Westfalia Towbar on XC60 R-Design

[daern]

Originally Posted by wimorrison

do you still require the software update from Volvo to make the car work correctly with a towbar using the Westfalia harness?

The Westfalia electrics are actually more or less identical to the Volvo ones, using the same electrical connections, but apparently, the software update only disables the fog lights and reversing sensors when you have a trailer attached. The stability control stuff is baked into the car already. I've even read that most cars will just do it automatically without needing to be programmed and Westfalia state that no programming is needed.

I rarely use fog lights (personally, I think they should be banned on all cars anyway!) and I have a button on the dash to turn off the reversing buzzer when towing. If it really bugs me, I'll pay the Volvo tax, but I never bothered with my old XC90 and I probably won't here.

[Matto]

As stated above, the wiring is plug and play, the only thing it doesn't do is cut out the fog light on the towing car if your car has two fog lights as mine does.

Apparently they have released new wiring to deal with this issue, although for my bike rack and small trailer I don't see it being an issue anyway.

I can confirm the car knows when a trailer is connected as it cuts off the stop start function with a message saying tailer connected.

Really pleased with the quality of the kit and is easier tofit as I was told by a Volvo tech the Volvo wiring does nothing until it has been coded after fitting.

[daern]

After some delay getting the wiring kit from Westfalia, the bar was installed yesterday and I'm pretty happy with it. Sadly, I didn't get any decent photos as it was dark, but this one should give you some idea:


(this photo was taken kneeling down at around the same level as the parking sensors)

The big difference is that the OEM bars seem to come straight back out of the bumper, whereas the Westfalia (as is common with all of their detachable bars) uses a vertical mount and so comes out from underneath. Unfortunately, the XC60 bumper still needs to be cut out, but the cut is 95% on the flat, underside part and is barely visible from the back of the car unless you actually kneel down and look for it. The fitter took a huge amount of care to ensure that the cut is perfectly contoured around the bar and I don't think there's more than a few mm gap around the bar at any point.

Westfalia bars typically have a rotating electrical plug that can tuck back up when not in use, but as he was aware that I wanted as little impact to the car, he mounted the plug in a fixed position, pointing downwards at about 70 degrees. You can just about see it from the back, but I think it's pretty discreet.

I'll stick up a few more pics when I have a second, but I'm pretty happy with this install.

[Matto]

Looks nice, moody looking photo!

[daern]

Originally Posted by Matto

Looks nice, moody looking photo!

Don't know about moody - pitch black with a work light in the freezing cold

[daern]

OK, sorry for the delay, but here's a photo of the rear of the car without the towbar:



(I've boosted the contrast and brightness so you can make out the dark detail underneath - it really is hard to spot!)

As you can see, it's barely visible, with just the 13-pin socket poking out from under the black under-bumper section. The cut is also barely noticeable, unless you actually lie down and look underneath.

Having had a look around at some other third party options, and even the Brink / Thule OEM ones, they mostly seem to come straight out through the back of the bumper and rely on a trim piece to cover it. Based on this, I can confidently state that the Westfalia install is _much_ neater and doesn't need any sort of trim or cover pieces at all, which is much less faff IMHO.

Mine was installed by the guys at PDACar in Harrogate, who have done my last couple of cars and I can't recommend them highly enough.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[airxtreme]

Hi daern, the installation looks great and I have wondered why Westfalia have never made/considered a dedicated towbar for the R-Design.
Do you happen to know what the model number is of the towbar that you had installed as I would like to fit one of these to my my XC60 (2015). Thanks

[mordred1973]

I like the Polestar badge too...I had one of those 4 years ago then it vanished lol

[hancym]

Can anyone who's fitted a tow bar please tell me if the car then needs a software download.
I've just noticed the comment at the bottom of the description in the link below
https://www.volvopartshop.com/13-pin...17-16510-p.asp

[XCmacca]

I fitted my own tow bar on Sunday, not a difficult job if you have the tools and a bit of know how
I choose the Tow Trust bar as it is a good quality and unseen on my R-Design, good price from https://www.towbars-uk.co.uk/product...chable-towbar/
I then used the Volvo dedicated trailer wiring from https://www.volvopartshop.com/13-pin...17-16510-p.asp
I did plug the caravan in but lights did not work and on pressing the brake the indicator lights came on, booked in to have the module activated and software downloaded on thursday at main dealer.... cost £55, all should work fine then