had to replace the 13 pin socket with one with screw connections and run some 4mm cable to the front drivers fusebox taking loads of trim off :( see here - http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/135936-new-octavia-towing-electrics/ +

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/162617-octavia-fl-scout-access-to-relays-fusebox/

I finally got a reply from Skoda UK. I quote:

"I have been advised by Product Marketing that the tow bar preparation consists of wiring, which is then ready to have the retailer-fitted tow bar and electrics attached."

As I said in my original post, the mechanic who fitted my towbar found no evidence of this!

I have asked Skoda to detail what the "wiring" is but I suspect thay will be unable to do so.

My next move seems to be Trading Standards

As per dieseldogg, I've got no requirement for towing a caravan, just a motorbike trailer or occasional utility trailer (and maybe a wakeboard boat once in a blue moon). I'm also no DIYer, but with a competent friend's help we managed to fit a Westfalia towbar (I guess that's probably a "bar" to those with "vans") and 13-pin electrics in a couple of hours. I had factory prep, so the admittedly expensive bolt-on electric pack just plugged in to the connecting box near the N/S rear wheel arch. I removed and reinstalled the interior trim carefully following a guide I found linked on here, and the dealer who sold me the electrics (and the car for that matter) programmed it all afterwards. So I got what I needed without having to rely on someone else removing and possibly damaging excessive trim or clips. Long-term that should also mean fewer rattles I hope. Whether it's fit for your requirements goes down to what you've told the dealer (at or prior to order) about your intended use. Mine works for me and I was happy to choose the "factory prep plus bolt-on" route as I can now see so many opportunities for installer bodges/short-cuts. Pricing seems expensive for the very lightweight bolt-on electrics, but at least I can return to the dealer to resolve any warranty issues.

Incidentally, Audi Stoke have a list of surplus stock items which include detachable towbars for Octavia 4x4 (don't know if the part no. would fit current Scout as its not the same as in the lastest brochure) and I think they were about £80.

More from Skoda:

"I have now been advised by Product Marketing that Factory tow electrics preparation consists of the following:

Vehicle wiring from the fuse box and the body control module to the rear 1/4 panel area of the car.

The tow control module is also included and located in this area as well. Any additional cooling will be built in as part of the PR code when vehicle is ordered.

The tow electrics set for vehicles with preparation then takes the remaining wiring from the tow module to the tow socket."

It may be that I have been mislead by the fitter, so I am seeking comments from that direction.

Edited 16 November, 201015 yr by TonyLeTourneur

I have just ordered a Yeti CR140 Elegance but (although I will want to tow a caravan) I have not ordered the Towbar Prep. I have had inconsistent advice from towbar fitting companies and from Skoda Customer Services but the general concensus seems to be that if you are going to tow a caravan then you might as well leave the towbar prep off (as it is only designed for the single 12N socket) and get the appropriate full electrics with a dedicated after-market set. However I am not entirely comfortable with this decision and need advice as to whether I should spend the extra £155 now?

My scout didn't have the tow bar kit factory installed and I had our local specialist carry out the work.

13 pin socket, all wired for towing our van without any problems. You wouldn't even know the car had been taken to bits. About £450 - more expensive than our Subaru as it was a non standard install.

Hope this helps.

I cannot believe that any European car manufacturer will omit the facility for full caravan electrics from their factory specification.

This may however differ from the basic trailer towing electrics, despite all being 13 pin on the Continent.

As as far as I can understand as a non caravanner there needs to be a heavy guage "live" feed wire run diect from the battery via an inline fuse to the rear of the vehicle for the split charging? function for caravanners.

This is not required for trailer towing.

However the Skoda Brochure is very confusing in the unclear way this is described/not described.

Could some-one more computer literate than myself lay it out in flowchart?/family tree form.

And unfortunately quite a few in the auto electrics community specializing in wiring towbars are not interested in understanding the idosyncracies of the different manufacturers wiring diagrams or protocals.

They rather simply fit a standard "one size fits all" kit, bypass or otherwise as appropriate.

Cheers

M

I have a Yeti , no tow bar prep, a have a caravan, needed a fixed tow bar and full caravan electrics twin plug, rang Indespension , no discussion with regards to electrical matters, all I am aware there was two relays were on the bill. The fitter said it was a longer job than he envisaged, used the van last summer with no problems with regards to electrics. total charge was £ 278 ,

Edited 7 December, 201015 yr by mellyboy

Mellyboy

As long as it was your decision to use an independant fitter and are happy with the way it has been fitted including the "splicing in" and subsequent re-sealing of the joins.....fine.

I would imagine they used a bypass relay/relays ( brand name Ryder? for one) which is/are fully compatabile with the Canbus system.

The product is good it is often the workmanship that is lacking

Edited 7 December, 201015 yr by dieseldogg

Mellyboy

As long as it was your decision to use an independant fitter and are happy with the way it has been fitted including the "splicing in" and subsequent re-sealing of the joins.....fine.

I would imagine they used a bypass relay/relays ( brand name Ryder? for one) which is/are fully compatabile with the Canbus system.

The product is good it is often the workmanship that is lacking

Indespension are a international set up who have a technical team who issues instruction's for new model, They fit for main dealers all ways seems to be busy, second car I had fitted by them, happy to leave the clever bits to them. I used to work in engineering and could manufacturer fit and wire tow bars as to earn a few quid, they were the days , never set foot in a garage in them olden times.

I have worked with & bought stuff off Indespension here in N Ireland,

yes good helpful guys from what I recall, and a cracker helpful website for all kinds of towing related information.

My comment was not a "dig" at Indespension at all.

I have unfortunately witnessed very shoddy unsatisfactory work by an alledged reputed Independent retained by a Skoda garage to do their new car work.

A handless disinterested teenager could have done better.

Really.

Erm btw, all the written instruction in the world are useless unless read, understood and followed.

Edited 7 December, 201015 yr by dieseldogg