Tow bar questions

[Neil_Y]

Audi A6 tow bar complete kit with electrics diy £92.00. Just search on ebay.
There are a number of you tube videos that show how to do it.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Towbar-El...ccessories_Touring_Travel&hash=item2ed0c12687

 

[bignick]

I can recommend Ambrow trailers (this side of Christchurch). Good service and good prices.
(No connection other than being a very satisfied customer.)

 

[Croak]

Driving licence before 1997, you can tow pretty much anything providing its within the limits laid down by the manufacturers - check the handbook. Post 1997, you can tow up to 750kg without taking an extra test. Above that you need to do the B + E test.

Are you sure that is true?

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car

 

[Slowtack]

More recent cars may have more complex wiring systems (eg my 2010 Passat) which require a specific junction unit to connect a trailer or trailer board as opposed to simpler wiire-to-wire connections that are possible in older cars.

 

[Avocet]

More recent cars may have more complex wiring systems (eg my 2010 Passat) which require a specific junction unit to connect a trailer or trailer board as opposed to simpler wiire-to-wire connections that are possible in older cars.

With a '55 plate, the OP might just get away with it, but it's worth checking whether the rear lights are part of a "CAN" system. If they are, it's highly likely you'll need an interface box to stop it upsetting the CAN bus.

 

[A1Sailor]

Are you sure that is true?

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car

Licences held before 1 January 1997
If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997 you are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8.25 tonnes MAM.
This is the weight of a vehicle or trailer including the maximum load that can be carried safely when it’s being used on the road.

I passed my test in 1979, but I don't remember any questions specifically about towing heavy trailers. Why am I more entitled than someone who passed their test more recently?

 

[RichardTaylor]

Towsure have a place in Southampton:

http://www.towsure.com/category/Audi_A6_Avant_Estate_February_1998_Mid_2004

http://www.towsure.com/category/Audi_A6_Avant_Estate_Spring_2005_onwards

Looks like about £320 fitted for the basic bar with single electrics (double is for caravans etc where you have "internal" power requirements on site)

 

[macnorton]

I have just fitted a tow bar to my Golf Estate, £450, 2012 model. It came with a wiring loom that gets plugged into the brain thing the car uses. Apparently if you just take a lead off the rear lights to the tow bar plug, the self testing feature of the brain thing can start playing up. Maybe they saw me coming.

To the OP - you cannot exceed the all up weight (tow plus car) stated on the VIN plate. You wont have a problem with such a big car.

A programmable multiplexer will sort out any cars lighting for app £30, problem is many fitter don't know how to set them up (which is a doddle) and insist on fitting factory items that are just a rip-off.

Many Audi's have LED lights or bulb test fitted so would need this system fitting.

Have a look at this link

http://www.towsure.com/static/fitting_a_multiplex_towbar_bypass_relay

 

[Avocet]

I passed my test in 1979, but I don't remember any questions specifically about towing heavy trailers. Why am I more entitled than someone who passed their test more recently?

That's just life! My dad can drive even more stuff than me and I passed my test in the early 1980s.

 

[Tintin]

The best thing about fitting a towbar, and often neglected, is that it helps protect your bumpers when reversing, and also if someone shunts you at low speed they tend to come off a lot worse

 

[Avocet]

The downside is that in a slightly heavier shunt, the tow bar transfers the forces into the attachment points on your chassis- neatly bypassing the (relatively cheap to repair) deformable "crash cans" between your bumper and the car shell.