Hi

Can anyone share photos of VRS towbar install? OEM or aftermarket, interested to see how it would look before I go ahead myself.

I have the original one. Actually you don't see it from behind when standing. You need to bend quite low if you want to see the cutout for the towbar. Don't have any good pic of it at the moment.

i didn't take as option but as i know the RS is pre  equipped ? so i presume i can order the missing part and just install it myself

Edited 18 January, 20224 yr by zorglub

12 minutes ago, zorglub said:

i didn't take as option but as i know the RS is pre  equipped ? so i presume i can order the missing part and just install it myself

In Slovenia you needed to purchase the towbar preparation separately. It wasn't included as a standard.

And even if you have the preparation kit, I think it an additional adaptation/coding is needed when you install a towbar.

You also need to check if your car is factory homologated for towing. You can check that on this plate.
If I'm not mistaken, If there is no number on the second line, then your car is not allowed to tow anything.

I didn't order towbar prep  (on the dealers advice as I only plan to use it for a bike rack)

 

The info is pretty similar (I have the hatch rather than the estate/combi).

I assume that the two figures 1 and 2 are braked and un-braked towing weights.

1st Line - 2500kg - Gross Vehicle Weight

2nd Line - 4800kg - Gross Train Weight

3rd Line - 1250kg - Maximum front axle load

4th Line - 1300kg - Maximum rear axle load

The maximum towing capacity can be calculated by subtracting the gross vehicle weight from the gross train weight. If the weight in the 1st and 2nd line are identical or line 2 doesn't contain a value, then your towing capacity is zero kg. This means that your car manufacturer has concluded that your car is not capable of towing.

4 minutes ago, Sliminator said:

1st Line - 2500kg - Gross Vehicle Weight

2nd Line - 4800kg - Gross Train Weight

3rd Line - 1250kg - Maximum front axle load

4th Line - 1300kg - Maximum rear axle load

The maximum towing capacity can be calculated by subtracting the gross vehicle weight from the gross train weight. If the weight in the 1st and 2nd line are identical or line 2 doesn't contain a value, then your towing capacity is zero kg. This means that your car manufacturer has concluded that your car is not capable of towing.

Thanks for confirming!

Just took some pictures of mine

Thanks. You're right you have to be pretty low to see it. 

5 hours ago, Sliminator said:

I didn't order towbar prep  (on the dealers advice as I only plan to use it for a bike rack)

 

The info is pretty similar (I have the hatch rather than the estate/combi).

I assume that the two figures 1 and 2 are braked and un-braked towing weights.

As far as I am aware the tow bar prep includes physical electronics and reprogramming to allow a tow bar to be fitted in the future. Remember you have to take into account the extra wires that will need to be attached to the electronics of the car (not as simple as splicing in some wires like in years gone by) as well as telling the car about the potential extra weight, stoping parking sensors going crazy amongst other things). I don’t think you can easily fit a tow bar without the prep and I fear your dealer may given you the wrong advice. 
 

I hope I am wrong and you can do it but that was my understanding. 
 

Anyway, It makes no difference that you are only using it for bikes as the nose weight of a fully loaded bike rack can be just as much as a caravan. Most of the weight of a caravan is on its wheels, there’s isn’t much weight going onto the tow ball compared to its overall weight. If you have multiple bikes on a rack you can easily exceed the nose weight capacity of the tow car, especially easily if you are carrying e-bikes. 
 

 

I wanted to revive this thread as Im looking at adding a tow bar to the wife's VRS for mounting bikes

 

I was looking here for a Skoda OEM Westfalia item and was confused by the statement "Note: for models without trailer preparation please order original spoiler from dealership"

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/skoda-octavia-hatchback-nx3-2020-onwards-westfalia-detachable-towbar.html

 

Ideally I want it to be invisible and not butcher the rear diffuser!

There is/was an option to add "trailer preparation" when ordering a new car. This option includes wiring, stronger alternator and some other bits. And according to your comment, it looks like it also includes a predrilled rear diffusor so you don't need to cut it if you decide to add a tow bar at later time.

Further research suggests this is a factory made hole for the fold out type towbar supplied by skoda and made by Westfalia. This hole will be bigger than the one needed for a detachable swan-neck, so I will likely just have the fitter make a new hole with the supplied cutting template.