Which towbar?

[morganic]

I’m looking for a a basic towbar to pull a small trailer/take a bike carrier on my Kodiaq Sportline 190 tdi. 
Bristol area

Anyone got any suggestions/ recommendations please?
 

[Kenny R]

I’m afraid there is no such thing as a basic tow bar. The tow bar has to be connected and coded properly to the can-bus system of the car and depending on model, if it’s not got tow bar prep from factory, it may also require cooling system mods.

[morganic]

Thanks

When I mean basic I meant simple not detachable or foldable. I’ve had loads of Towbars fitted over the years so I know about can bus and manufacturer matched wiring systems. I’ve had units fitted both by main dealers and aftermarket but never needed cooling system mods.
The trailer I’ve got is very light and the bike carrier should not affect cooling

Im just looking for someone recommended in my area but thanks for the advice.

[DaveMiller]

To a towbar fitter, the intended “light” use should not be relevant. The car is officially capable of towing a certain weight and the fitter must ensure that the bar is fully capable of doing that.  (Much as tyres must match the capability of the car, not the “I never go above 50” that might be stated by the driver 😀)

[J.R.]

47 minutes ago, Kenny R said:

The tow bar has to be connected and coded properly to the can-bus system of the car

 

Rubbish.

 

It may have been your choice, it may have been desirable in your circumstances but that does not oblige the rest of the population to do the same.

 

[SurreyJohn]

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

 

Rubbish.

 

It may have been your choice, it may have been desirable in your circumstances but that does not oblige the rest of the population to do the same.

 

Strange comment, may be ok on a basic spec one, if you don’t care if things work or not ...... but try using park assist on a car with a trailer and no coding.  

[ZacDaMan72]

3 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Strange comment, may be ok on a basic spec one, if you don’t care if things work or not ...... but try using park assist on a car with a trailer and no coding.  

Park Assist wouldn’t even work on a car with correct coding. 

[SurreyJohn]

3 minutes ago, ZacDaMan72 said:

Park Assist wouldn’t even work on a car with correct coding. 

 
Bad example, I meant things like rear cross traffic alert that use proximity sensors that are fitted, in that they would always be going off

[olderman1]

If Bridgwater isn't too far to travel, I can let you know who fitted mine.

This is the 3rd one they've fitted for me and each time it's been a good job. At the time of  buying my car, I knew nothing of Canbus and to my knowledge mine isn't wired into the Canbus.

They do take the wiring through the car to the fusebox rather than tapping into existing wiring in the boot, which is as it should be.

[J.R.]

55 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Strange comment, may be ok on a basic spec one, if you don’t care if things work or not ...... but try using park assist on a car with a trailer and no coding.  

Nothing to do with whatever toys you want on your vehicle, the comment which you consider to be strange was to dispel the untruth which you confidently asserted.

 

There is no requirement in law that a towbar has to be coded to a vehicles canbus, which is a nonsense notion anyway.

 

Now were there to be a law that to tow a trailer you need to pass a test including reversing without relying on whatever "must have" electronic device is flavour of the day then I would be all for it, I would also extend it to a revised driving test to ensure that existing licensed drivers remain capable of keeping their eyes on the road, to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, to remain within their lane, to be aware of road signs and the speed limit in force and to be able to modulate the throttle to maintain a constant speed, all things that are being lost with the increased reliance on vehicle electronics.

Edited 14 November, 2020 by J.R.

[Kenny R]

Here is a list of some of the reasons coding is required on a Kodiaq. Make your own mind up if you want a bodged job that could carried out on old school cars with no ill effect, but modern cars require a bit more work to integrate with the vehicle electronics and safety systems no matter how much of a driving god you think you are and don’t think you need any namby pamby systems to help you.

https://wibutec-shop.com/Coding-Activation-of-a-retrofitted-towbar-trailer-hitch-in-the-Skoda-Kodiaq-NS7-via-VCDS-ODIS-or-VCP-also-by-SVM-code

Edited 14 November, 2020 by Kenny R

[J.R.]

Nothing to do with being a driving god, simply calling people out that make authorative sounding but wholly incorrect statements.

 

I suggest next time that you might encourage people to consider your percieved benefits of a more expensive installation rather than telling them what they (don't) have to do.

 

Your arguments are not likely to be persuasive to the OP given his requirements and expressed desire.

[DaveMiller]

JR - I don’t think Kenny was calling YOU a driving god. I took it that he was referring to the unusual abilities required by anyone to match the same level of safety otherwise provided by the systems that have been nullified?

Edited 14 November, 2020 by DaveMiller

[Danny 57]

To me it does not matter what you need a tow bar, light or whatever but just imagine 2,3 or more owners down the line who buys the car for towing a large caravan or heavy trailer and after a few miles it breaks down because the engine has over heated or you have stopped because of overheating or any other reason. Would you be happy, I am sure I would not.

My own experience. Renault 25, 30 years ago towing a caravan, within apparent weight limits having to stop every so often to let the engine cool down because an extra heat exchanger had not been fitted when the tow bar was. 🤭😊. Me was unaware of the extra cooling required. 😊🤭

[J.R.]

Would I be happy what happens to 2 or 3 owners down the line from me?

 

Not the sort of question I ask myself often.

 

Do I get ****ed by what previous owners have done to my vehicles? - No, I buy them as seen and do whatever needs doing to suit my purposes, I buy older high mileage vehicles and run them into the ground, I have not sold a vehicle less than 10 years old for a couple of decades, anyone buying something of that age should have their eyes wide open as mine always are.

 

Building work, structural not cosmetic, thats a different matter, it will quite literally be the roof over someones head for many generations after I have passed.

 

Too many people these days look to blame others for the situation they put themselves in.

[morganic]

I’m beginning to wish I’d never asked!!

Ive had towbars fitted by main dealers before with no cooling upgrade so why do I need it now? I think Skoda scare people into opting for their over expensive towbars by saying you need an upgraded cooling system. If they’re fitted post factory dealers also rip you off. They get local suppliers to fit them and charge you top whack!

I was merely looking for some recommendations as to type if towbars and fitter.!!!!

[morganic]

19 hours ago, olderman1 said:

If Bridgwater isn't too far to travel, I can let you know who fitted mine.

This is the 3rd one they've fitted for me and each time it's been a good job. At the time of  buying my car, I knew nothing of Canbus and to my knowledge mine isn't wired into the Canbus.

They do take the wiring through the car to the fusebox rather than tapping into existing wiring in the boot, which is as it should be.

 

Yes please?

[ZacDaMan72]

2 hours ago, morganic said:

I think Skoda scare people into opting for their over expensive towbars by saying you need an upgraded cooling system.

They do that to cover their arses in the event you go and tow a maximum permissible capacity up hills in 40°C climates. Of course they ‘overengineer’ things for typical use. 

[J.R.]

2 hours ago, morganic said:

I’m beginning to wish I’d never asked!!

Ive had towbars fitted by main dealers before with no cooling upgrade so why do I need it now? I think Skoda scare people into opting for their over expensive towbars by saying you need an upgraded cooling system. If they’re fitted post factory dealers also rip you off. They get local suppliers to fit them and charge you top whack!

I was merely looking for some recommendations as to type if towbars and fitter.!!!!

 

Its a well demonstrated phenomenon that when people have been relieved of a lot of money and/or been made to jump through lots of hoops they take exception when others don't suffer in the same way.

 

My Towbar was £105 on Ebay but the seller is no longer there, it is the same as this one:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tow-Trust-Fixed-Flange-Towbar-For-Skoda-Yeti-MPV-2009-2017-/133519749954?hash=item1f1665b342

 

I needed a fixed flange type so as I could fit a Nato type coupling or for my bike rack and other accessories I have fabricated over the years which use the bolt fixings.

 

 

[olderman1]

46 minutes ago, morganic said:

 

Yes please?

https://www.bridgwatertrailers.co.uk/

 

Their website states that they're open during lockdown. They're easy to get to from your side of Bridgwater, just off the A38 and 5 mins from M5 J23.

I expect their prices have risen since, but 2 years ago they charged £478 for a fixed tow hitch.

This probably won't help you, as when you book your car in they ask for a deposit, but if you want to see an example of their workmanship, you're welcome to come look at mine. I'm 3 mins from J23, so not much incovenience.

[morganic]

Thanks I’ll try them. 
 

[J.R.]

On 14/11/2020 at 16:16, olderman1 said:

If Bridgwater isn't too far to travel, I can let you know who fitted mine.

This is the 3rd one they've fitted for me and each time it's been a good job. At the time of  buying my car, I knew nothing of Canbus and to my knowledge mine isn't wired into the Canbus.

They do take the wiring through the car to the fusebox rather than tapping into existing wiring in the boot, which is as it should be.

They will have taken a feed from the fusebox or the battery as was the case on my MK2 but I would be very surprised to learn that they had picked up the trigger wiring for the trailer relay (L & R rear lights, L & R indicators, brake lights, foglamp) as none of them are anywhere near the fusebox, indeed many of them emenate from canbus modules close to the rear light clusters.

 

Using the appropriate sensing relay puts no loading on the circuit and other than how well or badly they make the connection there is no possibility of causing a problem with the circuits, blowing fuses etc.

 

I think most towbar fitting operations work on £3-400 minimum gross profit, there was a time when that was earned but other than being able to cut a square slot in a removable bumper insert there is little or no skill involved in a basic install, remove crashbeam & replace with towbar, connect relay to rear light feeds, boot power socket & the towing socket.

 

For the more expensive all singing & dancing installs there will be the programming of the trailer module, central convenience & canbus gateway modules which will be beyond the scope of most DIY'ers unless they have VCDS.

 

My neighbour like me had always fitted his own towbars, him for over 50 years, he was freaked out at the thought of the Canbus system on his Octavia F/L and scared by the horror stories related to him by the towbar fitters so he had it professionally fitted at great cost.

 

At that time I did not have any working knowledge or understanding of canbus so thought he was doing the right thing, when he had problems caused by the bodger removing a section of insulation and connecting by twisting the wire core around it and covering in insulation tape and I redid the install correctly I was able to show him that all the magical "canbus" work was nothing more than connecting a relay no different other than price to the ones that he had always fitted.

[BoxerBoy]

On 14/11/2020 at 22:31, DaveMiller said:

JR - I don’t think Kenny was calling YOU a driving god. I took it that he was referring to the unusual abilities required by anyone to match the same level of safety otherwise provided by the systems that have been nullified?

I think he was.