Temporary Noble
Guest
I thought I'd briefly share my tow bar fitting experience:
I went for a Bosal Swan Neck from Towequipe in Manchester. This can be used as removable in that the swan neck is only held on with two bolts, removing it just leaves a couple of plates below the bumper (see photo).
To fit the bar, the bumper has to come off, lights out first, then work around the edge removing ll the screws - 5 in each wheel arch, 2 revealed by each light cluster, lower lip underneath, then just pulls off towards the back of the car.
The tow bar bolts on in place of the crash bar, no drilling required, very simple.
I've mounted the electrics socket on the bumper, with a little metal bracket.
WIRING
There's lots of debate about this on here and other forums. I have used a smart relay from ebay, which can detect the difference between sidelights and brake lights, which are supplied by a single wire.
There's plenty of space at the near side to accommodate the relay, and the loom is over there for most of the wires. I've used the often dissed scotch blocks to tap into the loom, as I have done loads of times on other cars.
Near Side:
Off side:
The smart relay means you only need to tap in to the sidelights and brakes at one side - in fact one connection for both, and it figures it out for you. For the fog light I couldn't get a detectable signal without going all the way to the feed into the bulb holder, and running a wire all the way back across, but works that way.
SO, it is possible to fit and wire up yourself, using inexpensive components. My set up will not inform the ECU that I am towing. This may be a concern for you, in which case you need the trailer module and all the associated wiring. As I only tow occasionally, and locally, this would seem to be unnecessary to me. There's also the use for luggage carrying to consider, as I have a Thule luggage rack that we use for the annual Le Mans camping trip - but it's not a trailer and doesn't need to change the stability programme. To me, this negates the need for the ECU to be aware of a trailer, as there is not trailer even though the electrics are used.
Hope this helps...
I went for a Bosal Swan Neck from Towequipe in Manchester. This can be used as removable in that the swan neck is only held on with two bolts, removing it just leaves a couple of plates below the bumper (see photo).
To fit the bar, the bumper has to come off, lights out first, then work around the edge removing ll the screws - 5 in each wheel arch, 2 revealed by each light cluster, lower lip underneath, then just pulls off towards the back of the car.
The tow bar bolts on in place of the crash bar, no drilling required, very simple.
I've mounted the electrics socket on the bumper, with a little metal bracket.
WIRING
There's lots of debate about this on here and other forums. I have used a smart relay from ebay, which can detect the difference between sidelights and brake lights, which are supplied by a single wire.
There's plenty of space at the near side to accommodate the relay, and the loom is over there for most of the wires. I've used the often dissed scotch blocks to tap into the loom, as I have done loads of times on other cars.
Near Side:
Off side:
The smart relay means you only need to tap in to the sidelights and brakes at one side - in fact one connection for both, and it figures it out for you. For the fog light I couldn't get a detectable signal without going all the way to the feed into the bulb holder, and running a wire all the way back across, but works that way.
SO, it is possible to fit and wire up yourself, using inexpensive components. My set up will not inform the ECU that I am towing. This may be a concern for you, in which case you need the trailer module and all the associated wiring. As I only tow occasionally, and locally, this would seem to be unnecessary to me. There's also the use for luggage carrying to consider, as I have a Thule luggage rack that we use for the annual Le Mans camping trip - but it's not a trailer and doesn't need to change the stability programme. To me, this negates the need for the ECU to be aware of a trailer, as there is not trailer even though the electrics are used.
Hope this helps...
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