We're off to Cornwall, so a fair distance for our first trip out, us being from Cumbria, but we'll take our time and make a few stops on the way, at least we now have the reassurance that we're covered under warranty for any engine issues should anything occur and if after a number of trips we find that we're not comfortable with the car's performance we'll consider tradiing it on for something more suitable as a tow car.  We'll only be doing one big trip a year anyway down south and most other times it'll be local sites to us in the lake district. 

Edited 2 July, 20205 yr by EileenG

We're off to Cornwall, so a fair distance for our first trip out, us being from Cumbria, but we'll take our time and make a few stops on the way, at least we now have the reassurance that we're covered under warranty for any engine issues should anything occur and if after a number of trips we find that we're not comfortable with the car's performance we'll consider tradiing it on for something more suitable as a tow car.  We'll only be doing one big trip a year anyway down south and most other times it'll be local sites to us in the lake district. 

I really don't think you'll have a problem.

 

The first gear in the 7 speed is very short so is more than suited to hill starts etc.

 

The TSI will kick out more than enough torque to keep up. Obviously you may find it revving a little higher than usual but that's not a bad thing.

 

Also, the DSG changes gears super quick (as fast as 8ms between changes) so there should be no drop in power when it's needed.

 

My only concern with the non-genuine Skoda towbar will be the lack of trailer assist. Since the factory setup adjusts the ESP and ABS systems to compensate for towing.

 

But as long as you're driving carefully and paying attention you shouldn't need to rely on these systems.

So I know ABS is assisted brake system, what's ESP,  and how does this impact, I will have to speak to the tow bar fitter to see what his take is on this, he may have already taken it into account. 

Electronic Stability Programme.

 

 

So having the car recognise that it's towing something changes how these systems react. They can also detect if the car/van is swaying and bring it back under control.

OK, I wander if our tow bar installer will be adjusting it to take account of the caravan 🤔

Hi Eileen, I am a caravanner with about 15 years experience, we had a new bailey Indiana 2008 and traded our lovely Skoda Octavia 1.9pd 130 hp for a Volvo xc 70 manual estate as the towing figures for weight match were not too good.

Still have the Volvo, 12 years of ownership and don't want to think what will replace it, masses of torque and will cruise all day in 6th at 60 mph.

We down sized our van 5 years ago for an Adria 4 four which is almost the weight of our old bailey.

I used a web site call : outfit matching car and caravan, just put your outfit details in ( not sure if its dsg or manual) and its a moderate match for experienced towers , didn't see the percentages it might be a help.

Never towed with a petrol but as others have said you cant beat a heavy tow car with a big torquey engine but we are now made to feel like destroyers of the planet. 

Martin 

 

 

23 minutes ago, EileenG said:

OK, I wander if our tow bar installer will be adjusting it to take account of the caravan 🤔

 

So long as the electrics that you have fitted along with your towbar are OEM specification and then coded into the ECU, you will find that the car recognises that you have trailer attached and the ESC will behave accordingly.  

Thank you, all this information is extremely helpful. 

10 hours ago, J.R. said:

It will be gearing, a tall first gear is a nightmare for laden hill starts, also all the modern VAG vehicles will not rev above 2500 RPM until the vehicle is in motion, there is a massive torque limitation going on to prevent the over-revving and even without a trailer or caravan I can feel that there will be a big problem when I do tow one.

 

Actually the above might be 3000 rpm, I'm not going to start the engine to find out, also I dont know if it applies to petrol engines.

 

Don't quote me on this because I arnt going to stat the car to find out either, but..... I think the limit only applies to car in neutral, if you have the clutch depressed as if you have an intention of setting off i'm sure you can rev it all the way, so I don't this makes a hoot of difference. I will definetly check tomrrow if I remember

 

 

Edited 2 July, 20205 yr by SuperbTWM

Check yours by all means but mine wont pick up the revs until it detects the wheels turning.

 

It got an emissions test exemption on the UK MOT for that very reason.

 

Have others had their cars with this dumb feature emission tested at MOT?

On 02/07/2020 at 09:06, xlray said:

Interestingly in the Towcar of the Year Awards 2019 The Skoda Octavia won its class up to 1400kg with the 1.5Tsi engine.

 

That said the Kodiak is much heavier so I think you would struggle on hills, especially pulling away. I have towed caravans for 26 years and to me there is no substitute for diesel power.

 

Worth looking out the Towcar awards for the last few years and searching for that engine in any class.

 

xlray

 

I now tow with a 2.0 TSI and it’s equal to my previous Kia Sorento diesel. No need to rev it up high for the power and I get the same mpg when towing my 1600kg ‘van. Modern petrol engines (esp TSI) are very similar to diesels now, with low down torque. 

Yeh, it is interesting to see that the octavia won tow car of the year with that engine, we won't be towing 1300 kilo, I reckon we will only have won't be towing any more than 1280 kilo.  We're going to see how we go on this year. 

The 1.5 TSI will tow your van just fine.

 

I have the 1.4 TSI 150PS manual 4x4 Scout and it tows our 1,374kg (MTPLM) Bailey really well...

 

 

I've found the odd down change is required to maintain 60mph on the motorway on very steep inclines but with your DSG gearbox you'll barely notice.

 

One piece of advice I can give you, go for the genuine Skoda tow bar. It integrates into the cars electrical systems better than any aftermarket option.

 

I see you're in Cumbria? Have a drive over to Leeds and get Chris Farthing to fit the factory fitted electrically retractable Skoda tow bar for approx. £800. A few hundred pounds more than a good quality aftermarket tow bar but well worth it....

 

 

If you get Chris to fit the reverse camera at the same time (I'm booked in on Saturday) then you get this view on the infotainment screen when hitching up, an absolute must if you don't have someone to guide you back onto the hitch...

 

 

I would imagine if you had both done at the same time you'd be looking less than £1,000 due the potential time savings?

 

Edited 8 July, 20205 yr by silver1011

Thanks so much for the advice, unfortunately we had the tow bar fitted yesterday by a local reputable guy, he's been fitting towbars for 20 plus years, he's fitted most of the tow bars around here, 3 of our own cars in the past and other kodiaqs before too, skoda wanted £1300 to fit it and he did it considerably less (£750) although it's not a genuine skoda towbar skoda told me that as long as we replaced the front grill with the required grill it wouldn't affect our warranty. 

Edited 8 July, 20205 yr by EileenG

By the way we had a detachable towbar fitted. 

Silver, did you need to replace your front grill or have the upgraded coolant system, we didn't need that just the new front grill. 

Mine is the 1.4 TSI with a factory fitted tow bar so the modified grill was fitted at the factory.

 

There has been lots of discussion on what is actually part of the factory upgrade that is associated with the tow bar which covers the grill, radiator fans, battery and alternator, but looking at my car the only obvious change is the grill which essentially has a few more of the slots in between the vertical slats opened up to improve air flow.

 

In the UK it is rare for us to experience the extreme summer temperatures experienced in other countries so unless you're towing up a steep incline for mile after mile at maximum towing capacity and therefore high engine loads then I very much doubt you'll ever see an issue.

Yeh, the garage that fit it said it seems daft for it to be needed but I'm overcautious and don't want to risk voiding the warranty should anything happen.  The part only cost £117.25 Inc. VAT and we had it fitted by a mechanic/garage that we use all the time and he only charged 2 hours labour, although he said it was a nightmare of a job so it must have taken longer. We're all set to go now and collecting the caravan tomorrow. 

If you stick the original grill on eBay you'll get a good chunk of that £117 back. Even less hassle if you kept the box the new one came in 

 

People are always hitting kamikaze pigeons and pheasants!

Ah that's good to know, still got the box and it's wrapped in bubble wrap too.  Also kept the support bar that the tow bar fitter removed to fit the tow bar.

2 minutes ago, EileenG said:

Ah that's good to know, still got the box and it's wrapped in bubble wrap too.  Also kept the support bar that the tow bar fitter removed to fit the tow bar.

 

Make sure you use the OEM part number in the title when you advertise it, or buyers won't find it amongst the millions of Skoda items that are advertised. In the description, include the OEM number in various formats such as XXXXXXXXX and XXX XXX XXX X, etc. 

Thanks for all the advice. 😊