Hi there,

As the title suggests, I am after information regarding using a tray-type, hitch mount bike carrier on my soon-to-arrive Yeti, which has the (expensive) factory hitch mount towbar installed, along with reversing sensors and the Bolero touch-screen stereo unit which displays reversing info in the screen.

I'm from Australia, so the model of my Yeti seems to differ a little from most of the European designations I've been reading about since I joined this forum a few days ago. Also it's a fairly new car in this country, and there aren't many people offering aftermarket towbar installations. I read through this thread about fixed towbars and reversing sensors, and it mentions that when installed and wired correctly, the computer will detect that a trailer is attached and the reversing sensors will switch off, and the Bolero screen shows a picture of a trailer. If not installed correctly (or connected to rear lights for example), then problems may ensue.

With this in mind, I coughed up the large asking price and got Skoda to install the factory unit.

All good so far.

The most common thing I will attatch to this 2in square hitch mount is a tray type bike carrier - this particular one is what I'm considering - which has the option of leaving a part of the unit installed in the hitch mount (the pivot base) and only attaching the carrier to this via pins when needed. I would only do this option if the pivot base doesn't interfere with the reversing sensors (I have the option to try this out before I buy the carrier).

However, it's when the carrier is attached and bikes are loaded that I'm curious about.

I'm assuming that, for a trailer, the computer detects something is plugged into the loom and thus turns off the sensors and adjusts the display on the screen? However, this carrier doesn't have lights or anything included, so I'm wondering if there would be some way of 'tricking' the computer into thinking something's plugged into the loom in these cases? I guess I won't be reversing with the bikes in place that often, but just in case, it would be good to know if a male plug could be rigged that tricks the computer in the way I describe, so the sensors aren't beeping solidly while I reverse.

I guess another, probably safer, option is to rig up some lights for the carrier, and plug this in and hopefully the computer will think it's a trailer.

But in the meantime, any info would be appreciated. Particularly, if the pin layout for this wiring loom is likely to be similar to what you guys have in Eurpoe? Am I right in assuming how the computer works when using a trailer? Has anyone used a similar style bike carrier and had issues with reversing sensors?

Regards,

Brett.

(Soon to be owner of Corrida Red w Black Magic roof Yeti 4x4 TD DSG)

Will you not need a lighting board anyway? Without one the rear lights and the licence plate will be obscured, and with this plugged in the control unit will behave and the reversing sensors not operate.

Thing is, pretty much all racks of this type that I know of don't have light boards. I can think of only 2 Thule units I've seen in catalogues that have them, and both of these are more oriented towards road bikes or hardtail MTBs. My SC Nomad certainly doesn't fit in one, let alone a DH bike, let alone 2 of either.

So the fallback option is to construct something to run a light board on whatever rack I get, but I'd like to explore the idea of just making the computer think I'm using one, and therefore a trailer.

You can fit FS and DH bikes to the Thule and Atera wheel support bike racks - I know because.... I have both!

You wouldn't get away with an unlit tow bar bike rack in Europe without a full set of fully functioning rear lights - nor should you!

You wouldn't get away with an unlit tow bar bike rack in Europe without a full set of fully functioning rear lights - nor should you!

Well ... this isn't Europe - as stated.

And it's not about getting away with it, it's simply about availability. If I could find a unit with lights that fit my bike, I would get it. But, I cannot. I have tried all of the Thule 'Euro' style racks one can obtain in this country, and they either don't work for my bike, are overpriced, aren't very good quality, or all 3.

The only way I see to trick the Computer would be to wire up a Plug that had resistors in replicating the resistance of the lights on a lighting board.

But not know what the ratings are I can offer no other advice.

The simplest option would be to by a lightbaord and plug it in to the socket!

So perhaps just buy a lighting board (assuming they are available there) but you'll need to ensure your supplying dealer has coded the tow bar correctly?

HTH

If I could find a unit with lights that fit my bike, I would get it. But, I cannot. I have tried all of the Thule 'Euro' style racks one can obtain in this country, and they either don't work for my bike, are overpriced, aren't very good quality, or all 3.

Can't you just buy a separate light board? A quick Google here in the UK comes up with loads of options around the £20 mark. I'd imagane that folks in Australia also need such things for trailers and ad hoc towing pruposes. Couple of bungees or similar to attach it and you're sorted.

Edit: Third post in sucession suggesting the same thing!

Edited 16 February, 201214 yr by ejstubbs

Lightboards on eBay (in the UK) go for something like £20. So not a huge outlay. Not sure about legislation in Australia but I'm sure your insurance won't be happy if someone drove into the back of you (with bikes on) and said driver simply claims "but I could not see his lights your hunour". Which of course he couldn't so liability then falls to you.

As to the rest of your reasoning you are correct. The moment the 7 or 13 pin connector is plugged in the system detects the resistance and does the normal things (disable the fog light on the car, shows the pictogram on the Bolero, disables the reversing sensors, enables the trailer ESP and activates the alarm if the connector is unplugged when the car is locked).

What sort of towbar will you be getting ex-factory? A detachable swan? Or a fixed unit? I thought you can only get the detachable swan factory fitted but since we can't get factory fitted towbars in the UK at all I'm not sure.

Hi Brett - welcome to the Forum

As to the rest of your reasoning you are correct. The moment the 7 or 13 pin connector is plugged in the system detects the resistance and does the normal things (disable the fog light on the car, shows the pictogram on the Bolero, disables the reversing sensors, enables the trailer ESP and activates the alarm if the connector is unplugged when the car is locked).

Absolutely right.

The bike carrier you're interested in looks solid enough for the outback. Irrespective of the pivot mechanism, I suspect any form of receiver mounted in a 2" hitch system may well cause interference with the reversing sensors, though I understand it is possible to adjust the sensitivity of the sensors to compensate. Whether you'd actually want to do that for the few occasions you'd be reversing with the bike rack mounted, as against the number of times you'll be reversing without - that's your choice! Otherwise use a lighting board.

I have one of these, brilliant piece of kit, bought from a local towbar supplier.

http://www.westfalia-automotive.de/index.php?id=80&L=1

tom

Thanks for the helpful replies folks, and the welcome - Arkaig.

What sort of towbar will you be getting ex-factory? A detachable swan? Or a fixed unit?

I am of the understanding it would be considered fixed - in that it's a bar with a 2in square hitch, bolted to the chassis behind the bumper bar, and comes with a factory loom (which I'm told is the expensive part of the deal both in parts and labour) which will be run through the car and connected to the computer. The hitch will either sit behind a flap, or poke out under the bumper ready to slide attachments into it, and either a round or rectangular port will be somewhere close to the hitch. The towball piece & neck that comes with it will probably sit in the spare wheel well somewhere. I'll take some pics when I get the car and include it in this thread.

...disable the fog light on the car

I'm curious - why does this happen? Is it so the brightness of the rear fog light doesn't reflect back into the cabin off whatever you're towing?

The only way I see to trick the Computer would be to wire up a Plug that had resistors in replicating the resistance of the lights on a lighting board.

YES! This is what I had in mind. But indeed, I would want to pretty sure I didn't mess up the computer by plugging anything shoddy in. This is one of those many times, years and years after his death, that I wish my dad were still alive - he was an electrician and master jack-of-all-trades and would've been able to rig this up perfectly.

But .... the many suggestions for installing a light board have been weighing on me, and after thinking about it and chatting on local MTB forums, it seems people down here are realising it's the smart thing to do, even though the law seems to be pretty lax about them being compulsory. Yes - 900K - I'm sure if it came to the courtrooms I'd be in a bit of a stink.

So with that in mind I'll start tracking down a solution. Given this will be the nicest and most expensive car I've ever owned, I'm not too keen to grab something off eBay and simply plug it in - unless there's no danger of it shorting and screwing with the computer?

Otherwise I've found one unit from a local, reputable (but expensive) manufacturer, which will be my option if I can't find anything else:

http://www.gripsport.com.au/product/bike-rack-lights

Only thing I don't like about that one is the indicators are to close together to tell - at night - which one might be on and therefore which way you're indicating. I guess chances are the main indicators will be seen to some degree as well.

In any case, I imagine I'll be hanging around these forums, as I did the Subaru Outback ones before this, for many years to come. I'll post pics in here of how it all comes together in the end.

P.S. Westfalia not avail down under, from what I can find.

Otherwise I've found one unit from a local, reputable (but expensive) manufacturer, which will be my option if I can't find anything else:

http://www.gripsport...ike-rack-lights

Only thing I don't like about that one is the indicators are to close together to tell - at night - which one might be on and therefore which way you're indicating. I guess chances are the main indicators will be seen to some degree as well.

I agree with you there...... those lights are too close to each other to be safe!

I'm curious - why does this happen? Is it so the brightness of the rear fog light doesn't reflect back into the cabin off whatever you're towing?

As to the car's fog disabling: it is to stop the red glare on the nose of your (usually white!) caravan from blinding you in your rearview mirror.

Merlinman and one other member on this forum (maybe an ex member since she has not posted in yonks) has one of these:

http://www.roofbox.c...%2C~4RYoJEYzTmI

When my money boat comes in that is what I'll get too. Do you get them in Oz?

To see some pictures of it on a Yeti and in action look at this thread:

http://briskoda.net/...-bike-carriers/

By the way if you want to see what the detachable towbar looks like and how it folds in and out look at Aerofurb's excellent pictures here:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/144075-yeti-forum-members-picture-thread/page__view__findpost__p__1931593

So with that in mind I'll start tracking down a solution. Given this will be the nicest and most expensive car I've ever owned, I'm not too keen to grab something off eBay and simply plug it in - unless there's no danger of it shorting and screwing with the computer?

Otherwise I've found one unit from a local, reputable (but expensive) manufacturer, which will be my option if I can't find anything else:

http://www.gripsport.com.au/product/bike-rack-lights

AU$138, they're 'avin a larf That's almost £100...for a lighting board!! Especially since, as discussed, the indicators are utterly useless - even my VFR's indicators are further apart than that!

You don't have to go to eBay, I'd have thought virtually any decent auto spares shop should be able to supply a reasonable lighting board. Over here, Halfords do them from about £30 upwards. Australian Google comes up with a fair few for a lot less money than that style-over-substance gripsport disaster.

In any case, I doubt any accessory plugged in to the trailer socket would screw with the computer if it shorted: it has to be a possibility that's taken in to consideration in the design of the car electrics. It might blow a fuse - that's what fuses are for - but I can't imagine it would do anything worse than that.

I'd beware of getting too precious about your new car. At the end of the day it's an assemblage of metal, plastic, glass and rubber that you're buying to do a job for you. Yes, it's a lot of money but presumably you're spending that in order to get some use out of it - otherwise why would you be buying a bike rack for it? Nice as it is, it's not a classic Ferrari to be preserved under a dust sheet in a climate-controlled garage. Use it for its intended purpose and I reckon you'll get plenty of satisfaction from how good it is at doing that job!

Edited 17 February, 201214 yr by ejstubbs

I have the UK equivalent of this and it's a fantastic piece of kit. However at AU$ 729.00 or UK£495.00 it's dam expensive!

By the way if you want to see what the detachable towbar looks like and how it folds in and out look at Aerofurb's excellent pictures here:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/144075-yeti-forum-members-picture-thread/page__view__findpost__p__1931593

Is that what folks are calling the detachable swan? If so, I'm kinda hoping it won't be that. Basically when I asked they said it was a standard, 2in square hitch (which pretty much all towbars in this country use), and nothing like what's in the Skoda brochure (which is what you've linked to). The reason I want the square hitch is that all the bike carriers I'm deciding between plug into a square hitch. Unless one of the things you can plug into this interface is a square hitch. Anyway ... I'm going to call my dealer tomorrow and get a thorough description of what they're installing. Like I said, I'll post pics when all is done.

As for the Atera - no, not avail down here. Even if they were - I'm not a fan of any bike rack which employs clamps to screw down on any part of the frame like this, which is what all the Thule models that have lights available here do as well.

I have the UK equivalent of this and it's a fantastic piece of kit. However at AU$ 729.00 or UK£495.00 it's dam expensive!

Indeed, the T2 is the only Thule hitch mounted rack I could fit my SC Nomad into. In any case - it has no lights, and my preference for modifying whatever I buy to put lights on is to weld or bolt a light panel/board in place permanently, and I'm sure Thule would void any warranty if I did this. P.S. I've read of at least 2 instances where the rear tray on the T2 has come loose and slid off, destroying the expensive bikes on board. Apparently the bolts which clamp the trays onto the central bar come loose? Anyway ... thought I'd mention it in case it's worth checking out.

Anyway, if I weren't to go with the locally made iSi carrier I mentioned above, I'd choose between:

The Kuat NV:

http://kuatinnovations.com/products/bike/the-nv/

The Yakima Holdup:

http://www.yakima.com.au/au/shop-en/bike-racks/hitch/holdup-2.html

(both of which are cheaper than the Thule T2 down here)

AU$138, they're 'avin a larf

Welcome to Australia - everything here is stupid expensive. It's why 90% of the mountain bike parts I buy are from the UK (CRC & Wiggle), 9% from the US (usually Jenson & eBay), and 1% from local bicycle stores. In any case, I did say it "will be my option if I can't find anything else"

At this stage I'm considering constructing one from LED light units obtained from electrical stores (with the indicators more reasonably placed), with the help of an auto-electrician friend, and getting the guy who makes the iSi carriers I mentioned to adapt it into one of his units, or getting something like those you googled and going from there.

I'd beware of getting too precious about your new car. At the end of the day it's an assemblage of metal, plastic, glass and rubber that you're buying to do a job for you. Yes, it's a lot of money but presumably you're spending that in order to get some use out of it - otherwise why would you be buying a bike rack for it? Nice as it is, it's not a classic Ferrari to be preserved under a dust sheet in a climate-controlled garage. Use it for its intended purpose and I reckon you'll get plenty of satisfaction from how good it is at doing that job!

It's OK - I may have given the wrong impression. Basically I treat a new car like a newborn for a few months, then just forget about it and remember it's the thing I use when I'm not using my MTB to get around. I was trying to say I just don't want to plug something dodgy in and fry the computer and get a "It's your fault" from the dealer. I know fuses protect ECU's from such things in most cases, but I do know someone who did some electrical damage in their Audi due to using a 12V FM Transmitter for their iPod - bought off eBay - plugged into their lighter. Fixed under warranty since the fuse failed to work, but still without car for a week.