Tow Bar Fitting..How To

Well i will try to be as brief as possible on how to fit a factory towbar to an A2 (we have now done this)
So, well i bought a cheap A2 thinking it was a bargain and it was not (but it had a tow bar)
Then my friend wanted the factory towbar fitting on his car
Bare with us as our combined age is 142 ! A2-Dork & Robo
This job would be much easier on a ramp (i have one)

Here we go
1. remove the rear wheels
2. remove the wheel arch liners
3. remove the rear bumper (there is a how to thread already on here as we used that for info)
4. you will see 2 bumper reinforcing bars 1 metal 1 aluminum Remove both, the tow bar uses the same bolts



Towbar


you must have 2 of these they are pop riveted into the chassis


you have to drill the chassis as Audi has not provided this


you need 1/4 inch pop rivets
check the tow bar bolt holes line up before you pop rivet this in



the rear bumper has to be cut, fortunately we had a cut bumper from the donor car
the wiring is easy plug and play into the rear lights, battery etc
hope this helps but if you buy one make sure its taken off properly and you have all the bits
more info and pics to come i hope (camera was acting up)

oh dont forget to refit the bumper etc.. lol

This is identical to the fitting of the aftermarket GDW towbar that can be bought on Ebay. It's easy to install.

nice write up & photos.

i would love it if you had a "how to remove rear bumper" for the novices like me with photos provided

cammy

You have a lot of pics in this "Einbauhilfe" : https://www.rameder.fi/out/media/103334-04382-2-fitting-help-v1.pdf

Hi,

Thanks for creating this thread, I have added it to the "How to" section.

Steve B

brilliant steaman and i will attempt this at some point after i do the gearbox oil change can this be translated?

and this is good for the "how to" section like steve says

cammy

Nice little read and some informative photos. Im tackling this job soon. Has anybody got any idea on the Towbar electrics? I would like to go the OEM route rather than piggy back on the rear lights.

Not sure if it's still available but Audi list a wiring kit (item 5) - https://audi.7zap.com/en/rdw/audi+a2/a2/2003-248/0/071-71010/

Cheers Spike

Yes I'm hesitant to pick up the phone and call as I'm quite sure the price will be extortionate if they do have them available.

It might be worth noting that the riveted support brackets in this how too were not riveted on the car which I extracted them from. They were welded in. I have refitted them today to my car with rivets.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You could always mnessage Tom at CreweAudi, he will give you a price?

Steve B

putyourmittenson said:

Yes I'm hesitant to pick up the phone and call as I'm quite sure the price will be extortionate if they do have them available.

It might be worth noting that the riveted support brackets in this how too were not riveted on the car which I extracted them from. They were welded in. I have refitted them today to my car with rivets.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

The welded in caps denote a car that had towing fitted at the factory. That's how my caps are, but I've not bothered fitting them as I only ever use the tow bar for bike carrier duties.

Skipton01 said:

The welded in caps denote a car that had towing fitted at the factory. That's how my caps are, but I've not bothered fitting them as I only ever use the tow bar for bike carrier duties.

Click to expand...

Yes i suspected that would be the case.
When you say you've not fitted them are you referring to the support brackets as shown in picture 5?

I've done a bit more digging and it looks like the towbar electrics kit was discontinued in 2011.
Still could be a tiny chance there are some 'new - old stock' kits around at a good price though

Cheers Spike

Not sure if I'm right here. On the V5C of my A2 under vehicle details part O says "Technical permissible maximum towable mass of the trailer" and on mine it's blank. What would happen if I did fit a towbar - would I be in breach of the Road Traffic Act or some other piece of legislation?

I'm not intending to (in fact selling my trailer as not needed now) but I wouldn't want anyone to get caught out on this. maybe someone with a legal mind here can clarify this.

trevorswaine said:

Not sure if I'm right here. On the V5C of my A2 under vehicle details part O says "Technical permissible maximum towable mass of the trailer" and on mine it's blank. What would happen if I did fit a towbar - would I be in breach of the Road Traffic Act or some other piece of legislation?

I'm not intending to (in fact selling my trailer as not needed now) but I wouldn't want anyone to get caught out on this. maybe someone with a legal mind here can clarify this.

Click to expand...

Odd, can only imagine it is an oversight, my 2005 TDI says 1000Kg /540Kg for braked vs unbraked trailers. Can't imagine you having issues with this though always best to check (no need to give insurance companies an excuse).

I think the towbar dataplate was fitted from 2002 and earlier cars could obtain retrospective approval and a dataplate (8X0092190 ?) from Audi.
The EC approval number is shown in this link - https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/tow-bar-construction-diy.28044/post-230759

Cheers Spike

Are the support brackets in picture 5 absolutely necessary as the bar is bolted to the chassis.

hunter said:

Are the support brackets in picture 5 absolutely necessary as the bar is bolted to the chassis.

Click to expand...

I've been using the towbar without these recessed brackets for nearly 2 years. Granted, I've only used it for carrying a towbar-mounted bicycle carrier (3-way, so around 30kg total weight), but I can't see that it's needed for anything other than stabilising the arms that protrude into the chassis legs - they'll provide no structural support to the assembly.

I would say that they are a must. Remember this is aluminium. The variation in the nose pressure while driving may result in Aluminium fatigue at the other mounting points.

Skipton01 said:

I've been using the towbar without these recessed brackets for nearly 2 years. Granted, I've only used it for carrying a towbar-mounted bicycle carrier (3-way, so around 30kg total weight), but I can't see that it's needed for anything other than stabilising the arms that protrude into the chassis legs - they'll provide no structural support to the assembly.

Click to expand...

Hi skipton01

I'm a new member of the a2oc based in lincolnshire,have owned my a2 for four years now,over that time i have upgraded the car to a top spec with the help of tom timmus.I have just managed to purchase the rare factury towbar but missing these brackets,do you still have them and would you sell them to me.I hope to also help a2oc members out as i do have bits for sale,thanks this looks to be a brilliant forum to be a member of

pete