Hi it's me again!

 

Ok, I got some things sorted out under warranty, and now need to fit a towbar.

 

The quotes I'm getting are very complicated. Some say I need a dedicated wiring kit, some say I need coding for the DSG auto gearbox. Some say an ordinary wiring kit is ok, and I don't need the coding unless I want it. Some say I need a detachable towbar (because of the reversing sensors), others say a fixed swan neck is ok...

 

From what I've been told, the DSG gearbox, if re-coded, will make the towing easier as it will recognise that there is a caravan on the back and will alter the gear ratios accordingly, which sounds good.

 

It doesn't seem that there is just a simple answer to this. Any thoughts, anyone? Ta.

 

BTW, I will be towing a small (tiny even!) caravan, max loaded weight 650kgs.

I have a fixed towbar - no problems with reverse sensors. I have integrated wiring (Manual gearbox), the radio shows a pic of a trailer when I select reverse. Probably in case I've forgotten about the caravan!

thanks for your reply, BrianB!

 

From what I have been reading, a standard towbar/wiring does the same thing as the dedicated stuff, and you only need a re-coding done if you have the dedicated stuff!  Apparently, the car knows you are towing without being re-coded, it's already programmed that way. Maybe I shall have to read up on what the ESP button is for.... So, the deed is being done tomorrow am. My caravan is on the drive as well, so I shall see if it all works as it should before I let the mobile chap have his money! He he he! :sun:

 

Two other things I have done is to: buy a tow bar gauge, as I know this car only has a 50kg nose weight, and I'm not sure whether I need to alter the weight at the front... last car had 75kg and I knew I was under that. Oh - and a new reg plate for the caravan....before I forgot and drove off into the sunset with the number plate of the old car still attached!

Edited 14 April, 201610 yr by Morgana

Chap came out and fitted the tow bar. Shifting into reverse and a picture of a trailer comes up on the cd player display. A friend came around later and we went for a spin, towing the caravan. It handled really well and a fixed towbar didn't throw the reversing sensors off balance. Still got the nose weight to sort out, it's a bit on the heavy side, so something will have to go! Although the caravan seemed to be sitting just fine and the alignment was good. It's bit of a nuisance having a 50k towball weight, the caravan plate says the hitch weight is 70kgs, I think.

Edited 15 April, 201610 yr by Morgana

No-one else tows with a Roomster? :sun:

 

Soon be time to go off to the seaside, can't wait!!

So. I solved the noseweight problem by taking the spare wheel off the front of my tiny caravan. It's left a mess and a hole to fill in, but hey ho... Noseweight down to more or less what it should be now... the spare wheel for the caravan will have to go in the car!

 

Why on earth is the noseweight so low???

Edited 10 May, 201610 yr by Morgana

Don't think I've ever seen a Roomster towing anything. Seen the Fabia used a couple of times which is essentially the same car.

 

By the way your car doesn't have a DSG gearbox. It's a 6 speed tiptronic torque converter auto.

 

Sounds like you have the best kit fitted anyway if the car recognises there is a trailer attached. I believe this system also monitors the caravan with the alarm so if it is disconnected the alarm will go off.

Thanks for that info, Freedom! I would have liked a temp gauge for towing if nothing else, but I will just have to hope for the best. I would rather monitor engine temp myself.

 

I'm not sure if a 6 speed tiptronic torque converter is ok for towing, but I do know that the caravan is just under half of the overall weight the vehicle can tow, at 650kg max weight. I just wish the noseweight was a bit higher - at 50gk its been a struggle getting the noseweight down on the caravan to that and everything that was at the front is now somewhere else!  LOL

Edited 13 May, 201610 yr by Morgana

I thought I would just report back on how the first tow with my Rooster went, in case anyone else was wondering how this particular car performs when towing.

 

Because of the nose weight issue, I removed the spare caravan wheel from its usual position, bolted to the front of the caravan 'boot' and sitting on the chassis. Upon weighing this, it turned out that it was 15kg on its own, so taking that off actually solved the problem. The spare wheel went into the boot, and still plenty of room for the other flotsam and jetsam I carry around with me...

 

When I started towing, the connection between the hitch and towball was level. I prefer it to be pointing down a tiny bit, but level was ok. On travelling on, I was twice shunted by the caravan when I used the brakes. Hmmmn. So I pulled over and moved a few heavy things from back to front inside the caravan itself, including about 10kg of caravan awning poles. I did wonder if the caravan brakes were working as they should, but as I had the running gear serviced about 6 months ago, I ruled that out, apart from wondering if sitting on the drive for the winter might have caused the shunts as it got up to speed as it were. Anyway, after moving a bit of heavy stuff to the front of the van, all went well and no more shunting, although it still felt a little on the light side.

 

No overheating on the journey, but then I only went to North Wales, so approximately 75 miles each way. I did keep looking for a temp dial for a while, then I just thought, 'what will be, will be', relaxed a bit and let the car get on with it. The gearbox sorted itself out as well, and there was no messing about trying to decide what gear to be in, like my last tow car did and which had to be sorted by pressing an override switch to a lower gear on slow hills. There was no need to override the gears by shifting into the manual mode either.

 

I put even more stuff at the front of the caravan for the return journey, it was still level but it felt a lot better coming home than it did going. I also took a bit of pressure out of the back wheels, from the recommended 46psi down to 43psi and that made a bit of difference as well, as it didn't feel so 'bouncy'.

 

Now I'm just wondering whether I could put the spare wheel back onto the front again, as the stuff at the back seems to counterbalance that! I also have a motor mover sited in front of the caravan wheels as, even though it's a tiny, lightweight caravan, back problems mean that I can't push it and shove it around like others could. This also adds a bit to the noseweight as well.

 

So it seems that I have solved the noseweight problem for the moment anyway. It's a pain having to move the spare wheel back and forth, but so be it.

 

I feel a lot more confident about the Roomster as a tow car now and a lot more confident about going further afield in the future.

 

For your info, my caravan is only small and not much heavier than a trailer, at max. 650kg weight. The noseweight is marked as 70kg on the caravan though, so it meant that I had to do something about that bit, with the towbar having such a light maximumm, and a noseweight gauge had confirmed this.

 

The weather wasn't too bad either!

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by Morgana

Good write up Morgana, its been a long time since I towed a caravan. ps, by the way, "Freedom's real tag is Phil-E.

Ooops!  Sorry Phil-E!

Been off towing again, this time 75 miles down to Worcester.  A real test this time, as the M6 was at walking pace for 6 miles just before the junction onto the M5...   I was wondering what would happen if I had to pull over, as I didn't know whether the car was going to overheat in that jam (having no temp gauge!), and there was nowhere to break down as the hard shoulder was being used as an extra lane. Anyway, it didn't happen! Just thought I would let people know. The more I tow with the car, the more I like it. To say nothing of the lovely cool air con and the cruise control. Never had those before, what a bonus! :sun: 

I'm towing with 1.2 TSI with DSG-7. DSG is always on D mode and towing bar is removable and ordered as option for the car. DSG is really working in different way when towing some load (using bigger revs and changing to smaller gear when coming to hill).

I'm towing with 1.2 TSI with DSG-7. DSG is always on D mode and towing bar is removable and ordered as option for the car. DSG is really working in different way when towing some load (using bigger revs and changing to smaller gear when coming to hill).

 

I've noticed the same with the revs. Not unusual when towing with an auto. I have the 1.6 auto option....

 

What outfit are you towing? It would be interesting to know the max. weight!

I've noticed the same with the revs. Not unusual when towing with an auto. I have the 1.6 auto option....

 

What outfit are you towing? It would be interesting to know the max. weight!

This is the heaviest I've used with my Roomster, my friend's boat.

 

 

Boat is Silver Fox 485 and it's equipped with 60 hp motor. I think it's something like 500-600 kg plus trailer. Roomster is handling the weight perfectly.

 

You can find maximum mass to tow in Roomster's owners manual.

Edited 20 June, 201610 yr by manni

I have a fixed towbar - no problems with reverse sensors. I have integrated wiring (Manual gearbox), the radio shows a pic of a trailer when I select reverse. Probably in case I've forgotten about the caravan!

 

 

Hi

 

I am looking at getting a towbar fitted and have been given various info.  I have been quoted for a fixed towbar with vehicle specific electrics and recoding which was a reasonable price, however, I was concerned the towbar will be picked up by the sensors.  Another place suggested I get a detachable one.  Some say you cannot get a detachable one.

 

The one I was quoted for was a Brink (formerly Thule I think).  I have an automatic gearbox.  I am looking at towing a small car trailer.

 

I wondered whether a fixed would be OK, or whether there was a possibility of having the reversing sensors just switched off completely.

 

Have you had any problems when towing with the fixed - or rather the sensors picking up the fixed towbar when the caravan is not on?  (I am assuming if they do not pick up the towbar and you are in reverse without the caravan the sensors work as normal??)

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Hi

 

I am looking at getting a towbar fitted and have been given various info.  I have been quoted for a fixed towbar with vehicle specific electrics and recoding which was a reasonable price, however, I was concerned the towbar will be picked up by the sensors.  Another place suggested I get a detachable one.  Some say you cannot get a detachable one.

 

The one I was quoted for was a Brink (formerly Thule I think).  I have an automatic gearbox.  I am looking at towing a small car trailer.

 

I wondered whether a fixed would be OK, or whether there was a possibility of having the reversing sensors just switched off completely.

 

Have you had any problems when towing with the fixed - or rather the sensors picking up the fixed towbar when the caravan is not on?  (I am assuming if they do not pick up the towbar and you are in reverse without the caravan the sensors work as normal??)

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Not sure how this thread got here, but as I said I have absolutely no problems with fixed towbar and reverse sensors.

Same here - no problem with a fixed towbar and reversing sensors. Mine is a Witter towbar and was fitted by a local mobile chap on the drive. They do have to cut a small  triangular hole in your bumper to fit a fixed towbar though. It didn't need to be recoded either.

Edited 27 July, 20169 yr by Morgana

Bumping this thread again!

 

No problems on a longer journey, 4.5 hours in blazing hot sunshine and all went well!

 

Can't say the same for my back though. The driver's seat is abominable. Pillows required next time I'm doing a long journey!

 

Would there be any problems if I changed the seat for one from a different skoda, and what seat would be better. My last car (Nissan Almera) had a brilliant seat. Drove all day once, to Kintyre, and was ok when I got there. 4 hours in this one, and my back is a total wreck, even though I have a spine cushion, an extra backrest and extended headrest....

Edited 23 September, 20169 yr by Morgana

Really? I did 4.5 hours in one stint coming back from Cornwall towing a trailer at 60mph, I'm tall and heavy and I was fine. 

 

I would imagine any seat from the Polo/Fabia/Ibiza platform would fit straight in. 

Really? I did 4.5 hours in one stint coming back from Cornwall towing a trailer at 60mph, I'm tall and heavy and I was fine. 

 

I would imagine any seat from the Polo/Fabia/Ibiza platform would fit straight in. 

Short and light here, and that seems to be the problem! They just don't seem to make seats for little ladies, although the bonus here is that the seat can be lifted up so that I can see over the bonnet and still reach the pedals!

 

Just wondering about those sensors in the seats? though, or the seat belt sensors. Would there be rewiring to be done?

Just wondering about those sensors in the seats? though, or the seat belt sensors. Would there be rewiring to be done?

 

 

It depends on the spec of the seats you chose - I don't know for sure, but I would imagine all VAG seats have the same plugs?

Just wondering about those sensors in the seats? though, or the seat belt sensors. Would there be rewiring to be done?

 

 

It depends on the spec of the seats you chose - I don't know for sure, but I would imagine all VAG seats have the same plugs?

 

they probably do have the same plug but even if they are not fitted at all I image you could just leave them disconnected as the pressure switch will more than likely be a normally open contact. And even if not, you could make a shorting link.

Short and light here, and that seems to be the problem! They just don't seem to make seats for little ladies, although the bonus here is that the seat can be lifted up so that I can see over the bonnet and still reach the pedals!

 

Just wondering about those sensors in the seats? though, or the seat belt sensors. Would there be rewiring to be done?

 

 

Just wondering about those sensors in the seats? though, or the seat belt sensors. Would there be rewiring to be done?

 

 

It depends on the spec of the seats you chose - I don't know for sure, but I would imagine all VAG seats have the same plugs?

 

Hi,

 

I fitted some Audi A1 seats in my Roomster - Audi plugs are different.

 

You have to fit seats with airbags and rewire any different plug to fit as there will be an error otherwise.

Airbag plug is yellow with 3 wires - just connect old plug from existing seat to new seat wires using same colour wire to wire.

Have to remove existing plug (or at least cut 2 wires) as there is a shorting mechanism in the plug for safety.

Can fit a resistor apparently if non-airbag seat fitted but I have no details.

 

Seat belt sensor switch, and on passenger side the pressure switch, can be left unplugged.

 

Pete

Edited 25 September, 20169 yr by petrev

This is the heaviest I've used with my Roomster, my friend's boat.

 

 

Boat is Silver Fox 485 and it's equipped with 60 hp motor. I think it's something like 500-600 kg plus trailer. Roomster is handling the weight perfectly.

 

You can find maximum mass to tow in Roomster's owners manual.

Terve! Manni, isn't your car a lot on Instagram if seeking Roomster?

 

I am glad to hear about the 1.2 TSI DSG-7 is doing this nicely, as we're awaiting ours from the dealership (2nd hand car, no. 2 role in family).

They are mounting detachable towing bar to it upon delivery. From my own time at Skoda, I remember the mechanics popped out the right hand side taillight and joined in a split cable set to the connector below. Can't remember if they coded anything though...