QR Towbar fitting instructions

http://topix.landrover.jlrext.com/topix/...&id=165510

bloody hell...that isa job and a half!
one ordered too....

And even if you do it yourself the dealer still has to attack the electronic side of it so the little light comes on on the dash........... unless they have now made it plug and play with no enablement required.

Link doesn't work for me.......

Well I get to the section, but can't locate anything about towbar fitting?

Dave

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I've found it now!

I'm hoping you are able to swing the electrics socket, back up into the cut out, so that when you have a removable ball, it looks a little neater.....

Anyone got a dealer price for the removable one with electrics?

Dave

(23-08-2011 09:23pm)FullFatTim Wrote:  And even if you do it yourself the dealer still has to attack the electronic side of it so the little light comes on on the dash........... unless they have now made it plug and play with no enablement required.

According to the fitting instruction it is plug into the electrical socket that is already there by the chassis rail and three fuses/relays in the glovebox fusebox. It says nothing about coding, which it clearly did for the FL2 electrics. Also the price of the electic kit vs the cost of the one for my FL2 reflect that the towing relay module etc is already in the car, which wasn't on the FL2 kit, hence the coding. I think they have taken a leaf out of BMW/Mercs book and made it plug and play, but am willing to be corrected.

I fitted the bar on my last FL2 and the instructions looked just as complicated but the reality when you have the parts in front of you was much easier. It is the cutting that tales the time (ie making sure it is in the right place etc), and working out how the bumper comes off, although again I expect that to only be a couple of bolts behind each wheel arch and a couple along the bottom of the diffuser.

As and when I get my car I will put together a fitting guide, but it probably won't be until January

BFG - A fitting guide with 'real' pictures would be great.

On the quick release guide, are they suggesting you fit part Q, when you don't have the actual ball inserted?

Dave

(24-08-2011 07:43am)HA54SYM Wrote:  BFG - A fitting guide with 'real' pictures would be great.

On the quick release guide, are they suggesting you fit part Q, when you don't have the actual ball inserted?

Dave

Yes, this bit goes into where the towball would normally go. On my FL2, this survived about 12months, before thang on the top snapped off, and then I wedged it on for a bit, and then it fell out one day. I am sure I could have got a replacement, but apart from the asthetics it didn't affect the operation in the slightest!

Two tipes:

1. I think that the electric socket location is a bit naff (surely the point of a removable bar is that the towbar is pretty much hidden when not in use. On my last FL2 I managed to rotate the socket 90 degress (so that the flap opened downwards) and then attached it to one of the bumper mounting screws along the bottom lip of the bumper. That way it was completely hidden.

2. Make the cut out for the towbar receiver as small as possible. On my last FL2 I made it about 2mm bigger than the reciever rather than the 2 cm gap that the template said. It makes a big differance to the overall effect. I think this kit has a rubber lip to go round the edge of the whole; if it doesn't then use some door edge protector strip and cut to size, it finishes the job off nicely.

Now all I need is the car to attached the towbar to....

I think it's such a pity that LR didn't design the towing system into the car like they do with the RRS and Disco3 & 4 - they all leave the factory with a removable panel in the rear bumper and behind that is the mounting position for the towbar and a very substantial recovery eye attached to the chassis. When the towball isn't in use you remove it and stow it in the car or leave it at home and replace the clip in cover. It's a very neat way round the ugliness of having a bracket sticking out all the time and I cannot understand why people with D3's and RRS's stick on the aftermarket or permanent type towbars. AFAIK there is no difference in the weights they can pull.

FullFatTim, or design one that doesn't need the bumper cutting!

The LR bar for my FL2 needed the dreaded cut, but now one can buy a Westphalia fully detachable (vertically from underneath) with no cut and swing down electric socket (and it costs no more than the Thule/LR part).

I suspect if one can, then one should wait as long as possible for a towbar from other manufacturers to see if they need less hacking around. I know for example that Bosal have a bar (with part number) on their website which is a vertical detchable. When I phoned them about price they said it would be about £350, so it might be worth trying them before comitting to the LR bar.

I can post a link if that is deemed acceptable to the bosal online catalgue and UK service number

Interesting BFG, the systems on my RRS's and both FFRR's was Westphalia

I'm not too keen to have aftermarket towing kit in view of warranty problems I have experienced in the past with a girlfriend's Freelander1 when the towbar fitters voided her warranty by not putting the electrics in correctly and she required to have a whole new wiring loom to stop the alarm from continually going off.