Skodas and tow bars

[PWM]

Asked dealer about tow bars for the Octavia wagon is Australia and was quoted $1,000 "because it takes 5 hours to fit". Told it was a Hayman Reese bar. Called HR and was told they haven't developed a bar as not enough demand and no request from VW. If they started one now would take a couple of months at least with compliance folders. Has anyone fitted a bar yet, who made it, and what was the cost?

[DanSA]

I think a lot of their accessories are still in homogenation stage, meaning they are not fully developed and priced. It's early days i guess and they are still testing the market.

$1,100 is a pretty good price. I looked at putting one on our Golf (retrofit) and min price was $1,450.

[Mischa]

its not just the fitting, its the electronics with the control module for the lights on the trailer. yes i was also told 1500 from my dealer for my golf.

[gregozedobe]

I'm not sure, but think it might also need another electrical control module added to tell the ESP there is a trailer on the back, so it can help you not crash properly.

[Transporter]

Tow bar, what are the options?

I’m just curios what tow bar did you people get?
A friend of mine bought a secondhand (done 10,000km) Octavia wagon 1.9TDI DSG and he is looking to get one fitted.

[TuNeS]

I got quoted $1500 as well. Each dealer said it was a big job. However I got it bundled into the sale of the car and got it cheaper. Apprently it is a Hayman Reece bar and the removable bar that you see in the Euro accessories guide is not permitted in australia.

I will find out how it all goes when I get the car soon.

[Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi]

I received this from Hayman Reese when I enquired on a towbar for a Skoda Octavia:

Thank you for your enquiry regarding a towbar fitment for a Skoda Octavia. We currently do not have a listing for a towbar on that vehicle, we do have it on our development schedule but no time frame as yet to when we will have a design complete and ready for release. Genuine Skoda may be your only option at this stage

[TuNeS]

has anybody in Australia actually got a tow bar fitted to an Octavia vRS or non vRS yet?

[TuNeS]

A guy here at work has cleared up something for me. Apparently, 'Hayman Reece' is often used to describe the style of tow bar that Hayman Reece makes. Kinda like us Aussie's calling a cooler an 'Esky'. Just terminology that has stuck

That might explain why it was refered to as a Hayman Reece. When I was shopping for the car, all three dealers said the bar wasnt a problem. I am just yet to see a picture of what one fitted looks like or even hear about someone who has one.

[dazag]

Ok, this is what I've heard with the tow bars.

You order a new car and have it optioned for a tow bar - it comes from the factory ( Overseas) with the wiring loom from the ECU to the rear of the car. Then all it needs is the locally sourced tow bar and final loom to be fitted to the car and the ECU re-programmed ( to turn Reverse Sensors off and slight program change for engine mapping and safety features for when towing ) by your local dealership.

If you buy a car off the show room floor and it doens;t already have this loom in, then they need to pull a fair bit of the flooring/paneling up to run the loom from the ECU to the rear of the car. Hence the extra cost or variation in costs between vehicles - some already have the loom some dont.

A guy at work has a recently purchased pre FL Octavia 1.9 Sedan and had a tow bar fitted - it does look similar to a haymen reese bar, in that it looks like a tidy fitment, doesn;t look out of place, but I wasn;t fully aware of what brand of towbar it was.

I pick up my FL Octavia Wagon 2.0 TDI DSG next week and it has a tow bar fitted. will tae pics and take down the info and post it up for ya's later next week

[gerhard]

Yep, gone are the days of bolting a piece of angle iron to the rear bumper of the HQ with a towball on it ....

Now we have reverse sensors, ABS, ESP, CANBUS, maybe even the deceleration sensors for airbags, etc are affected by towing, not to mention the super lightweight wiring that can't be tapped into.

These electronics are getting so sophisticated, it probably won't be long before the weight, no. of axles, and whether the trailer has brakes, will have to be programmed into the ABS/ESP ECU so it knows how to attempt to correct a swerve or a jack-knife.

[JP-009]

My Elegance wagon was ordered (new) with the tow bar option, but this was dealer fitted.

The actual tow bar says "Best Bars". From memory, I think it was an extra 1200 supplied and fitted.

Cheers,

JP

[IBN]

'08 Scout with a Best Bars hitch. All good except for a bulb failure warning when the trailer attached due to the fact that we don't run separate feeds to the taillights. I had EXACTLY the same deal with my Audi A3. Both cars had the sockets and connections to access the CANBUS so that the loom and relays could be fitted. A bit of VAG-COM magic and all is done. Simple. Shame that we are taken for such a ride as far as the prices are concerned.
Cheers,
Ivars

[woofy]

Just watch, all VAG cars seem to have a very low deadweight on the towballs due to the chassis design...so they can pull the weight, but the towball etc itself is not as strong as usual....

[donweather]

Thread revival!!

Looking at getting a towbar for my Octavia vRS wagon. Anyone got the european style towbar installed? I like the fact you can take the swanneck off and practically not see the towbar.

Anyone got any recommendations for towbar installers in brisbane? Thinking of Speedy Towbars in Everton Hills?