Tow Bar for the Tiguan

[Dan_3MPS]

Firstly i dont use my Tiguan for Towing as i have a diesel Navara ,But for safety i bought a CURT towbar from the USA its rated at 3.500lbs
Its main purpose is to protect me from rear ends and car parks ,
All Tiguans come with a fully installed beam across the rear of the vehicle, The one i bought come with two chain connections and can be installed by any one with any common sense ,Its only a matter of removing the cut out ,slip the attachment into the cut out area and install the high tensile bolts into the preinstalled beam which has the already holes and just tighten
This towbar is legal all through the USA and Canada and all through Europe but not here ?
And i installed my own trailer wiring only had a friend ok the install on his laptop
Can tow upto 6,000 lbs

Curt New Hitch Rear VW Volkswagen Tiguan 2009-2012,2014-2017 | eBay

Got any photos of it installed on your car Ian? Looks quite interesting. Have you used it to tow and/or put bike racks on?

I had a look for some information, found some on etrailer and Curt but for older model Tiguan and the new long Tiguan, not our Australian market short versions.

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[ian]

YouTube

https://www.carid.com/2017-volkswage...ailer-hitches/

[Dan_3MPS]

Ah yeah, they're for the old model. Change to 2018 and you get the ones suitable for the Mk2 Tiguan.

[Dan_3MPS]

A massive word of warning for those that are considering purchasing Westfalia from Australia Tow Bars - the reliability of their installers out of Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne should be heavily questioned.

I live in Canberra and purchased a Westfalia for my Mk2 Tiguan R-Line with install in May of last year and have tried consistently to have it installed using their installers in Canberra. 3 Failed attempts I finally had the tow-bar installed in December but the installer didn't do the wiring as it was 'too hard'. Their resolution was for me to drive to Sydney or 'find someone myself' with no guarantee that I'd be refunded the full amount.

Long story short. I'd be very, very cautious about purchasing from them.

Doesn't sound good. Did they specifically say what part of the wiring was difficult? Makes me wonder if the CANBUS connection needs to be done, assuming the new Australian delivered Tiguans do have the trailer preparation option already. On the PQ35/36 platform (old Tiguan, Mk5/6 Golf etc) a connection was required to CAN high and low in the area just above the accelerator. If you didn't have the special Y piece that came with the VW branded trailer control module kit it was a real PITA...

Do you mind sharing how much they charged you? I've enquired a couple of times now online with no reply yet, may have to pick up the phone.

I'm still tossing up sourcing and installing my own or paying to have it all done. Had a quote from a local VW dealer, ~$1770 for the Best Bars towbar and VW electrics fitted, also a quote from another installer for a Hayman Reese bar (looks better than the Best Bars one, appears to have no bumper cuts) for $1000 without electrics or $1200 with bypass electrics (nope nope...)

Or, PF Jones from the UK is ~$865 delivered for Westfalia bar and electrics, which I then have to muck around installing myself.

[Lighty]

Mate, I definitely recommend the Westfalia. They dont even have to cut any piece of the car to install it. When you take the gooseneck out, you cant see any evidence of a tow bar.[/url]

Hi all - recent reader, first time poster. Took delivery on an R-Line in January but held off on the OEM towbar after reading the comments in this thread.

Have been considering the Westfalia bar to avoid cutting the rear bumper (as I saw in another thread). Local dealer here in Adelaide nearly led me astray saying that he had an R-Line in the service yard with a tow bar and no cutting... turned out to be a customer car which I’m pretty sure I’ve driven beside in Adelaide (where the towbar installation looked very clean).

If anyone has any Westfalia installer recommendations/details in Adelaide (and any recent experience/tips), I’d appreciate the info.

[Dan_3MPS]

I ended grabbing an Australian spec Westfalia bar, but with 7 pin flat bypass electrics for now. The price of the OEM electric kit is around $500 locally which scared me off. I haven't seen the full kit available ex-Germany, only the module. The plug from module to trailer plug is different to the spare older version kit I have from my older Golf, so I'll wait until I can source the newer kit from Europe or wait for the local dealer spares price to come down.

In hindsight, wish I had got the Hayman Reese bar as having the standard hitch means many accessories are available. The Westfalia bar limits things somewhat as it's the removable swan neck. Not entirely invisible either when removed like I was led to believe, see the pic. But, no cutting required.




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[marcuskmt]

If anyone has any Westfalia installer recommendations/details in Adelaide (and any recent experience/tips), I’d appreciate the info.

I am in Adelaide, but I got Jarred from Audio Fidelity in Victoria to install it for me (his installer was in Adelaide) and Jarred knows how to connect wire it and update VW Germany.

His fees are on the higher end, but I couldn't be happier. Installation is neat, integrates with unit, almost invisible and good honest service.

Contact | autofidelity

[Jackson22]

Still looking for a decent towbar option for the MY18 Tiguan Adventure.

Quote for Hayman Reese, $1670!!!. Took them 3 weeks to reply and they tell me that the reverse camera may not like it when the slide in/out towing part and ball is on. But they won't know until after the fact. I can turn the camera sound off to address it or take the part off. Can anyone tell me if this is normal? I am hesitant to pay that much money if it means I have to take it out each time or disable the reversing camera sound?

Given the astronomical and stupid price, I am reluctantly even considering going with a VW one... Can anyone tell me their experience of towbar camera issues? with hayman reece or VW? It's a lot of money for the odd trailer trip and a bike rack..

[Dan_3MPS]

Still looking for a decent towbar option for the MY18 Tiguan Adventure.

Quote for Hayman Reese, $1670!!!

That's expensive. I was quoted $1210 fitted with bypass electrics for a Hayman Reese towbar.

VW dealer quoted $1769 for the OEM towbar fitted with proper electrics.

Both quotes from March in Brisbane.

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[doc_777]

I paid something like close to 1800 for the genuine bar on my Alltrack. Kinda figured it was a one-off expense, and if VW stuffed anything, then VW could fix it.