Multivan T5 Towbar

[coastie]

Hi, I'm interested in fitting a towbar to my T5 Multivan. Hayman Reese have one for a T5 Transporter but the MV is not listed. My VW agent wants over $800 to arrange for a local guy to fit. Does any one know about the multiplex wiring and the kits required to fit towbars to these vehicles?

Thanks

[syncro]

Why would a Multivan be different to a Transporter?

I wouldn't bother with Hayman Reese anyway.

[peter_j_g]

T5 multivan & transporter are the same. Here's some info, sorry it's in Finnish & Swedish but the diagram shows how it goes together. Kovil is one of the largest towbar manufacturers in Europe. Fitted one to father-in-laws Bora a couple of months ago.

http://www.kovil.fi/pdf/56321A-FS%20.pdf

[shogun2]

A friend has a Caddy who had the same problem.
He was quoted $1200 for the tow bar. The solution was to source the electronics from the US for about $100, and then fit a Hayman Reece bar with a friendly auto electrician who knows about the CAN bus system to install the electrics. If interested I can find the link for the electronics.
I would also like to do this to my T5.

Rod

[Bug_racer]

You just need to get yourself a can bus ECU which will be a swap . Then get the towbar fitted .

Hayman reece make the factory units for Australia and NZ only

[T4 Trakka]

A friend has a Caddy who had the same problem.
He was quoted $1200 for the tow bar. The solution was to source the electronics from the US for about $100, and then fit a Hayman Reece bar with a friendly auto electrician who knows about the CAN bus system to install the electrics. If interested I can find the link for the electronics.
I would also like to do this to my T5.

Rod

Do I need the CAN Bus system for my T4 Transporter 2003 model? The VW dealer in Adelaide says there are no towbar wiring kits listed for the T4. Southern Towbars state that it is not needed for my model, but is for the T5.

[MultiplexMan]

Hayman Reese have one for a T5 Transporter but the MV is not listed.

T5 Transporter = MV

My VW agent wants over $800 to arrange for a local guy to fit.

$800 supplied and fitted is approximately what the VAG kit should cost (fitted by a third party including CAN bus "programming"). Dealers quoted me from $1200-1600 from memory. The main difference being the labour charge.

It was because of this I did not bother with Hayman Reese-no cheaper than VAG.

You will get the usual bullsh@t from the dealers about CAN Bus programming - does the quote "and the monkey flips the switch" ring a bell?

On a T5 the CAN bus tow bar "switch" (flipped via VAG-COM) is more to do with acknowledging the extra load of the second tail light set so a blown bulb fault is not registered than anything else.

I got sold a couple pork pies about a different shift pattern being utilised when the tow bar electrics are engaged. This was another shovel load of bs as the vehicle cannot differentiate between a bike rack, a trailer or a fully loaded caravan...I verified this when I used my own Ross Tech VAG-COM unit...

Does any one know about the multiplex wiring and the kits required to fit towbars to these vehicles?

The harness was cheapest from VW when I went looking. A lot of after market tow bars in Europe actually bundle a VAG harness rather than make up one - AUD100-200 from memory. Search The Brickyard forum T5 posts for a detailed summary of my Kombi Beach install

Cheers, MM

PS I just remembered one other thing the VAG COM "switch" can do - it turns off the rear ultra-sonic park sensors so you do not get a false positive with a trailer attached.

EDIT: I refer to a hitch receiver (square hollow section tow coupling) not a fixed tow bar. This will make a difference to price. A fixed tow bar should be cheaper.

[MultiplexMan]

You just need to get yourself a can bus ECU which will be a swap .

??? Not required on my T5 Kombi Beach and any of the T5 Transporters/Multivans I have seen to date. Sure you aren't thinking about cruise control and the Highline ECU?

Hayman reece make the factory units for Australia and NZ only

I actually compared these side by side - they may come out of the same factory (have to look at the manufacturer's stamp on mine) but they were cosmetically different. I remember the height of the hitch receiver ended up being slightly different...nothing much in it in the end though.

Cheers, MM

[MultiplexMan]

Bugger! I just noted the date of the original post - 2006.

[WEDEL.1]

Bugger! I just noted the date of the original post - 2006.

Never mind. There's more info now for the next users.

Maris

[Bug_racer]

Bugger! I just noted the date of the original post - 2006.

Maybe its all changed now , but when they were doing the original units the control units did get changed

[95vr6]

I have a original vga tow bar fitted to my 04 T5, removed it when i sold the van & refitted it to my new 08 T5 , no difference in the wiring harness. It plugs into factory loom at the tail lights .There is a micro switch in the 7 pin trailer connector to identify extra load for rear lights

[coastie]

Bugger! I just noted the date of the original post - 2006.

It's interesting that this is still going around as I baulked at buying the towbar in 2006 and am still interested in getting one now two years later. Only the price has changed.

[BobD]

I have Hayman Reese on my Multivan, organised by the dealer when I bought the vehicle and carried out by the local towbar installer. I tow a caravan and needed the full 2500kg capacity of the vehicle, which you get with the HR towbar. I bought mine 12 months ago and it cost $690 fitted.

They supply a small box in the rear side panel that interfaces with the Canbus system. They run a wire direct from the battery to power the stuff and it must just get a control signal from the existing wiring to operate micro switches of some sort in the black box.

The standard ball holder is way too low and useless for a caravan. Wesbar swapped it for the highest ball holder available but even this is a bit low. I just upgraded my caravan to a Geist and I had to get the ball even higher to get it level. I now have the adjustable hitch from the full HR load levelling system and it is just high enough on the highest adjustment holes. I will post a photo of the German combo sometime when I get a chance. Even without the levelling bars this ball holder cost around $450 so that makes the tow bar much more expensive.

By the way, Geist uses a 12 pin plug with several differences to normal caravans. For example, one wire only runs the fridge on 12 volts when the engine is running and there is another wire that powers the interior lights all the time regardless of whether the engine is on or off. This cost about $450 to setup and I now have a 7 pin socket and a 12 pin socket on the car.

For those interested, the auto diesel Multivan pulls the 18 foot Geist AK 560 very well. I get around 13.5l/100km at 100kph on the GPS (106kph on the Multivan speedo), probably as good as any car can get with such a load. There is plenty of power available with the 400Nm torque.

[lwulf1960]

Caravan towing with a T5 4motion van

I realise this is an old thread, but I'm hoping someone may pick it up. We're wanting to buy a 2005 T5 4-Motion to carry a mid-size motorbike PLUS tow a caravan. But the rated towball down weight is listed as 100kg, which seems really low for it's 2500kg towing capacity. Does anyone know why such a low towball rating? Is there some structural weakness in the vehicle that we need to be aware of? Can the vehicle be up-rated in any way e.g. strengthened chassis? Any advice much appreciated.