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Hi guys ive seen a lot of youtube videos of the passat being an excellent towing vehicle. However, the towball weight is tated at 90kg with the max braking weight rated at 2200kg.
Anyone have any thoughts or advice??
VW, like other Euro cars are rated for towing Euro type vans which are built differently to Aussie monsters and therefore have a much lower ballweight limit. It is extremely unwise to load the ball above what is recommended.
2021 Kamiq LE 110 , Moon White, BV cameras F & B
Mamba Ebike to replace Tiguan
I paid 2200 for VW to fit the towball on. Prob paid a bit more than i should have but couldn't afford the trouble to find someone to fit it on later and not have a car for a day or two..
The UK tow car of the year was after the car towed 1800KGs...heres the video : have a look and see. https://youtu.be/rnO-nBK9k0E
Has anyone had an electric brake controller fitted to a B8 yet? I'm keen on an Alltrack Wolfsburg, but would like to know if fitting a controller is possible. I'd love to get in touch with someone who has actually done it if possible.
Has anyone had an electric brake controller fitted to a B8 yet? I'm keen on an Alltrack Wolfsburg, but would like to know if fitting a controller is possible. I'd love to get in touch with someone who has actually done it if possible.
Cheers guys.
Agreed. Would be very keen to hear about a B8 owner's experience with brake controllers.
Canbus and knee air bags seem to be part of the challenge.
As promised, photos of my 2017 Alltrack Wolfsburg Edition with a Westfalia Towbar fitted.
Naked views
The Towball tongue assembly. Note that this version has a proper tongue, not an integrated ball like some of the Westfalia products. This way alternative tow-balls or a bike rack can be attached. The red button on the right is in fact a key which removes when locked. It has no key-ring facility as is quite small so hide it in a safe place!
Note the swing down electrics. This is smooth and easy to do. As you'll see in the following photos it successfully hides away when not in use. The VW electrics is a 13-pin, but a 13-to-7 pin adaptor is included.
Electrics tucked away. Also note the rectangular cut discretely hidden under the one of horizontal structures of the lower bumper. Only a small proportion of the hitch itself lingers when the tongue is removed.
There, barely noticeable when not attached. Not completely invisible but compared to the traditional Haymen-Reese style...
The installation is very neat, and near invisible. The swing down electrics is a bit of a bonus. I got them to install factory electrics so it was good to see that the Westfalia fittings accommodated those. The hitch mechanism is sturdy and generally easy to fit, though the mechanism takes a few goes to get the hang of.
Two issues, one towbar related, one fitment related.
First, the VW tech guy had to slightly modify one of the receiving holes due to a small mis-alignment of 5mm. He said it occasionally happens but will not effect the fit, but nonetheless was not overly impressed by the hole alignment error. It may just have been a one off...
Second, was the bumper alignment post refit. I'll have to return as it's slightly misaligned on the right side just under the tail light. I'm sure it's correctable but something worth checking prior to accepting the vehicle back no matter what type of towbar you get.
The downball weight is rated to 200kg, whereas the VW is only 90kg. My thoughts is to err on the conservative. 90kg is not that much these days with the heavy duty campers available on the market, but the attachment is no different from the VW and according to the fitter, looks the same. Regardless, Westfalia say 200kg.
Would I recommend it? If this is the look you're after, then yes. The fitment issue was (reasonably) easy to work around for an experienced VW guy, but may have been a one-off. I have yet to tow with it but I don't anticipate any issues. The personal distress I felt at a mis-aligned bumper spoke of how much I've fallen in love with this vehicle...
What Westfalia state for lowball download is actually irrelevant - what VW state for compliance purposes of the vehicle is all the counts. So sorry to say, 90kg it is. The max lowball download is the LESSER of what is plated on the bar, or what the vehicle is complianced for.
Nice outcome though - it looks neat.
I have the VW tower fitted. They hide the 13 pin Euro to 7 pin Aus adapter up under the bumper. Just a different way of achieving the same result I guess. Still have to carry the LED load box if your trailer has LED lights - now THAT is annoying IMO.
To be honest, my main reason for going with dealer-fitment was for full factory support over the lifetime I own the vehicle. Any issues - no arguments with the dealer, they just have to fix it as long as its under the 6 year warranty. I was first thankful for that when they installed the towbar and were having trouble with the coding...
IMO, I think the nicest thing about the westfalia products is the "hidden" receiver. It is elegant design, and I often wonder why VW Australia (and, indeed otherEuro brands that I've owned) don't include that design more often on their Australian release vehicles. Don't know the reason - could be ADR but I doubt it. Most likely $$$ related.
Weird things are the 7-pin adapter. Why oh why can't we LEGALLY use the far superior 13 pin Euro plug - why MUST we have one of the silly ADR approved inferior plugs in the trailer wiring circuit?
What Westfalia state for lowball download is actually irrelevant - what VW state for compliance purposes of the vehicle is all the counts. So sorry to say, 90kg it is. The max lowball download is the LESSER of what is plated on the bar, or what the vehicle is complianced for.
Nice outcome though - it looks neat.
I have the VW tower fitted. They hide the 13 pin Euro to 7 pin Aus adapter up under the bumper. Just a different way of achieving the same result I guess. Still have to carry the LED load box if your trailer has LED lights - now THAT is annoying IMO.
To be honest, my main reason for going with dealer-fitment was for full factory support over the lifetime I own the vehicle. Any issues - no arguments with the dealer, they just have to fix it as long as its under the 6 year warranty. I was first thankful for that when they installed the towbar and were having trouble with the coding...
IMO, I think the nicest thing about the westfalia products is the "hidden" receiver. It is elegant design, and I often wonder why VW Australia (and, indeed otherEuro brands that I've owned) don't include that design more often on their Australian release vehicles. Don't know the reason - could be ADR but I doubt it. Most likely $$$ related.
Weird things are the 7-pin adapter. Why oh why can't we LEGALLY use the far superior 13 pin Euro plug - why MUST we have one of the silly ADR approved inferior plugs in the trailer wiring circuit?
Yeah, 90kg is what I'm aiming for. My 2006 B6 Passat was 75kg (from memory) so even 90 is an upgrade, albeit low. I too have never understood why we can't adopt the 13pin matrix, but then look how long it took to adopt ISOfix.
Interesting you had trouble with the coding too. That's what I'm currently going through even though the VW kit is used. I'm returning Tuesday to get the bumper straight and the electrics working.
Cheers
NPR - I honestly can't recall what the issue was with the coding - something about the car not wanting to upload the correct program??? They were doing 2 Alltracks the day mine was done, same issue with both cars. They were talking to VW HQ to try and get it sorted while I was waiting to pick it up. They said that the one they did a few weeks prior was the same - the car just didn't want to accept the programming. That was at a dealer. Admittedly here on the south island the sales volumes are probably nothing like you see on the north island, so its entirely possible that some of the bigger dealers that push one out the door every few days have identified a workaround.
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