TOWBAR GUIDE as at 27/08/12 (already on version 2!)

(28-06-2013 08:23pm)Shuggy Wrote:  Has anyone had the Westfalia Towbar fitted. I am having a problem with the caravan being low at the front and the stowed Jockeywheel touches the road on undulating surfaces. Quite frightening and load bang when it happens and I have confirmed this is the problem by wrapping tape around the wheel which was shown to be scuffed and torn off after a journey. Suspect the ball height at 16 1/2 inches is too low for my caravan ( Sterling Eccles Ruby) which is well within the limits of the car and towbar at 96KG download on the ball. I have referred this to the dealer and the towbar fitter but no solution suggested by either. Today I spoke to Westfalia and sent them data and photos and hope they can suggest something. Any ideas for the forum would be appreciated. My only thought at the moment is if there is a higher ball bracket available from Westfalia or I will have to remove the jockey wheel at each journey.

Having snt Westfalia a set of pictures and data fform my set-up I got a a reply today which quoted the Regulation height of a towbar ball and that was it. Most unhelpful. The moral is think very carefully before you buy one the their towbars for your Evoque if you are towing a modern caravan

Hi Guys.

I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I hope this help people when then are looking for a hitch. The only reason I installed a hitch on my Evoque is so I can put my bike on the back.

I figured I would do a little write up on the install of my Curt Trailer Hitch that I purchased from E-trailer dot com. I have no affiliation with them what so ever.



Part # 13128 This is the revised version with the holes in the correct location.



Step 1. Spray the rubber hangers with WD40 ( you must do this to remove them and to re-install them )



Step 2. Support the Exhaust with multiple stacks of wood. As you will eventually need to lower the exhaust to remove the heat shield and then to install the hitch.



Step 3. Remove this Hanger which is on the Passenger side of the vehicle above the exhaust exit. 10mm socket on a 3/8 ratchet works fine in this tight space. Once you have removed this hanger them you can pry the black rubber hangers off the exhaust side. Which will allow you to lower the exhaust.




Step 4. In order to remove the heat shield from the back of the rear bumber. You will need a T30 Torx and a 10mm socket from memory. You only have to lower the exhaust a little bit. Sorry no pics of the heat shield installed as I did this on the ground instead of on my lift.

Step 5. You are going to have to trim the heat Shield so you can install the trailer hitch. I did this in 3 step taking off just a little at a time. You will have to remove the entire bend from each side of the hitch and then notch the center where the hitch itself will protrude under the rear bumper cover. You will not have to cut the factory bumper cover.

Passenger Side View
-- First Cut


-- Second Cut


Drivers Side View
-- First Cut


-- Second Cut


Center Cut ( Most important Cut )
You must cut enough out so the hitch can slide towards the rear bumper cover. If you don't you will not be able to align the bolt holes.



Once you have trimmed it to look like this then you can re-install the heat shield.

Step 6. Install the blind bolt in the back portion of the drivers side frame rail.



Please Note: As you are raising up the hitch in Step 7 make sure you run this wire tail through the hitch as it will align it perfectly.




Step 7. Once again you will need to lower the exhaust which will allow you to slide the hitch in.



Step 8. Place a towel on your floor jack and then gently place you new hitch on the towel. Slide the hitch up to the lowered exhaust and then lean the hitch on the exhaust. Now here is the fun part because you will need both hands to guide the hitch and your leg to jack the hitch. Since I was laying on my right side on the passenger side of the vehicle I used my left (top) leg to jack the hitch up into place. As it goes up the wire on the drivers side actually guided the hitch into place and I was able to install one of the supplied bolts on the passenger side and tighten it with at a 16mm socket on a 6" extension.



Once the hitch is in place install the remaining hardware on the passenger side ( 3 bolts total )

On the drivers side you will be installing 1 nut and a compression washer and this bolt. However the bolt is a little long so you will need 2 Grade 8 Zinc coated 1/2" washers to take up some space.

Here is what it looks like.




Here is what the hitch looks like installed. It is hard to tell from this picture but there is an 1/8 of an inch gap between the bumper cover and the hitch





and here is all of the tools I used to install the hitch. Most important was the tin sheers. It is very helpful if you have a straight cut, right hand cut and a left hand cut. Not shown is gloves which I would recommend when cutting the heat shield. That sucker is sharp.



and now it's time for me to go ride.





he's small and doesn't talk much but he is good company when your working in the garage.

Sorry m8 that's got to be one of the worst towbars I've ever seen, no good in this country as we need electrics and a trailer light board to make us legal.guess you are limited to what you can purchase over there.

Firstly Welcome, Not a pretty towbar, but appreciate you taking the time for the pics and explanation.

(22-08-2013 08:33pm)Barton Evoque Wrote:  Sorry m8 that's got to be one of the worst towbars I've ever seen, no good in this country as we need electrics and a trailer light board to make us legal.guess you are limited to what you can purchase over there.

It's a receiver hitch - pretty much anything can go in the receiver hole - cycle mounts, trailer hitches etc. As far as I know it's the only one (other than the RR original) which is "DOT approved" here in the US. Technically if the tail lights are still visible, in most states you don't need the extra board. In fact where I live you can tow trailers without electrics too if the tail lights of the car are clearly visible. It's not recommended but it's not illegal.

Also - for the UK guys - this is a worthwhile photo report for us here in the US. The original version of this particular hitch needed the rear plastic to be cut and I don't recall seeing a write-up of the redesigned hitch that clears the plastics. So yea - not pretty but very worthwhile

(22-08-2013 08:38pm)PhilSkill Wrote:  Firstly Welcome, Not a pretty towbar, but appreciate you taking the time for the pics and explanation.

Thank you and I agree it's not the best looking and I am actually going to be ordering another one of there hitches and cutting it up to try to make it look like the original hidden hitch from a long time ago. My goal it to make something very flat maybe 3/4 tall that will barely be visible when the bike rack is removed.

                so I just got a Westfalia detachable towbar and I am really surprised at what an outstanding job was done. here are the photos, as you can see there is no visible signs of the towbar when detached.

Now that's a great towbar Geezer!

(01-09-2013 09:32pm)Geezer71 Wrote:  so I just got a Westfalia detachable towbar and I am really surprised at what an outstanding job was done. here are the photos, as you can see there is no visible signs of the towbar when detached.

Do you mind me asking how much it cost?

£450. Took about 4 hrs