Towbar and the A2...

bretti_kivi

bretti_kivi

Member
Why do so many towbar people have simply wrong information? What is it with the "no homologation"? It's simply not true - so why is it still there?

If bosal can create and homologate a 'bar, and rameder have one on their site, GDW have one, Alko created the original - can someone please explain the (wilful??) ignorance of these website owners?

Sorry, I'm really annoyed about this. I'd like to add a towbar with minimum cost and this misinformation is downright irritating.

Any thoughts / comments? I'd like to post a link to this thread to several of the shops... I can't use the German one as they won't understand.

Bret
 
I have also been seriously thinking of fitting a tow bar this year. Unluckily I don't have air conditioner and according to Spikes document A2Towbar061.pdf it is required to get manufacturer's approval :(
 
Hi jupis
The cooling system on cars with aircon is slightly upgraded which is why Audi only supplied the factory fit towbar with this option. This would only be an issue if you are planning to tow something near the legal weight limit for the car. Even in the hottest summer just keep an eye on the temperature gauge and drive sensibly and it won't be a problem.

Cheers Spike
 
Thank you for your suggestion. My car is registered with the information of max weight to tow so in that sense it should be legal to install a tow bar. It sounds pretty harmless if temperature is the reason for the limitation and I doubt I would use it ever for such heavy loads ;) And as you said, when you know it, it's easy to keep an eye on temperature.
 
Have you Brett found a tow bar for your car yet? A new one is ~550 e bought from a local dealer. To me it is pretty expensive. Together with the power chords it would be around 780 e, just the parts. :( Maybe one could use chords from another car, I don't know.
 
kallis on!

no, mä on löytynyt Hollanissa yhden @ €244 + kaapelisalaatti --> ca. €350. Kupplung.de ja muut tarjoaa tavallisesti €350+ kaapelit.

I'll go look and see if I can find the cheap offer as I'll probably need it :)

Bret
 
In the moment, I have asked only from the audi shop nearby. This is interesting hook you have found! :) I guess it is not the original hook from Audi. This price would be pretty much acceptable from my side. I'm just wondering if it includes the cables or not.
 
I will see what I can do about getting a good price, quite a lot of interest, but the price will be important.

Original price is now €420 in Germany; I should be able to get at least 10% on that, but....


EDIT: got a quote for around €350 all in. That's better. Shipping here will be €37. That is including the cables for FIS; without FIS it should be €300.

Bret
 
Last edited:
To me it doesn't really matter whether it is original or something else. It's still just a hook, removable or not.
 
GDW towbar

I bought a GDW towbar from Bertelshofer and mounted it today. The fitting was really bad. From left to right it differentiated more than 3 mm and from the instruction to reality it differentiated more than 5 mm. It might not seem so much but when you're drilling a 40,5 mm hole in the chassis of your A2 you don't want to misplace the hole by 5 mm. One of the brackets was twisted 3 - 5 degrees which made it very difficult to mount.

The manual was very uninformative and either you have to be a Audi engineer who knows every screw in the car or you have to play hide and seek with every screw to find them.

I would never recomend a GDW tow-bar to anyone. The fitting is just too bad and the manual is too short and without pictures. Buy something else.

Tom
 
Hi all
picking up 2001 1.4tdi today
am thinking of fitting tow bar as have jetski does anyone know the wieght limit for towing with an a2?
cheers dave
 
Cheers hiedi
not sure what that means as checked v5 andhas no official wieghts its blank so am under the assumption has not been rated for towing!!
will have to use mates car to go ski-ing:(:(
 
In the EWG (Übereinstimmungsbescheinigung) also known as a CoC (Certificate of Conformity) for my car it says that the maximum load of a trailor with brakes is 1000 kg and 540 kg for a trailor without brakes.
I would be surprised if it is not the same for your car since I also have a 1,4TDI.

I just happened to take a look in the owners manual and the same numbers are there as well.
 
Last edited:
Hi Xiter
Thats probably right but our CofC the V5 usually has the same info and was led to believe if not shown on v5 then not legally allowed too tow!!!
This may be wrong and hopefully someone will point me in the right direction but as is at the moment will not risk it till i get the definitive answer.
many thanks Dave
 
Which has priority? A European or UK document?

I'll say now (and it's something many won't like) that the EU has priority, BUT the UK can change the rules "slightly". It's the same in all of the EU countries, that the broad line is given and the details are locally defined.

Bottom line: talk to the DVLA about why there is no towing weight given. If it's an early A2, it's possible that you will need a new type sticker (the one under the carpet in front of the right-hand seat) because the later homologation was in 2001, including towbar. That's why the confusion exists in the first place.

In fact, you don't need to do that. Read this thread: http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6842&highlight=towbar

"For vehicles up to 2002, request clearance certificate from Audi Customer Service Department. (trailer load not entered in the vehicle documents)"

Bret
 
Last edited:
Cheers for that Bretti
will speak to Audi customer services!
Your right Eu assumes priority over all member states but hopefully one day they will get sorted out and start achieving what they were setup for!!!

Regards Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top