Having the above fitted today, it’s a Westfalia one and I’ve had to wait a while for them to come back into stock from the supplier.  It’s being fitted at a long standing and reputable aftermarket company who fits for VAG, BMW and Mercedes and is a Westfalia authorised fitter.

 

I had a weird conversation with the main guy actually, I got the impression they had never fitted one to an iV before and possibly had visions of the battery being in the boot or the bumper or something weird.  I assured him it was able to tow and showed him a video of a Westfalia one being fitted up north to a 2020 iV.  

He then said they’d had trouble fitting a detachable to a regular Sportline yesterday but it was not a westfalia one, which made me curious because as far as I knew all the rear bumpers were the same with just a change in trim on the bottom?

 

Now have negative visions of the bumper half back on and no towbar, but will see what happens by lunchtime!

How did it go?

Have you checked your weight plate to see if it’s capable and legal to tow?

 

it’s all well and good fitting a tow bar but if your car isn’t marked for towing you risk a lot.

 

also, has your car got tow bar prep and are they fitting a genuine tow bar, aftermarket integrated or universal?

all of these will make a big difference.

 

personally with it being an iv and the motor making a different i would only ever fit genuine as towing devices being plugged in will effect the engine/motor running 

All fitted and working well, it was done by three guys actually.  One does the mechanical stuff, one does the wiring etc and one does the coding.

 

With the Sportline apparently the ones that don’t have a cutout underneath already cause problems unless it’s a westfalia, I didn’t ask too many questions as it seemed to be mostly to do with the adblue tank and fitting the metal at the back and fouling the bumper.

 

the guys seemed really knowledgable, they said a lot of fitters at the moment don’t have good enough kit to code the newer cars, particularly when it comes to 2022+ models as the older coding kit causes problems with models with the front radar system.

 

towbar is totally invisible when it isn’t attached.  I went for 13pin and they fitted it for a caravan spec and not just a bike trailer, although it’s only the latter I will be using it for a lot of newer trailers from eg Thule are starting to have reverse lights fitted.

 

 

56 minutes ago, ApertureS said:

Have you checked your weight plate to see if it’s capable and legal to tow?

 

it’s all well and good fitting a tow bar but if your car isn’t marked for towing you risk a lot.

 

also, has your car got tow bar prep and are they fitting a genuine tow bar, aftermarket integrated or universal?

all of these will make a big difference.

 

personally with it being an iv and the motor making a different i would only ever fit genuine as towing devices being plugged in will effect the engine/motor running 

yep checked all of that on the V5 etc before I bought it, there were a few that had 0 for towing capacity hence my worry when I bought it.

 

all coded correctly and brings up the trailer when in reverse and the boot doesn’t open by remote when plugged in and it locks out eco mode etc.

 

it’s pretty much impossible to find one with a factory towbar to purchase at the moment, but practical caravan gave very good reviews for the new Passat GTE.

I had issues fitting a towbar to my Sportline.  Couldn't engage the detachable bar. Beam was to far up in the bumper. (Bumper too far down?) Up until that point I didn't think there was any difference between bumpers either! 

 

Returned, cost me the return postage! 😒 Then purchased Oris/Bosal detachable from another supplier who confirmed for sure it would fit!