Tow bar on GLII estate

[bluecar1]

ok, I am looking to get a towbar fitted to my GLII

I want it like factory with it disabling the rear parking sensors and fog when I am towing (so properly coded)

I did not have the towbar prep factory fitted

is this a dealer only job? what exactly do I need to ask for

I only tow a small 300kg max un-braked trailer for a few runs of garden rubbish to the local tip, or camping so the little 1.2tdi shouldn't have any issues

[bluecar1]

oopp's posted in wrong forum , could an admin move it to fabia II forum please

[bluecar1]

now it is in the right forum, anyone any ideas

[BossFox]

Is the Greenline II rated to have a towbar?

What is the stated towing limit?

[Jadejaws84]

The GL estate doesn't have the option,to have one fitted at the dealers iirc.

[bluecar1]

its not a factory fit option as they claim it is not green to tow and also no factory option for a spare wheel as they claim the additional weight not green, but they fit aircon and roof rails?

[bluecar1]

Is the Greenline II rated to have a towbar?

What is the stated towing limit?

from skoda's website specific to GLII estate

Max towing weight - kg (unbraked/braked) 1,000/450

Max nose weight - kg 50

so yes is rated for towing

Edited 23 May, 2013 by bluecar1

[phil_taylor_towbars]

Best way to check is on a sticker which usually in the passenger door shut. It will give you a couple of weights - the vehicle kerb weight and the gross train weight (this is the combined weight of vehicle and trailer). If the sticker shows both figures, the vehicle is rated to tow. If it only shows the vehicle weight then ----kg underneath then it's not rated for towing.

The job itself doesn't have to be done at a dealer, as long as you find an independent fitter that will install a vehicle specific wiring kit and do the necessary reprogramming to deactivate the rear sensors etc then you will be getting the equivalent to the dealer job at a fraction of the cost.

[bluecar1]

thanks for that, will check the sticker when wife returns with car

[SlowBloke]

I've got a 1.6 diesel Fabia 2 which I assume has the same tow bar. My car is still under warrantee so I decided to get the tow bar and electrics fitted by the dealer. It cost nearly £600 so it was not a cheap option. You will probably need the dealer to reset the reversing warning gizmo even if you get the bar and electrics fitted by a towing place. But this would probably be a lot cheaper. Witter make a suitable bar.

The plastic 'bumper' is screwed on underneath and at the bottom of the wheel arches. Once off, there is a metal bumper which is held on by half a dozen studs. This comes off and the tow bar mounts in its place. The hitch then fits into a socket when you want to tow a trailer. The plastic bumper has to have a hole cut in it and a new reinforcing piece glued on the inside of the bumper. There is then a small plastic cover which fits into the bumper when not towing.

Problems:

The dealer did a poor job of siticking the mount for the new plastic cover. I used some fancy bolts to ifx in place. Others here have said the glue should work but it didn't for me.

There was no ring on the tow bar to attach the safety 'break away' wire from the trailer. My towing shop used a short length of chain round the tow bar rather than have me rely on fixing the wire to the detachable ball hitch.

The ball hitch is hard to fit particularly if you don't have strong hands (ladies) or arthritis.

In my opinion the 50kg limit to the hitch download is rather low. I have a trailer which weighs 450kg empty and it is tedious to load it and be sure this value isn't exceeded. The trailer has 2 axles so the downlod change with hitch height.

The electrics come with a continental 13 pin socket rather than a UK one. There is an adaptor so that you can tow using a 7 pin plug for the lights but then there is nowhere to plug an accessory cable to charge a battery in the trailer.caravan. You can always fit a 13 pin plug to the trailer but it is another hassle.

Overall, OK but not perfect.