Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Miggy24]

Hi all just brought a towbar off chris for my estate.How easy is it to fit one.Do the estates have the dimples where the bolts go in the floor like the saloons.Any help would be great  

[markey mark]

yep all dimples there to drill   might have to drop exhaust  

[MutantCav]

As Markey says, main issue is trying to get the nuts onto the back 2 or 3 of the 4 bolts that go through the floor passengers side...the exhaust backbox and heatshields rather get in the way...

Pretty sure I used a 10mm drill bit to drill the holes  

[Weds]

heatshields rather get in the way...

And I bet the bolts holding the heatshield shear off.....

[Miggy24]

Doesnt sound like a hard job to do.What about the wiring do i have to wire it up to the lights or is there a block connetter on the loom to wire it too

[shanjon]

as markey mark and mutantcav say the backbox and heatshields make an otherwise easy job a real pain in the ass, the drilling of the holes and wiring is a piece of cake though

[shanjon]

Doesnt sound like a hard job to do.What about the wiring do i have to wire it up to the lights or is there a block connetter on the loom to wire it too

there is a block connector on the car however the adaptor loom costs a fortune from vx,
if you look at connector you will see there is a small plugin it with one wire looping backinto the connector, this must stay plugged in if not using proper loom from vx as without it the cars rear fogs will not work

[ffcgary1]

Remove the rear box rubber hangerS and remove the 10mm nuts holding the heat sheild to the car and remove.
Then remove the carpet trim each side of the spare wheel cover and you will see the dimples in the floor. drill the dimples to allow the spacers to be fitted into the chassis rails and fit the tow bar frame to the under side of the car and pass the bolts through the spacers and tighten  Depending on the spec of the car you may have the tow plug in the left side cubby hole near the rear lights. if not you will have to splice into the loom and make your connections there.

[shanjon]

Remove the rear box rubber hangerS and remove the 10mm nuts holding the heat sheild to the car and remove.
Then remove the carpet trim each side of the spare wheel cover and you will see the dimples in the floor. drill the dimples to allow the spacers to be fitted into the chassis rails and fit the tow bar frame to the under side of the car and pass the bolts through the spacers and tighten  Depending on the spec of the car you may have the tow plug in the left side cubby hole near the rear lights. if not you will have to splice into the loom and make your connections there.

mine is an elite and mine was in the spare wheel well right next to the jack

[ffcgary1]

Mine is a tourer and is based on a gls and did not have the plug, also when i was thinking of fitting the tow bar , vx told me that if i wanted the loom to go to the plug that i did not have  i would be unlucky as it was no longer avalible from vx.

[Miggy24]

Ok guys thats for the help.Just need to wait for the towbar to turn up then i`ll prob start fitting it

[Matchless]

On the estate the trailer connector is inside of the rear panel, left of centre.
If you have bulb failure monitoring (all but GLS have it I think) then you should use a 'bypass relay' to connect the wiring, the lights will work without but you might overload the bulb monitor pcb in the passenger footwell.
If you are planning to tow a caravan and want to run the 'fridge on the move or recharge the 'van battery then I would run a new feed all the way from the battery (fused at the battery end please). There is an ignition-live feed in the trailer connector but its not thick enough to run a fridge...use it to power the bypass relay. (need to fit the fuse in the fuse box)

[Matchless]

You only drill the holes in the boot floor skin....the chassis rails have holes in already. If you know the make of the towbar then most manufacturers have the fitting instructions on-line.

With the reinforcing plates fitted to the boot floor the carpet wont lay flat and tends to interfere with the lift-up section. Just cut away some of the carpet underlay carefully and the carpet will lay flat.

[Andy B]

......
If you have bulb failure monitoring (all but GLS have it I think) then you should use a 'bypass relay' to connect the wiring, the lights will work without but you might overload the bulb monitor pcb in the passenger footwell.  

You don't need a by-pass relay. My trailer lights are connected directly to the Vx trailer socket loom.

 
If you are planning to tow a caravan and want to run the 'fridge on the move or recharge the 'van battery then I would run a new feed all the way from the battery (fused at the battery end please). There is an ignition-live feed in the trailer connector but its not thick enough to run a fridge...use it to power the bypass relay. (need to fit the fuse in the fuse box)

There is already a permanent live within the trailer loom socket intended for caravan battery charging & fridge.

[Matchless]

......
If you have bulb failure monitoring (all but GLS have it I think) then you should use a 'bypass relay' to connect the wiring, the lights will work without but you might overload the bulb monitor pcb in the passenger footwell.  

You don't need a by-pass relay. My trailer lights are connected directly to the Vx trailer socket loom.
You might well be OK but the Vx supplied and very expensive trailer wiring kit includes bypass relays. My 'van has 14 bulbs on the side light circuit (low level and high level lamps, side markers rear high level etc) plus two brake bulbs and two indicator bulbs per side. The bulb failure module cannot carry this load.

 
If you are planning to tow a caravan and want to run the 'fridge on the move or recharge the 'van battery then I would run a new feed all the way from the battery (fused at the battery end please). There is an ignition-live feed in the trailer connector but its not thick enough to run a fridge...use it to power the bypass relay. (need to fit the fuse in the fuse box)

There is already a permanent live within the trailer loom socket intended for caravan battery charging & fridge.

The live feed is 2.5mm and is intended to supply the Vx bypass relays. It might be OK on your fridge but most 'fridges want 15A and a flat 'van battery can draw another 15 - 20A.