Our long awaited Yeti arrived three weeks ago and today it was booked in to have a detachable tow bar fitted at a Skoda main dealer. When I made the appointment I explained that we had a new caravan and we needed 13 pin electrics and an Alko tow ball the price quoted was £661 which I was happy with. So far so good.

I arrived at the dealers this morning and beforwe leaving, thought I should double check that they had got the Alko tow ball, they hadn't, they had the standard one. :| I didn't think it would be too much of a problem and asked them to fit the tow bar and order the Alko detachable ball bit which I would collect when it came in. After all I had travelled 30 miles and taken a day off work! The dealer then informed me that Skoda don't supply Alko tow balls so they couldn't fit the tow bar!

Help! Now what are we going to do? The tow bar was a Westfalia, they must make Alko compatible parts surely???? If not we have a Yeti that's not going to be much use to us. :(

I have a Westfalia detachable which is compatible with an Alko stabilizer 2001 vintage. Someone will be able to confirm if this applies to the more recent Alko stabilizer.

I have towed on and off for years and have no idea what an Alko tow ball is. Stupid question maybe, but can you enlighten me?

I always thought you either used a standard ball coupling or an eye coupling on heavy commercial trailers?

Edited 27 September, 201114 yr by kenfowler3966

The only differance between an ordinary tow ball and the alko is the length of the shaft that bolts onto the car and also the height of the "neck" the reason for the differance is that some of the early alko couplings are quite bulky and will tend to foul the towbar if used with an ordinary tow ball, if you are having a swan neck bar fitted, there shouldn`t be an issue just make sure there is enough clearance between the rear bumper and the coupling. Just for info, our Yeti has a flange type towbar with a bolted on alko tow ball and that is fine.

The Westfalia detachable tow bar is effectivly a 'swan neck' that also comes off... (I have a Westfalia Swan neck)

No problems at all with an Alko stabiliser, it will fit OK and will work OK, it's just the length of the 'neck' which is important for Alko.

More importantly make sure the dealer knows how to code the Yeti properly !! He needs to activate the trailer stability program, make sure the lights are recognised by the Yeti (i.e. if a bulb fails on the Caravan it should tell you on the maxidot, activate the reversing sensor cut off - when the caravan is connected the sensors cut off and a picture appears on the screen showing a trailer connected.

You will also find that if you have the lights on automatic then the caravan lights are on with the DLRs.

If you have any problems over programming forget the dealer and find some body on this site with a VAG-COM who can do the job properly (and in about 3 minutes!!) therte are a few people in your part of the world who can assist, check some of the previous posts on the subject.

Sara,

My caravan has an Alko stabiliser fitted, and the Yeti has the detatchable Westphalia swan neck. Both are compatable. That is actually stated on the Alko instructions.

The only "problem" will be if you have asked them to fit the flange type towbar. In that case the dealer is partly correct. All you would need to do is change the bolted on ball for the relevant Alko one.

Sara,

My caravan has an Alko stabiliser fitted, and the Yeti has the detatchable Westphalia swan neck. Both are compatable. That is actually stated on the Alko instructions.

The only "problem" will be if you have asked them to fit the flange type towbar. In that case the dealer is partly correct. All you would need to do is change the bolted on ball for the relevant Alko one.

Thanks Graham for filling in for my detachable memory

I din't notice a problem with towing without a stabiliser.......is this the same principle as winter tyres.....when you have used them you won't go back to standard?

The Yeti has a very short rear overhang, which I have heard helps prevent the tail wagging the dog, or in our case, the caravan wagging the Snow Monster

I've just read through this thread out of curiosity ... and I haven't the faintest clue what any of you are talking about

It's all absolute gibberish to me ... what a strange world you caravanners inhabit

Bet you recognised the references to alco though?

Thank you everyone. I knew I would get an answer on here. I'd better call the dealer and re-book.

Thank you everyone. I knew I would get an answer on here. I'd better call the dealer and re-book.

You might try these people http://www.wilmond.co.uk/ they would probably do a you a better deal than the dealer, and they have the (Westfalia) kit to 'code' the vehicle properly.

Thank you everyone. I knew I would get an answer on here. I'd better call the dealer and re-book.

Sorry duplicate post - pressed the button twice !!!

Edited 27 September, 201114 yr by Millstone

Having had both types of towball I can also confirm the the Westfalia tow ball is fully compatible with the Alco hitch. There does however seem to be some doubt about what 13 pin electrics are provided. With my previous Roomster I requested 13 pin and was quoted a price but when I pointed out that it was for a caravan the price went up! 13 pin has been standard on continental caravans for years but UK fitters are still getting to grips with it.

When I ordered my Yeti I specified 13 pin with split charging (the normal continental standard) and this was fitted.

Recoding is another saga of it's own and I won't bring it up again except to say that Skoda UK are aware of the problem and have told me that they are issuing a Tech briefing to their dealers.

Fred

I went to a fitter in Horndean and his crew fitted a Westfalia swan neck with twin 7 pin split charge electrics called Phil Taylor towbars. It was fitted in under two hours and they coded the electrics to suit without any problems.

http://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/dedicated_wiring.html

That shows the bit of kit used to code my car and should do all VW group vehicles.

Any standard 50mm towball will work with the alko hitch head stabiliser, the important thing is to keep it clean to allow the friction pads to work. NEVER GREASE THE TOWBALL and KEEP THE COVER ON WHEN NOT IN USE.

Ian

Edited 28 September, 201114 yr by countryboy

Any standard 50mm towball will work with the alko hitch head stabiliser, the important thing is to keep it clean to allow the friction pads to work. NEVER GREASE THE TOWBALL and KEEP THE COVER ON WHEN NOT IN USE.

Ian

I think the above point is very incorrect and contrary to what is stated by Alko.

An Alko towball has a longer distance between the ball and it's mounting plate and is also slightly taller. Both of these increases are to allow for the increased size of an Alko head to both pivot and roll over the ball. There have been a few cases where Alko heads have been fitted to normal balls and they have fouled the mounting and been forced off the ball.

However the bit about grease is correct!

So have I got this right; a bit of alco to loosen things up and try to keep the grease off your balls when you're mounting, because we all need a bit of friction, but even if you've got the longer neck and the bigger head all will fit together fine? Maybe I could get into this caravanning lark after all!

Presumably the 'detachable one' is battery driven?

Bob,

go and stand in the corner, like a naughty child, and SHUT UP!!

Bob,

go and stand in the corner, like a naughty child, and SHUT UP!!

Sorry sir, doing it now sir.

I think the above point is very incorrect and contrary to what is stated by Alko.

An Alko towball has a longer distance between the ball and it's mounting plate and is also slightly taller. Both of these increases are to allow for the increased size of an Alko head to both pivot and roll over the ball. There have been a few cases where Alko heads have been fitted to normal balls and they have fouled the mounting and been forced off the ball.

However the bit about grease is correct!

[/quote

Agreed Graham, however I was referring to the size of the towball not the distance from ball to mount. Mine is a standard Wesfalia swan neck and I have no problem with clearance between my ball and bumper

And Bob, yes you can get battery driven ones so you don't foul your ball and swing it into position easily!

Ian