I am about to order a new Superb Estate, and want to have a towbar fitted. It will only be used for a cycle rack and will never be used to tow a caravan or a trailer, so I don't need any power suppliers, just a standard 7 pin socket for side lights, brake lights and indicators. The dealer is talking about having to rip the inside of the car apart to run a feed from the fusebox, and that the factory towbar preparation is a waste of money.I've read all the posts I can find on the subject, but I'm still very confused. I appreciate that there is a capability to change all sorts of systems in the car with a full installation, but I don't really need that. In many cases, it could be totally undesirable to do so.

I am prepared to pay for the towbar preparation if that is a good solution, and I want to minimise any removal of trim internally and externally. I don't want to do anything which will invalidate the warranty. Can anyone advise the best approach.

Thanks for your help.

If you don't need the power supplies for a van, then the factory prefit means you don't have to remove the trim down the side. That's the point of it. According to some it becomes a waste of time if you want the extra power because it doesn't include this, but others say it can be used to supply the extra power too.

There's at least one towbar fitter on here who will probably be better placed to advise.

The factory fit towbar prep is a waste of money, and "having to rip the inside of the car apart to run a feed from the fusebox" is a bit OTT for describing fitting of the extra wiring. The internal plastic sill trims have to come off down the driver's side plus some of the driver's side trim in the boot. Mine has been done and you cannot tell it was ever touched. In fact, with the detachable neck off and stored in the boot you wouldn't know it had a towbar fitted until you crawled underneath.

See my previous post in this topic http://www.briskoda....wbar-electrics/.

The subject has been quite widely covered if you search the forum. PM me if you need any info. Oh, by the way you cannot avoid bits being removed to fit a towbar. The rear bumper has to come off to get the towbar on...that's just how Skoda designed it. The best advice I can give is DO NOT DISCUSS TOWBARS WITH SKODA SALES PEOPLE! Get your advice from a reputable towbar fitter. It's what they do all day long. Skoda sales chaps know bugger-all about towbars.

Towbar prep does reduce the amount of trim removal needed but it depends whether whoever is fitting the towbar it will give you a better quote if the prep is there. Whatever form of electrics are being fitted, a live feed will still need to be run forward to the fuse board. If you are concerned about warranty issues then you will want to opt for the vehicle specific option as a universal kit does have the potential to cause warranty issues

Sorry, to clarify my point: if you have the pre-wiring it includes the power from the front. So if 7 pin was enough, there's no wiring needs to be added to the prefit as it contains three permanent and an ignition feed, plus CAN. The ECU also seems to give a single permanent 12v feed but that on it's own isn't enough for full caravan battery charging and fridge though that's only from looking at circuit diagrams, I haven't checked it.

One towbar fitter advised me on here that you can use these power feeds to run the power feeds to the 13 pin or 12S (second 7 pin) but on reflection I have run two extra 4mm cables up to the fusebox to decrease volt drop. That doesn't mean I think that advice was wrong, I just think I will get better performance doing it my way. I didn't even need to remove the door sill trims, there's plenty of space to tuck the wires well up inside the trims.

I had already paid for the prefit and although I'm adding wires, I've still avoided having to connect to the CAN, the brake light feed, and the ignition wiring so although I could have saved the money and done it myself, I still wouldn't describe it as a waste of time. It has saved me some time and effort, even if not much.

The installation isn't finished, I still have to dissassemble the left hand rear quarter to plug the towing module in, and connect the 13 pin socket, plus the voltage sensitive switch and relay for the fridge.

The installation isn't finished, I still have to dissassemble the left hand rear quarter to plug the towing module in, and connect the 13 pin socket, plus the voltage sensitive switch and relay for the fridge.

Some big differences in our installations...one is that it's a job that I wouldn't tackle myself so I left it to a professional. The main difference is that mine is finished (it took someone else a morning's work whilst I did something more interesting) and I've just had a great 3 week holiday in my caravan. The weather in Kent was very kind to us this year.

My comment about the pre-wiring being a waste of money is based on this...if you do it right and go for a dedicated electrics kit on a Skoda or 3rd party towbar (there is a seperate kit with the extra wire for the caravan fridge) then you get the additional loom from fusebox to rear quarter in with it so you end up paying for the same thing twice. It'll take an experienced fitter a few minutes to get it in but he wouldn't charge you £155 for it. BTW I wonder why the towbar prep is not available with the L&K package???

I see where you are coming from, though I have done it right, just without the deciated Skoda wiring. I still have the dedicated box and made the wiring for the rest. Of course having the prefit made this easier. I accept if you are buying the kit with the full loom it's a waste, though Skoda temselves do a kit without the front to back wiring, and that's cheaper.

Depending upon how many bikes you have and how much you like your car interior, I believe the estate has an interior bike rack available for two bikes.

Won't need the towbar then!

I don't have a Superb but read that somewhere at the dealers today...

BTW I wonder why the towbar prep is not available with the L&K package???

Have you misread the brochure? The asterisks by towbar prep refer to the note indicating this is a provides a single electrics solution - unsuitable for split charging. The note regarding not available with the L&K package is a different symbol. But when I first read the brochure I wondered why the towbar prep wasn't available with the L&K package, as did hubby when he looked at it!

Have you misread the brochure? The asterisks by towbar prep refer to the note indicating this is a provides a single electrics solution - unsuitable for split charging. The note regarding not available with the L&K package is a different symbol. But when I first read the brochure I wondered why the towbar prep wasn't available with the L&K package, as did hubby when he looked at it!

Your right!!! When looking at the brochure pdf online the symbols look very similar until you blow everything up to a huge size. I couldn't understand why the L&K could be different.

cheers Simon

My tow-bar is being fitted today, by the local specialist that fits for all the local dealerships, including VW, Audi, BMW, etc. Apparently a 4 hr job, because of the power feeds. My caravan has Al-Ko ATC that needs a 25A supply. His fit uses a Tow Trust bar (the Westfalia OEM leaves insufficient clearance for anyone using an Al-Ko friction hitch) and the Westfalia genuine 13 pin kit that integrates with the CAN bus. £500 all in, including coding and VAT. And you would never see that trim had been disturbed. But they have done loads of Superbs - nothing like experience.

The dealer up North where I bought the car suggested the fitters they use - direct quote from them for the same kit was £599 + VAT.

Edited 30 August, 201213 yr by Mayor of Newark

Depending upon how many bikes you have and how much you like your car interior, I believe the estate has an interior bike rack available for two bikes.

Won't need the towbar then!

I don't have a Superb but read that somewhere at the dealers today...

I have the Interior Bike Rack that I've used in both a Yeti and Roomster. I haven't tried it in the Superb yet, but it looks easier to fit in this than the others.

I really like this, as we have a couple of reasonably pricey mountain bikes and it means we can lock them away and park up anywhere, not to mention no drag or noise on the motorway. Biggest downside is that they do take up a good half of the back of the car.

Sounds like a great idea if there's only two of you (I assume that you have to put the back seats down and the rack only takes two bikes).

His fit uses a Tow Trust bar (the Westfalia OEM leaves insufficient clearance for anyone using an Al-Ko friction hitch)

That worries me a little, having just fitted a Westfalia. It does look close, but surely there would be loads of people complaining?

Best get up to the van and check the clearance, as I do have an AKS stabiliser.

Sounds like a great idea if there's only two of you (I assume that you have to put the back seats down and the rack only takes two bikes).

Yes you do have to fold the back down, but you can take more than 2 bikes (you can buy additional 'clamps'), but 3 would probably be the practical limit.

His fit uses a Tow Trust bar (the Westfalia OEM leaves insufficient clearance for anyone using an Al-Ko friction hitch)

RUBBISH!

Don't know whether mine is AKS3000 or AKS3004 but it's the AL-KO friction pad stabiliser on a 2010 caravan and there is plenty of clearance on my Westaflia detachable...just as much as on the fixed bar on my old car.

That makes me feel a little better!

Towed yesterday. Noticed that the headlights turn on when the caravan is hitched up. Is this normal with the Westfalia kit?

Also, even with nothing in the boot of the Combi, the rear was well down on the springs. Has anyone a solution to this apart from reduced nose weight? I usually balance my 'vans at max - 80kg on the Combi.

I also think the Combi's stability control might be battling the ATC on the caravan. Helpful to hear if anyone else has experienced this.

Doesn't sound normal. Have you got dedicated electrics? Doesn't happen on my car, although my caravan lights are on all the time with the car's DRLs, but not worried about that.

80kg sounds a bit heavy for me but my old van with the old style greased hitch had a max static weight of 75kg. I usually tow at 65-70kg, and with 4 in the car and a boot full of clobber, I was surprised that the back end wasn't down further when I towed with my Superb for the first time this summer. There's quite a long overhang at the back but it felt slightly more stable than my old Vectra.

The TSA is only supposed to work if the car detects snaking, and is supposed to brake one or more wheels to counter the snake. Not sure how this could affect the ATC, but I've never had or experienced ATC.

Hi smf1007,

Thanks. I'll try 70kg. As I'm towing 1585kg, I'd like as much as possible to help with stability.

What seem to be the best tyre pressures?

I think stability will depend more on how the van is loaded...ie usually, as much of the weight as possible (awning etc) on the floor and over the van axle, but I'm sure you know all that. My old van was nose-heavy so I had to put the awning in the rear washroom which gave it a tendancy to move around a bit. I even had to put the spare wheel inside before I bought a carrier to sling it underneath.

Presume you're talking car tyres? Depends what's in the car. If the car is empty then then van is only 70kg on the back end so doesn't need much, if any, extra air. It's always a bit of a guess isn't it, but I was a couple of psi off max with a fairly full load for our summer hols.

I had the same issue with the back end being very low - towed our 1350kg van 2000 miles in France and over some speed humps and getting onthe ferry the bottom of the towbar grounded.

Had 4 bikes on the roof and 3 kids in the back so car was loaded.

I previously towed with a land cruiser with air suspension so didn't really worry about the load in the boot.

Can't fault it's towing ability though.

I have a witter detachable with dedicated electrics and my headlights don't come on. I do have the caravan come up on the columbus screen which is cool when reversing.

Edited 2 September, 201213 yr by iancjc

OK, on the Westfalia clearance issue. I asked on a caravan forum, and couldn't find anyone having seen the same problem. However I did get a link to the instructions for an Alko stabiliser, and that shows a clearance of 67mm from the centre of the ball to the bumper is needed. My Westfalia detacheable has 73mm to the bumper. So it's tight, but clear enough to avoid problems.

Would anyone care to check their own clearance, centre of the ball to bumper, to see if there's much variation?

I'm pretty sure the issue about clearance is down to the fact the towbar has 2 sets of holes, one position for the superb and the other set for the octavia as the bar fits both. It's quite possible that they had previously fitted to the wrong set of holes which would reduce clearance by an inch or 2.

Yes, it has two sets of holes as you say. I would have thought you couldn't get anything at all on if you use the wrong set, though. Clearance, centre of ball to bumper is 73mm, minus the 25mm rad of the ball is 48mm, so less than 2 inches already. It becomes obvious if you try to use the wrong set, because there's no clearance for the cable from the towing socket to come out.