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

Here are the pictures of the A1 detachable. No cutting required, but visible when detached.

Fitted at the factory in Sheffield, they have a courtesy car you can borrow while the job is being done.

http://www.a1tow.com/Fittings.aspx

(18-04-2014 04:25pm)trevd01 Wrote:  Here are the pictures of the A1 detachable. No cutting required, but visible when detached.

Fitted at the factory in Sheffield, they have a courtesy car you can borrow while the job is being done.

http://www.a1tow.com/Fittings.aspx

Hi,It looks to be a very neat job but what is the height to the centre of the ball as it appears to be low.

(18-04-2014 09:27pm)Silver Fox Wrote:  Hi,It looks to be a very neat job but what is the height to the centre of the ball as it appears to be low.

Just measured it. It's 390mm to the centre of the ball, unladen.

EC regulations for approved tow bars (which it is) require it to be between 350 and 420 mm 'laden', but the definition of laden seems to be a little bit ambiguous.

The tow ball height is fine with the trailer I use, but I guess it might not suit everyone?

Has anyone used the Kurt wiring harness on their setups and do you think that it would affect warranty or lease return?

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(22-08-2013 08:24pm)2ndChance Wrote:  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.

Thnaks for the detailed install! Good DIY!
Do you find there's any rubbing on the bottom of the bumper since you didn't cut the bumper?
Does it push the bumper up or anything?
I would rather not cut the bumper also.

FYI I did my install about a month ago and had to cut the bumper. I also had to modify the hitch itself as one of the mounting holes did not align with the bracket under the car. Curt say they modified the hitch to prevent both these problems but I think they sell so few of them that there's a lot of old stock around and there's a good chance you'll get one of those. Because the part numbers are the same there's no way to tell if you have an old one or a new one until you have everything in pieces and are under the car trying to fit it. At which point it will be a 10 minute job or 6 hours or cursing, swearing, grinding, cutting and wondering what the hell you let yourself in for. You could just put everything back together and send it back and hope a new one is sent in return but I opted to just go for it because I didn't have the time or patience to deal with attempting to return something this large and cumbersome. My end result actually looks good though so I'm not bothered about it now it's done and I'm using it.
The cutting problem isn't so much the outer plastic but there's a piece of black reinforced plastic behind the lower bumper that gets in the way of the hitch itself. In order to cut that away you need to cut the rear bumper itself too (if you're doing this without taking the bumper off). I've since seen another car where they fit this hitch without cutting and it deforms the plastic quite a lot. I prefer my cut as it does give "wiggle" room so nothing is touching or rubbing back there. And when all is said and done, you never see the hitch when you're driving and people behind you can't tell the difference.

(20-04-2014 04:51pm)chrisell Wrote:  FYI I did my install about a month ago and had to cut the bumper. I also had to modify the hitch itself as one of the mounting holes did not align with the bracket under the car. Curt say they modified the hitch to prevent both these problems but I think they sell so few of them that there's a lot of old stock around and there's a good chance you'll get one of those. Because the part numbers are the same there's no way to tell if you have an old one or a new one until you have everything in pieces and are under the car trying to fit it. At which point it will be a 10 minute job or 6 hours or cursing, swearing, grinding, cutting and wondering what the hell you let yourself in for. You could just put everything back together and send it back and hope a new one is sent in return but I opted to just go for it because I didn't have the time or patience to deal with attempting to return something this large and cumbersome. My end result actually looks good though so I'm not bothered about it now it's done and I'm using it.
The cutting problem isn't so much the outer plastic but there's a piece of black reinforced plastic behind the lower bumper that gets in the way of the hitch itself. In order to cut that away you need to cut the rear bumper itself too (if you're doing this without taking the bumper off). I've since seen another car where they fit this hitch without cutting and it deforms the plastic quite a lot. I prefer my cut as it does give "wiggle" room so nothing is touching or rubbing back there. And when all is said and done, you never see the hitch when you're driving and people behind you can't tell the difference.

Chrisell, Thanks for the pictures and the quick reply!
Okay so the black one is a different car.

I agree with your statement. You must have gotten one of the older ones. It would be totally frustrating. I would have wanted to drop kick someone!

Looks like you have the wiring harness too? It is the Kurt harness? Does it work well? Did you have to go back to dealership to get it reprogrammed or anything?

I was thinking I should get the Kurt receiver and the oem wiring harness. I think it's plug and play.

That is the Curt harness. Fit perfectly, works great. The dash shows me a trailer light when I'm using my indicators confirming the circuits are working. I didn't have to take it to the dealer. The car seems to figure it out from the resistance in the lighting circuit. I know if you have LED trailer lights they don't draw enough current so the car can't "tell" if you have a trailer plugged in. Fitting the harness is pretty easy if you have small hands. The existing plug is clipped underneath the car behind the drivers side rear wheel. It slides off the clip and then you can pull the blanking plug off it and plug the curt one in. Tip: the hitch cover I have came from etrailer.com and has a neat little rubber boot that stows the harness plug when you're not using it. I wrapped the last 6 inches of the wiring with black electrical tape just to make it look a little better. Otherwise it's white green and yellow.

(20-04-2014 06:08pm)chrisell Wrote:  That is the Curt harness. Fit perfectly, works great. The dash shows me a trailer light when I'm using my indicators confirming the circuits are working. I didn't have to take it to the dealer. The car seems to figure it out from the resistance in the lighting circuit. I know if you have LED trailer lights they don't draw enough current so the car can't "tell" if you have a trailer plugged in. Fitting the harness is pretty easy if you have small hands. The existing plug is clipped underneath the car behind the drivers side rear wheel. It slides off the clip and then you can pull the blanking plug off it and plug the curt one in. Tip: the hitch cover I have came from etrailer.com and has a neat little rubber boot that stows the harness plug when you're not using it. I wrapped the last 6 inches of the wiring with black electrical tape just to make it look a little better. Otherwise it's white green and yellow.

That's great to hear!
Thanks for the info Chris!

Finally decided to have a Tow Trust detachable tow bar fitted by North West Tow Bar Centre,located off junction 1 on the M60 at Stockport.
These premises are very easy to find after leaving the motorway and also very easy to access M60 on return.
Found this a very professional company with a well stocked shop of towing products etc.,and a dedicated waiting area with free hot beverages/biscuits and Wi fi etc.,
All management and staff are well presented in business uniforms and are customer focused and certainly consider that this is the best towing centre that I have used in the last 40 years.
Fitting took 2 hours and there was no cutting of the lower body/ bumper area on the Pure Tech model.
The receiver that is located underneath the rear bumper is invisible from a normal standing position and is supplied with a road protection cover to stop dirt etc., from entering the receiver.
The height of the attached hitch is 16.75/17" to centre of ball and connects to my Swift 540 Challenger to produce a correct ride height with slight nose down.
I also had fitted the 13 pin swivel electric socket which can be pushed up behind the bumper when not in use and therefore nothing can be seen when tow ball is not in use.
Will advise on actual tow findings when we undertake the first journey with the caravan during the second half of June 2014.

Westfalia without cutting rear bumper.