V50 General : Fitting a towbar

[LeNoir]

Thanks Ross, if I turn up to get my car and the dealer has cut the bumper there is going to be trouble for sure!

[tanstair]

Do you happen to recall which one does not require modification to the bumper?

Alistair

[s40_kid]

Originally Posted by tanstair

Do you happen to recall which one does not require modification to the bumper?

Alistair

i think the witter vl44q does not require a cut but this is detachable and costs a bit more than standard and is for the sport bumper model. The bar is stated as being for a post 2007 but fitted it fine to my 2005 sport model.

[kinetic]

I fitted a towbar and electrics to my 2006 V50 2.0D Sport last weekend. I'm not a mechanic, but I found the whole fitting experience really straightforward.

I shopped around for supply/fit prices and got quotes ranging from £400 up to £650 (from my local Volvo dealership). Ouch!

After about a month of reading forums, contacting fitting companies, looking at towbar designs, electrics and studying on-line fitting instructions etc. etc., I decided on the DIY route.

I bought a Bosal swan neck fixed bar (P/N 033521) and a Westfalia dedicated 13pin wiring kit (P/N 320051) from Towequipe. Total cost was approx. £175.

Installation took less than a day. Fitting the towbar was really straightforward after taking the rear bumper off. No drilling required. The swan neck towbar looks really tidy and only required a very small cutout (approx 4cm wide) on the bottom suspended section of the bumper - something none of the suppliers make particularly clear. The wiring kit was also straightforward (comprising plug in connectors mainly) and DID NOT require any software mods - everything worked straight out of the box as Westfalia claimed it would - using a V50 dedicated kit is an absolute must in my opinion.

Hope this helps!

[Mick1539]

Originally Posted by kinetic

I fitted a towbar and electrics to my 2006 V50 2.0D Sport last weekend. I'm not a mechanic, but I found the whole fitting experience really straightforward.

I shopped around for supply/fit prices and got quotes ranging from £400 up to £650 (from my local Volvo dealership). Ouch!

After about a month of reading forums, contacting fitting companies, looking at towbar designs, electrics and studying on-line fitting instructions etc. etc., I decided on the DIY route.

I bought a Bosal swan neck fixed bar (P/N 033521) and a Westfalia dedicated 13pin wiring kit (P/N 320051) from Towequipe. Total cost was approx. £175.

Installation took less than a day. Fitting the towbar was really straightforward after taking the rear bumper off. No drilling required. The swan neck towbar looks really tidy and only required a very small cutout (approx 4cm wide) on the bottom suspended section of the bumper - something none of the suppliers make particularly clear. The wiring kit was also straightforward (comprising plug in connectors mainly) and DID NOT require any software mods - everything worked straight out of the box as Westfalia claimed it would - using a V50 dedicated kit is an absolute must in my opinion.

Hope this helps!

Hi, is your rear bumper a standard one or does it have the rear splitter?

Cheers Mick

[tanstair]

Well its been a while now :-) has anyone fitted the towbar themselfs yet? which company did you buy from, I'm looking at fitting this myself, which I'm more that confident I'll be able todo, I'm just worried about the Electrical fitting, is it plug and play? do i need to cut out a piece of my bumper? ( dont want to do this ) and whats with the parking sensors? are they going to switch off automaticaly when the trailers plugged in?

was looking at these.

http://www.toys4cars.co.uk/index.php...ducts_id=82981

http://www.towequipe.co.uk/products/...04-on-kit.html

opinions are welcome :-)

[gmbj27]

Got a quote from my local Volvo dealer for a fixed towbar at well over £400 fitted and when I questioned this I was told the parts would cost them £260 alone, and then there would be labour and software update at £100. Are you sure this is right Clan? Are these parts only? BTW this was for my 2006 v50.

Originally Posted by Clan

Where do these crazy prices come from?
Volvo recenly re-aligned their tow bar prices , make sure your dealer is aware of this !
Parts prices inc VAT for the Kit below :

V50 MY08- Fixed 7 Pin Towbar Total 218.29
V50 MY08- Fixed 13 Pin Towbar Total 302.85
V50 MY08- Detachable 7 Pin Towbar Total 312.78
V50 MY08- Detachable 13 Pin Towbar Total 397.34

[Clan]

Originally Posted by gmbj27

Got a quote from my local Volvo dealer for a fixed towbar at well over £400 fitted and when I questioned this I was told the parts would cost them £260 alone, and then there would be labour and software update at £100. Are you sure this is right Clan? Are these parts only? BTW this was for my 2006 v50.

yes that sounds about right , remember VAT has gone up since i listed those prices which were for parts only ..

Note: non volvo tow bars dont seem to have the big A frame fitted between Towball and side chassis rails so all the load is taken on the box section across the rear . Only Volvo towbars are crash tested and guarantee the parking sensors still work properly ..

[Loskie]

Lloyd volvo in Carlisle fitted a Witter Flange type fixed towbar(Their part no:ZVL44A) and single electrics for me inclusive of software upgrade for £379.39 in Aug 2009, Also provided a loan car despite not selling me my car.
I specifically asked for the Witter Flange Type as it did not require a bumper cut and suited my cycle carrier and they were very obliging in ordering it in for me.
One drawback is however it sits quite low and on driving up the slope to the side of our house sometimes catches if fully laden. I have since looked at ones that are cut and in most cases it is minimal. IIRC the Volvo ones are made by Bosal but I am prepared to stand corrected on this.
One reason that I got the main dealer to fit it was that if I had a future warranty claim then they could not blame the non standard electrics.

[gazmate]

Anyone fitted a tow bar to a v50 r design recently?

i am about to go down this route so looking to learn from anyone whos done this recently?