Hi folks

Picking my car up this afternoon and need to get a towbar sorted. I’ve checked the VIN plate and it has weights listed so should be OK.

It’s a facelift Sportline (21 Reg) and I’d like some advice on the best type of bar. A few years ago the dealer fit detachable bar on my Octavia failed (the tow head detached while we were towing) resulting in the loss of our van. For that reason my wife is very nervous of detachable bars.

Does anyone know if a swan neck or flange fixed bar can be fitted without fouling the parking sensors?

Also I’d obviously like to have the bar fully coded to the car. If anyone has any recommendations in the North East UK for fitters who’ve done a good job I’d appreciate it.

thanks!

Was there a recall done or even an investigation by the DVSA on that tow ball attachment failure?    Did the insurance loss adjuster have a report done and was that showing an equipment failure or users fault?     Lightening can strike twice. 

Edited 28 June, 20241 yr by Ootohere

32 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

Was there a recall done or even an investigation by the DVSA on that tow ball attachment failure?    Did the insurance loss adjuster have a report done and was that showing an equipment failure or users fault?     Lightening can strike twice. 

The root cause I was given was  the incorrect dust cap had been fitted to the socket on the car when the bar was installed. This meant at some point the cap had detached and the socket had gradually filled with road dirt and corroded. So even though the ball head locked into place and showed green indicators , it failed part way into the journey. 
 

I’ve always been a bit leery of detachable bars and so always took a lot of care hitching up. On the day in question the ball head was stiff to engage, but since everything was green (and after I jumped up and down on it!) I assumed all was well. 
 

Luckily no one was injured as a result of the failure. 

What’s your budget? Could your partners reservations and your apprehensions justify the expense of a dealer fitted genuine Skoda towbar? All the benefits of a detachable but without the weakness of it actually being able to detach.

Quotes vary wildly but they seem to range anywhere between £1,000 to £1,500 for supply and fitting, if you can find someone willing to do it.

So just to wrap this up. Had a TowTrust detachable bar fitted yesterday. £740 with 13 pin vehicle specific wiring and fully coded. Nice neat job. Took the van out with the bear last night and have to say it’s an absolute joy to tow with. 
 

heading to Wales for a week on Monday, looking forward to the drive.