Pics/advice required - towbar on an Ibiza? (Cupra TDI)

[horace1664]

Update # 1: a contender!

Steveb8189 has very nicely posted up some pics of his Ibiza FR fitted with a "PCT" towbar he had fitted by Trident Trailers...

Trident Trailers seem to be Towbars are us [Edit: Was being too literate, I meant
"Towbars R Us"]
They list SK4165-1 for the Ibiza (Not Cupra).

Is there a number on Steveb8189's towbar?

The picture on the PCT website could be it but there must be other parts i.e.

ZC1260A (the towball), but what is the number of the curved square tube under the bumper?

I can't find this.

James

 

[a11y]

Yes, towbarsrus are the online arm of Trident Trailers (towbarsrus only supply towbars online, they do not fit them).

I'm not sure if I follow you about the part numbers!? Steve said he can see other writing on the towbar but it's not legible, but it's definately stamped with "PCT". There's only one PCT towbar listed for the Ibiza (the SK4165-1) on towbarsrus but the price listed includes the bar AND ball ("The full tow bar kits listed below include the tow bar and full fitting kit, the tow ball and ball cover, a single socket electrical kit with buzzer and full fitting and wiring instructions. The price listed includes FREE UK mainland delivery and includes VAT."). Bloody cheap too.

 

[horace1664]

Yes, towbarsrus are the online arm of Trident Trailers (towbarsrus only supply towbars online, they do not fit them).

I'm not sure if I follow you about the part numbers!?

Sorry, I was looking at the part numbers on the PCT website, as I don't live in the UK, the PCT part numbers are of interest to me.
I can't realy deal with international shipping costs!

James

 

[a11y]

Sorry, I was looking at the part numbers on the PCT website, as I don't live in the UK, the PCT part numbers are of interest to me.
I can't realy deal with international shipping costs!

James

Ahhh right. I think you might be better with one of the lafuente towbars you posted earlier - they look very neat and quite cheap too. Obviously no good for me as they only ship within mainland Europe (I've already checked think it'd be possibility!). Do you fancy a trip to Scotland to run in your new car when you get it?

I'm waiting until I can get a good look around a regular Ibiza rear end and try and assess the different dimensions to my Cupra. If it's looking possible to fit the detachable SEAT one, then that's what I'll do. I could justify the extra to get a neater solution if it's possible, but thanks to Steve I know of a definate option that will work.

Let me know how you get on and I will do too. I'll try and get up to the SEAT dealer next week and take my tape measure

Ally

 

[delaxm]

I've got the same problem & have bought a http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/towbars/vehicle_technical_details.aspx?VehicleTowbarID=1324 Witter SK11A towbar - only ever going to carry a mountain bike. I did toy with the idea of just fitting 2 bolts to the rear crossmember & having them protrude through 2 18mm holes drilled in the rear bumper to take the towbar flange, I could get 2 small plastic plugs painted to suit that would fit in the holes if I wanted to remove them.

 

[a11y]

I've got the same problem & have bought a http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/towbars/vehicle_technical_details.aspx?VehicleTowbarID=1324 Witter SK11A towbar - only ever going to carry a mountain bike. I did toy with the idea of just fitting 2 bolts to the rear crossmember & having them protrude through 2 18mm holes drilled in the rear bumper to take the towbar flange, I could get 2 small plastic plugs painted to suit that would fit in the holes if I wanted to remove them.

Have you got it fitted? My thoughts purely from reading the fitting instructions were that it involved a fair-sized cut in the bumper?

Great lateral thinking about fitting bolts onto the rear crossmember!

I'm waiting until I check out a regular Ibiza rear bumper at the nearest dealership before deciding if the removable one is possible. If it is then I'll get saving...

Ally

 

[mgrays]

If it is not a "tow bar" then it does not need to be EU type approved... so you could get a custom tow bar builder to make one(campervan tow bars are all custom and non EU type approved.. go search for them (found this out for someone else.. no mobile road blocks for me..)).. then you could get it to do what you want. Trouble is the cost.. £3-400 without electrics. Alternatively find someone you trust with a welder and show them that Witter installation document. Note .. it would probably be illegal to fit a towing ball to this non type approved bracket... but not a bike rack. Insurance then has a fit...humm.. maybe standard is easier.

As for being too close to the bumper ..you get 1" spacers to fit behind the 2 bolt flange type balls. No doubt not EU type approved ;-)

 

[a11y]

UPDATE:

Last night I stopped into Morrisons SEAT in Stirling to measure up the back end of a standard facelift Ibiza, so that I could compare the bumper dimensions with my Cupra one and hopefully figure out if the SEAT "Towbar - detachable swan neck" (part no. 6L0803890 @ £188) could be fitted to a Cupra. I wandered in to just tell the sales bloke what I was doing (in case he wondered why the hell I was measuring the back of an Ibiza on his forcourt...) and he ended up helping me a lot! Top bloke Graeme, didn't even seem to think I'm mad for wanting to fit a towbar to a Cupra, ended up chatting to him about cars for ages, but anyway back on topic...

SEAT UK told me (see earlier post) that this towbar won't fit the Cupra bumper because of clearance issues between the towball and the bumper. But the Cupra bumper is only 5mm deeper than the standard Ibiza bumper - 5mm is nothin, especially considering it's a bike rack I'm mounting and not a bloody caravan...

The only issue could be that the cover you can buy to fit in the gap in the bumper when the towbar isn't fitted is designed for a flatter surface than the bottom of the Cupra bumper, hence might not be the best fit.

But, I think I'm going to give it a try. Just wondering if anyone can spot any faults/issues that I've not seen before I go ahead and bash on with this?!

Any comments welcomed
Ally

 

[horace1664]

UPDATE:
Any comments welcomed
Ally

1) Only that the tow ball will obscure the numberplate (but as the towbar is removable and the bike rack has it's own plate, not a problem).

2) Not sure I like the idea of a carrier, that relies on friction on the towball itself (as this is a swan neck bar as opposed to the two bolt type), to stop the bikes dragging on the ground.

3) As I'm also considering this for a dog carrier, as is the norm here in Spain, 2) above is more of a worry for this use!

Good work in the research, all good info, I now just have to make up my mind...

James

 

[a11y]

Cheers!

I was seriously considering asking you to pick up one of those "lafuente" towbars and mailing it to me - they look very neat. But I think this should be OK with the SEAT one.

1) Yep, I'm planning on using a rack with built in plate holder and lighting board. It does mean I'll have to remove the towball whenever the rack's not attached otherwise it will obscure the car's plate.

2) I've always had concerns about the type of racks that clamp around the actual towball itself, but I had a good play with a 4-bike rack of this type on a friends car. It didn't budge despite there being 3 DH bikes plus one 90kg Scotsman standing on the rack . Certainly a 2-bike version shouldn't be a problem. The only issue about this type is that you can't carry bikes AND tow a trailer/caravan at the same time. Not an issue that I need to worry about though.

3) Do dogs in Spain not get allowed to sit inside cars? . Sounds a good plan though

 

[horace1664]

Cheers!
though.
3) Do dogs in Spain not get allowed to sit inside cars? . Sounds a good plan though

No, any animals in vehicles must be restrained, so generally, as most dogs are hunting dogs, they are banished to trailers or dog carriers.

James

 

[horace1664]

Cheers!

I was seriously considering asking you to pick up one of those "lafuente" towbars and mailing it to me - they look very neat. But I think this should be OK with the SEAT one.

Did you try this (i.e. the SEAT one)?
James

 

[a11y]

I was just thinking about an update...

I didn't try the SEAT one in the end, although I got as far as speaking to the parts department at the dealership (Morrisons Stirling) - they were supposed to contact me back but never did. Their loss, my gain, as I managed to successfully fit a different towbar on Saturday!

My internet at home is gubbed (I'm at work at the moment, sshhhh) so I can't upload any pics yet, but I fitted a Bosal swan-neck detachable Eco-fit towbar - bought from the ebay shop "Fot your own towbars - Towequippe". The towbar is listed as "exc. Cupra" but I can guarantee it fits 100%! Took me and a mate about 2.5 hours to fit on Saturday - most of the time spent removing the rear bumper then making a cut in the bumper. You have to make a 50mm x 85mm cut in the underside of the bumper right from the edge, but it's totally invisible without lying down on the ground to look at it. I've still to sort out the electrics but will do this week.

And it BT get their finger out their ar*e then I'll upload some pics to let you see.

I'm happy with it
Ally

 

[horace1664]

Good news.
Is there the magic 65mm clearance between ball and bumper?
Well done.
James

 

[muddyboots]

1) Only that the tow ball will obscure the numberplate (but as the towbar is removable and the bike rack has it's own plate, not a problem).

Perfect excuse to buy a private plate with less letters/numbers than normal, so you can space them either side of the towbar

 

[horace1664]

Perfect excuse to buy a private plate with less letters/numbers than normal, so you can space them either side of the towbar

I'm sure Mr Plod would be impressed by that.

Good lateral thinking though.

 

[a11y]

Good news.
Is there the magic 65mm clearance between ball and bumper?
Well done.
James

Not even checked that yet, but I'll have a measure later and post up when I'm back in work. There's a fault on our broadband line at home, life's sooo hard without access...

 

[horace1664]

: There's a fault on our broadband line at home, life's sooo hard without access...

Tell me about it.
It took 1 1/2 years to get broadband here, as I refused to be blackmailed by the local equivelent of BT...
Spent my time on a dialup account in the UK, as it was cheaper than a local dial up!

 

[a11y]

Wahay! Finally, BT have fixed the line fault after 2 weeks of no internet at home... useless gits when it came to fixing it.

But here's a few bits of info for anyone thinking about a towbar on an Ibiza, and specifically, a Cupra. Look away now if you're an Ibiza purist...

horace1664: 75mm clearance between towball and bumper

After a lot of indecision and measuring up, I ordered a "Bosal Swan-neck Detachable Ecofit" towbar from www.towequippe.co.uk (they also have the ebay shop "Fit your own towbar"). The towbar is listed as being "not suitable for Cupra, but that's a load of crap - it fits perfectly fine. Set me back £144 delivered, including single 7-pin electrics and a good set of fitting instructions. A mate and me set about fitting it last weekend, took us about 2.5hrs in total including bumper removal and refitting. I did the electrics myself a couple of days later and took me a further 1.5hrs or so:

The bits:

The towbar itself (this replaces the existing crash bar behind the bumper):

Scarey!

You can see the towbar in place - there's a "leg" at either side which slot into holes. These are then secured in place directly onto a part of the chassis using holes already there (no drilling or welding or anything silly required):

The bumper cut required (85mm x 45mm, on the bottom side of the bumper):

With the towball not attached (taken before I attached the electric socket beside it):

And attached (taken before I attached the electric socket beside it):

Side on pic (75mm clearance between ball and bumper - 65mm minimum is required by law):

I'm very happy with it. For my purposes it does the job - just remember the Cupra versions have a 0kg towing limit, but I only intend supporting a bike rack on it so it's no worse than carrying an extra 50kg in the boot. I don't know if I'd ever risk towing anything with it though, just in case it knackers something on the car.

So in reply to my original post, yes: you can fit a towbar to a Seat Ibiza Cupra TDI

 

[a11y]

And a few pics of it in use...

I just bought myself a Thule Euroway 947 3-bike carrier (about £190 and has a built-in lighting board and numberplate holder).

Singlespeeds are cool!

If anyone ever stumbles across this thread in a search and has any Q's, drop me a PM.

Cheers
Ally