TowBar

**VRStu** · 22-10-2005, 11:47

Fitting a towbar to my Dads Elegance estate today. It's a genuine Skoda one, quite a tasty bit of kit actually. I'll hopefully get some pics that might be of use to someone.

Twin electrics with split charging

Wish me luck!!

Dave_Fox · 22-10-2005, 21:49

Good luck!! lol.....bit late.

**VRStu** · 22-10-2005, 23:01

It's been a marathon.

I'll tell you more tomorrow.

**VRStu** · 23-10-2005, 08:50

Well as I said I fitted a TowBar to a Fabia Estate yesterday and to be honest not a bad job.

The bar is great quality and replaces the standard crash bar which is removed and discarded. No drilling is required, there are holes pre-drilled into the chassis.

We had two electrics kits, both listed as Fabia Accessories. The normal towing kit (lights etc) is fantastic, it comes with a nice watertight gromet to replace a blank in the back of the car and a pair of plugs that piggyback the plugs on the rear lenses. If you are fitting any towbar at all, buy this kit it's well worth it.

The second kit (split charging of caravan battery) is good quality but not so Fabia friendly. There is no nice gromet to exit the car with so we had to squeeze it in beside the other cable in the one gromet. It tells you to take power from the battery but some great advice from Ross saw us taking it from the internal Bus Bar behind the drivers side dash panel. The kit contains a switching relay and two fuses in their respective holders which you have to stash away, we chose to use the void exposed above the fuse box when you remove the side panel, this should give easy access if required. You also need to pick up a switched live, this came from the main fuse panel, No18 mobile phone which isn't fitted. One problem I encountered was how to remove the bonnet pull handle so that I could get the trim panel off, again a quick call to Ross saved the day - thanks mate

The bar isn't really designed to accomodate two electrical sockets so this lead to a bit of head scratching, they are on but we don't think they will be accessible when the access panel is cut. Dad is currently investigating a Euro 13 pin (I think) style socket which houses the connections that two normal sockets would house. This would suit the bar and the car much better.

The only thing we haven't done is to cut an access hole in the bumper. This requires a special cutting kit which I didn't order as the parts man told me I didn't need it, Doh.

I would say that fitting the bar and standard electrics using the proper kit is a simple DIY job and about 2 hours, going for the second electrics is a bit more difficult and requires a lot more trim to be removed.

Plenty of pics were taken and time permitting I'll try to write it up on my site later.

22-10-2005, 11:47	#1
VRStu Briskoda Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 20,447 Thanks: 116 Thanked 925 Times in 830 Posts	TowBar Fitting a towbar to my Dads Elegance estate today. It's a genuine Skoda one, quite a tasty bit of kit actually. I'll hopefully get some pics that might be of use to someone. Twin electrics with split charging Wish me luck!! __________________ Stu - Freedom Pimp Stu's Websites - http://www.fabia-vrs.com & http://www.octavia-vrs.com Stu's Car - 2008 Audi S3 - Ibis White, Black Optics Pack, Privacy Glass, Auto Bi Xenon Headlights, Rain Sensing Wipers, Bose Sound System, Ipod Prep, GSM Phone Prep, Flat Bottom Multi Function Steering Wheel, Electric Folding Mirrors, Acoustic Parking, Cruise Control, Non Smokers Pack. SWMBO's Car - 2008 Seat LEON TDi Stylance, Black Magic, Sports Pack, Rear Parking Sensors. Something for Weekend - A Patio

22-10-2005, 23:01	#3
VRStu Briskoda Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 20,447 Thanks: 116 Thanked 925 Times in 830 Posts	It's been a marathon. I'll tell you more tomorrow. __________________ Stu - Freedom Pimp Stu's Websites - http://www.fabia-vrs.com & http://www.octavia-vrs.com Stu's Car - 2008 Audi S3 - Ibis White, Black Optics Pack, Privacy Glass, Auto Bi Xenon Headlights, Rain Sensing Wipers, Bose Sound System, Ipod Prep, GSM Phone Prep, Flat Bottom Multi Function Steering Wheel, Electric Folding Mirrors, Acoustic Parking, Cruise Control, Non Smokers Pack. SWMBO's Car - 2008 Seat LEON TDi Stylance, Black Magic, Sports Pack, Rear Parking Sensors. Something for Weekend - A Patio

23-10-2005, 08:50	#4
VRStu Briskoda Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 20,447 Thanks: 116 Thanked 925 Times in 830 Posts	Well as I said I fitted a TowBar to a Fabia Estate yesterday and to be honest not a bad job. The bar is great quality and replaces the standard crash bar which is removed and discarded. No drilling is required, there are holes pre-drilled into the chassis. We had two electrics kits, both listed as Fabia Accessories. The normal towing kit (lights etc) is fantastic, it comes with a nice watertight gromet to replace a blank in the back of the car and a pair of plugs that piggyback the plugs on the rear lenses. If you are fitting any towbar at all, buy this kit it's well worth it. The second kit (split charging of caravan battery) is good quality but not so Fabia friendly. There is no nice gromet to exit the car with so we had to squeeze it in beside the other cable in the one gromet. It tells you to take power from the battery but some great advice from Ross saw us taking it from the internal Bus Bar behind the drivers side dash panel. The kit contains a switching relay and two fuses in their respective holders which you have to stash away, we chose to use the void exposed above the fuse box when you remove the side panel, this should give easy access if required. You also need to pick up a switched live, this came from the main fuse panel, No18 mobile phone which isn't fitted. One problem I encountered was how to remove the bonnet pull handle so that I could get the trim panel off, again a quick call to Ross saved the day - thanks mate The bar isn't really designed to accomodate two electrical sockets so this lead to a bit of head scratching, they are on but we don't think they will be accessible when the access panel is cut. Dad is currently investigating a Euro 13 pin (I think) style socket which houses the connections that two normal sockets would house. This would suit the bar and the car much better. The only thing we haven't done is to cut an access hole in the bumper. This requires a special cutting kit which I didn't order as the parts man told me I didn't need it, Doh. I would say that fitting the bar and standard electrics using the proper kit is a simple DIY job and about 2 hours, going for the second electrics is a bit more difficult and requires a lot more trim to be removed. Plenty of pics were taken and time permitting I'll try to write it up on my site later. __________________ Stu - Freedom Pimp Stu's Websites - http://www.fabia-vrs.com & http://www.octavia-vrs.com Stu's Car - 2008 Audi S3 - Ibis White, Black Optics Pack, Privacy Glass, Auto Bi Xenon Headlights, Rain Sensing Wipers, Bose Sound System, Ipod Prep, GSM Phone Prep, Flat Bottom Multi Function Steering Wheel, Electric Folding Mirrors, Acoustic Parking, Cruise Control, Non Smokers Pack. SWMBO's Car - 2008 Seat LEON TDi Stylance, Black Magic, Sports Pack, Rear Parking Sensors. Something for Weekend - A Patio

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22-10-2005, 21:49	#2
Dave_Fox Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,028 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Good luck!! lol.....bit late.