I have a 2012 Octavia Greenline Estate, and I'm looking to get a towbar fitted. I only need 7pin single electrics for an old trailer. My local dealer quoted over £1,000 which is more than I want to pay, plus a 13 to 7 pin adaptor. I've had a number of quotes from other firms but - as a total ignoramus - I need more information about the choices on offer.

Flange mounted vs swan-neck vs detachable:

1 Will a fixed towbar - either flange mounted or swan-neck - interfere with the rear parking sensors when there's no trailer attached?

2 If not, what is the advantage of a detachable towbar other than aesthetics?

3 Do any of these types require the rear bumper to be cut away - I've seen different opinions in the forums?

Universal vs dedicated electrics - I've been told that ...

4 a universal system uses a bypass relay and will leave the rest of the electrical circuit unaffected - if this is done properly, could there be any electrical problems resulting?

5 a universal system will invalidate the manufacturers warranty - but only for the affected part. Does that mean the whole wiring system? Is this likely to make any difference (there are over 2 years warranty to run).

6 the main benefit of a dedicated system is to carry the ABS signal, but the little trailer has no brakes so this will have no effect

7 a couple of fitters have said that a dedicated system will need recoding/decoding - does that have to be done by the Skoda dealer, and how much is it likely to cost?

Very confused - thanks for any help

Mike

1 some have reported interference with fixed

3 there will be a cut but it is the flat bit at the bottom so it is essentially invisible.

4 I used a relay and I have had no issues in three years

5 couldn't say - I suggest you talk to a dealer?

6 a dedicated wiring would allow the fog lights on the car to stay off when the trailer is attached. It affects the esp if fitted and that's about it. I can't see it would help the abs?

7 yes it will need coding, a dealer can do it and I can't see you getting that done for less than a half hour's charge. A good fitter should be able to do it himself.

A dealer doesn't want the job and won't do the work if you give him the car - hence the outrageous quote. Go direct to a fitter and cut out the middleman (dealer)

Welcome to the forum by the way

As said above a fixed bar does have the potential to interfere with the sensors but from experience a either type should be fine. A swan neck is less likely to be picked up as it is smaller, however it is not as versatile as a fixed flange type. With a flange bar if you want to add bike rack bracket/bumper shield etc behind the towball this would increase the chance of the sensors picking it up. A detachable bar will eliminate any possibility of interference and stop you banging your shins on it every time you get the shopping out of the boot. If you are considering a detachable bar I would recommend Westfalia which is the OE bar for the Octavia.

Providing a bypass relay is installed correctly you shouldn't have any issues but in my opinion a vehicle specific kit is definitely the better way of doing the job, especially as it is still under warranty. The features that the vehicle specific kit enable are trailer indicator monitoring - instead of having a beep on the indicators (universal kit) to let you know your indicators are working (which is a legal requirement), if an indicator bulb fails you will be made aware by a bulb fail light on the dash and the indicator will flash at double rate. You also get reversing sensor cut-out so the sensors aren't picking up the trailer, fog light cut-out (mainly for use with caravans to stop glare in rear view mirror) and most importantly trailer stability program although as you are only towing a small trailer this is probably not much of a concern to you. With regards to the warranty it's up to the dealer whether they chose to carry out any work under warranty or whether they feel it's down to the towbar installation and therefore chargeable.

If you are looking for an independent fitter to install a vehicle specific kit try to find a company that can offer the recoding which is necessary to activate most of the above features. We use an Autologic diagnostic tool which is specifically designed for towbar recoding although it is possible to do it with VAG-COM. Hope this info helps

Edited 10 April, 201313 yr by phil_taylor_towbars

Mike;

I fitted an after-market vehicle-specific kit (Octavia Estate) made by Right Connections...Google will find them. It was quite a big job getting the wiring loom neatly through to the front of the car and connected to the right points behind the fuse panel. I considered that it was just about worth the effort for towing a big caravan. For a small trailer I wouldn't have bothered, especially as they are way more expensive than the 'low-tech' relay system.

Thanks for all your replies, they've been really helpful. I shall go for a detachable but I'm not sure that the extra expense of a dedicated system will be cost effective for an occasional use small trailer, unless I can get a good price - I usually unhitch for reversing as it's practically invisible from inside anyway, so the only advantage would be the lamp-failure warning on the dash rather than the beep (which I'm used to). Thanks again for clarifying the issues, and for a very useful forum. Mike

Hi Mike

Some more towing hook reading for you

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/260779-reversing-sensors-towbar/

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/247788-tow-bar-installation/

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/237453-octavia-mk2-estate-towbar/

Does anybody have a link to picture guide on installing generic bypass relay to the Octavia Estate?