I want to fit a towbar......

[Niall76]

I was talking about the wiring there, the mechanical I have no problem with at all.

[evil_skint]

Hey evil - ours is to take all the bikes around too, we have 5 but I'm thinking a rack would be cool too as we don't always all go. Where do you ride?

Hey mate, well bit of a long story..but last year ( i think ) I bought a Carrera Fury on sale at halfords.. think I paid £350 down from £599...all with good intentions ofcourse to start doing some serious biking. But...its been stood collecting dust ever since, had the odd canal ride etc but nothing major. Biggest run I have done is about 20 mile round trip, small hills n stuff.

So.. this summer I intend to start biking a bit more and get stuck in, hence the interest towbar threads.

I live in the Midlands ( Tamworth - now famous for its castle or its snowdome lol ). Cannok Chase may have some good runs to try out.

What about yourself. Is it serious stuff or family stuff ( considering youhave 5 bikes lol )

[lonky]

recently fitted tow bar to back of my A6 saloon. Mechanically could have been done by your average DIYer. Holes were already formed in the body work.

Would not buy a detachable, as when fitting the unit you removed the bumper cross brace, so bumper is weaker if you get nudged in car parks etc. Leaving tow ball in place ensures drivers give you a bit of space.

Electrics is a bit of a pain. Car has bulb sensing, so you cannot just crimp onto the rear lights. You need an interface box, which requires a feed all the way from the battery, unless you have a boot 12v supply. While not difficult, it took about 2 hours for the mechanical part, and 3 - 4 for the electrics. Sure it could have been done quicker, but I like to do a neat job, and even routed the supply via the fuse board, so it was protected.

Happier to do it myself, as you cannot rush a good job, and to the guys fitting every day, time is money

[Niall76]

I haven't been to Cannock Chase but plenty of my mates have and they say it's brilliant! I take the family with me when I can to everywhere from barron mountains to mountain bike trail centres to cycle paths. Brilliant fun.

Lonky, I take it no driiling was required then? Also, could you provide me with how you did the electrics? That's the part I thought might be a pain in the bum...

[evil_skint]

Niall, if I ever see a 98 2.8 in Cannock i`ll be sure to leave a message under your wipers, probably " Ive stolen your new tow bar " lol.

Yeah lonky ..and electrical walkthrough would be excellent if you have time.

[Flying Scot]

The reason that I have initially fitted the tow-ball was for a bike rack (waiting for my ISA to hit target for a speedboat eventually). I bought a Thule (9403 I think?) rack for the car which I have now done about 1500 miles with without a single worry. I would recommend these types of racks to anyone as they keep all of the bikes away from the car completely and are fitted with a light board etc. they do options up to 4 bikes.

[davej]

I used these guys Ryder towing for advice on the electrics - look here for there reference guide -
http://www.rydertowing.co.uk/pdf_che...al%20Guide.pdf
I fitted the Bosal 033181 model for my avant quattro (2001) £123.84 plus £6.95 carriage. Fittting instructions and quality are good. Took me a good day but if you're like me, once the bumper is off you find things that need cleaning that a fitter wouldn't look twice at.
You will need to add TF2218 smart bypass relay board (from the folks above and the towing electrics socket and bracket.
The nice thing about this bar is that although swan neck, the neck removes with two bolts that are easy accessable. I have parking sensors and with the bar fitted (nothing hooked up) the sensors work fine.
Let me know if you need wiring details.

Dave
You also need to know wiring details for plumbing in if you are doing it yourself.

[davej]

re supplier for above - 0116 2688009 - Brian

[Niall76]

Many thanks Dave - wiring details would be much appreciatted.

[davej]

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