Hi chaps (and chapettes),

Looking for some advice regarding a towbar for my Mk2 vRS, info/criteria as follows:

- Towing a ~400kg trailer plus ~650kg car

- No parking sensor

- Not too bothered about looks (my car is more of a 'tool' than something I spend time polishing)

- Can't be fussed fitting it myself as I don't get on with electrical stuff and I hate wrestling with trim!

My thoughts so far are something fixed, and get a company to fit it for me. I've had a quote from 'Advanced Towing UK' (who are pretty local but can come to me to fit) at £195, or the same with twin electrical socket or 13 pin socket with relays (for caravans) at £25 more. Haven't checked the brand of towbar yet, but they offer a lifetime guarantee on parts and labour, plus the towbar is an E.C insurance approved model - which is good enough for me.

Thinking to the future, I reckon the extra £25 would be well spent making the tow bar caravan-proof (for re-sale mainly)?

Any further thoughts appreciated!

Cheers,

Adam

i just paid the same price for my fixed towbar, i didnt want a detachable one as i use it regularly.

Hi chaps (and chapettes),

Looking for some advice regarding a towbar for my Mk2 vRS, info/criteria as follows:

- Towing a ~400kg trailer plus ~650kg car

- No parking sensor

- Not too bothered about looks (my car is more of a 'tool' than something I spend time polishing)

- Can't be fussed fitting it myself as I don't get on with electrical stuff and I hate wrestling with trim!

My thoughts so far are something fixed, and get a company to fit it for me. I've had a quote from 'Advanced Towing UK' (who are pretty local but can come to me to fit) at £195, or the same with twin electrical socket or 13 pin socket with relays (for caravans) at £25 more. Haven't checked the brand of towbar yet, but they offer a lifetime guarantee on parts and labour, plus the towbar is an E.C insurance approved model - which is good enough for me.

Thinking to the future, I reckon the extra £25 would be well spent making the tow bar caravan-proof (for re-sale mainly)?

Any further thoughts appreciated!

Cheers,

Adam

13 pin electrics is well worth the extra. I will never go back to the 7 pin rubbish.

13 pin electrics (whether the relays are fitted or not) are much better in fit and appearance.

However, you will need a 13 to 7 pin adapter to make the connection to your trailer. Alternatively, a new 13 pin connector on the trailer. Either will cost money.

Consequently, whilst 13 pin is a good idea, you will not make the 25 quid back.

In my experience, very few extras ever make money back on resale. Plus, towbars can actually put people off buying a car. Indeed when you come to sell, you might be better removing the towbar and getting some of your money back on ebay.

If you do that, remember to get the disgarded bumper reinforcement from the fitter so it could be refitted.

Just my thoughts.

I paid 300 for mine fitted at home by a good company so less than that is a good buy .never had a problem and tow caravan regular .my van is not 13pin so do not go for that option .

Exactly the sort of advice I was looking for, thank you. Hadn't thought of taking it off for selling the car actually, that would be a great idea I think - as you said, buying a car has been used for towing isn't the first thing I'd look for!

My friend has a trailer with 7 pin electrics and I wasn't bothered at all by the appearance, but I'm struggling to find any info about the added functionality of the 13 pin (other than for powering a fridge etc?). I can see there are two types of 7 pin (one that can control reversing lights, and one that can't: http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Trailer-plug-guide-and-wiring-diagrams_W0QQugidZ10000000002022212) though.

Aah, hang about... do you need a 7N (for all the lights) and a 7S (for the reversing light and various spares, and therefore two plugs) if you don't have a 13 pin? Otherwise if you just use a 7N you won't have a reversing light, and a 7S by itself wouldn't power the brake lights, indicators, etc? Then a 13 pin isn't a 14 pin because the 7N and 7S each have an earth, so the 13 pin plug only needs one earth...

The relays... these are extra, and used are to control the indicators - or you can get a specific loom that plugs directly into the car and uses the existing ones..?

Am I along the right lines here?

Thanks again!

The single socket 7 pin (12N) does the lights but does not do the reversing lights. Can't remember if it does fog lights. The other socket (12S) (often grey in colour) does reversing lights and power for the caravan. There will be switched and un switched / lights, fridge and aux battery on that socket.

The 13 pin plug looks very much like the others except it has 13 pins and makes a better seal. There are the 7 pin lights plus reverse, plus three lines for power. (One isn't used?) There are two earths for these power lines.

i fitted a 13 pin socket and it is no bother. Slightly bigger than the old 7pin. It has much smaller pins. I used a "bypass relay" with it rather than dedicated electrics. It covers the 12N single 7 pin socket lights plus reverse for use with 12S or 13 pin. This is the kind of box that takes power from the battery and is triggered by clipping into the car's wiring near the lights.

It is possible to have another relay that takes 12volts from the battery to power either the 12S socket or the power lines on the 13 pin. This second relay cuts power to the fridge/aux battery if there is insufficient power for the car. I have this relay but have not yet bothered with this as I don't tow a caravan. There are people on here who tow and will tell you more.

If you had a 12N or both 12N & 12S socket you could easily rewire and combine them into a newer 13 pin socket. (at the socket just like wiring a new electic plug). If you go with a bypass relay OR a Skoda dedicated loom, it is possible to use a new 13 pin socket without the added wiring for the caravan present. Quite simply the trailer doesn't know or care about the difference. A 13 pin socket will require a simple plug in adapter to match the 12N plug on the trailer.

To be honest, at this stage a fitting company should not be charging more for 13 pin electrics UNLESS it contains all the caravan functionality. If it is just the 12N electrics it should be the same money. Just my opinion.

Relays are sold separately from the wire and socket attached to the wire. Here is the one I used: includes instructions

Edited 15 July, 201114 yr by FriendlyFire

Awesome stuff, thank you very much for taking the time to explain! I'll have a good read through and digest that all.

Thanks again.

If you do not intend to tow a caravan then just go for 12N socket that does all the lights except reversing but including fogs.

13-pin has bee introduced since changes in the way caravans pull their power was made in 1999. This led to problems with 'pin-burnout' and general charging issues. The 13-pin system is much better at eliminating this problem. I would go 13-pin rather than a 12N/12S combo as it is a more reliable, smaller package.

While there can be connection issues with 12N sockets, these are usually just down to dirty connections.

Hope that helps.

If you do not intend to tow a caravan then just go for 12N socket that does all the lights except reversing but including fogs.

That's what I have gone for - thanks for the advice!

Slight bump - tow bar is now on, happy with the result!

Witter bar with 7 pin electrics, no bumper cutting required, £195 all in. Was fitted by Advanced Towing UK, came to work and fitted it this afternoon. They've offered a lifetime warranty on the fitting and the bar itself, so providing it doesn't drop off tonight I can recommend them

Hi, I am looking at getting a towbar fitted to my Mk2 VRS (hatchback) from the same company is there any chance of you posting a pic so I can see how the back end of the car looks with the towbar fitted? £195 sounds like a good deal for the install, I'm in Cheshire so they are relatively local to me. Did it include an electrical bypass circuit in their? I have heard you are supposed to have one but not sure what it does and why.

Sure, no problem. Car is at home today but I'll try and grab a pic as soon as I can. Not sure what the bypass circuit would be for, but everything works as expected.

Haven't forgotten about this - just not had car and camera in the same place yet, sorry about that!