New Tiguan 4 Motion with Factory Swivel Towbar
Hi, has anyone taken delivery of the new model VW Tiguan with a factory fitted, swivel towbar? I'm just about to hit the buy button, but want to make sure it has clearance for an Alko stabiliser. If you have, what is the clearance between the centre of
the towball and the bumper. According to Alko, I need min 67mm for my AKS3004.
Thanks
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I know other VW cars have not had the clearance or the correct wiring for the caravan fridge as they were fitted to the minimum EU standard. Before buying I would get definite confirmation on the clearance and the wiring and any order should be on condition
the correct clearance is there and the electrics are wired up for the caravan..0 -
I had an issue with this on an old style RLine which had different bumpers from the standard model. VW and the dealer were totally uninterested.
The wiring on mine was fine.
Hopefully they have sorted the issue for the new model, personally I would want hard facts before proceeding with the purchase.
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If you Google "New Tiguan Towbar" you`ll find the following reference about halfway down the first result page "1 day ago ... i had delivery of a 2016 Tiguan at the end of June, despite it not having the towbar on
it I had ordered. It was expected, I was told in the next few ..." - its actually a question to the Caravan Club expert but must have been posted when site was undergoing maintenance. It may well refer to a dealer fit towbar rather than the factory fit. I
have a swivel towbar on a Merc and they are worth every penny.0 -
I'm sorry I cant help you with the new Tig but the old one did not have sufficient clearance for the alko stabiliser according to alko's requirements. I got all the measurements for the towbar from a very helpful gentleman at vw in Germany as no one in
this country could help. I ended up getting a dealer fitted towbar, that was much more expensive of course.However, I did inspect a Tig with the factory fit towbar on site and in practice it did not seem to cause a problem when it was hitched up To the caravan. Not a risk I would take though.
Good luck with obtaining the info you need - if I remember correctly vw provided me with a technical drawing, showing all the measurements and the ball was a few mms too close to the bumper.
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I do not have one of the new Tiguans, but I have purchased new cars in the past, and on occasions have made the mistake of ordering a tow bar fitted as part of the deal. Every time I've done that, I have discovered quite quickly that neither the fridge nor the on board battery was being charged whilst towing.
It was quite evident that the supplying dealer had no idea of the requirements of a modern caravan, and did not understand the vagaries of the 13 pin system.
My advice is take delivery of your new car as specified, and then take it to a reputable specialist tow bar fitting company. They will fit a tow bar,- properly approved for your car, and also ensure that all wiring is correctly fitted in such a way as not to invalidate your warranty.
You may well find that your car dealership uses them too, but then inflates the price to you to cover their costs etc.
TF
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Thanks for the responses so far. I have got the dealer on the case and also the UK VW technical department. It is not very easy to get the answer! Once I do, I will post on here so others can see. It is a cracking car and a big improvement on the old
version.0 -
On the electrics check what the brochure says - the Passat brochure says the factory fit tow bar comes with a fully wired socket which indeed it did on our Passat which has the excellent electric swivel tow bar and special rear bumper - all much neater and
better than any after market fit could ever be.0 -
The only German manufacturers who seem to have difficulty with electrics from the posts are BMW and Audi, VW sorted the issue some time ago. Dealers have a blind spot on all things caravan whatever they tell you have it written into the contract of sale!
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The only German manufacturers who seem to have difficulty with electrics from the posts are BMW and Audi, VW sorted the issue some time ago. Dealers have a blind spot on all things caravan whatever they tell you have it written into the contract of sale!
Write your comments here...
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The BMW dealer i dealt with fully understood my needs regarding the additional wiring required for fridge / charging, all OK on collection.
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If you Google "New Tiguan Towbar" you`ll find the following reference about halfway down the first result page "1 day ago ... i had delivery of a 2016 Tiguan at the end of June, despite it not having the towbar on
it I had ordered. It was expected, I was told in the next few ..." - its actually a question to the Caravan Club expert but must have been posted when site was undergoing maintenance. It may well refer to a dealer fit towbar rather than the factory fit. I
have a swivel towbar on a Merc and they are worth every penny.Write your comments here...I am thinking of getting a Merc with factory fit towbar . I assume then there is no problem with clearance or electrics from what you say.
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All sorted, got the specs from my dealer, Lookers of Darlington and I have posted the specs in a separate thread.
New Tiguan now on order :-)
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pagan8c. I have a Merc ML with a Westfalia tow bar fitted by the Merc Dealer before delivery. The only problem was that they had no concept of the requirement to power the fridge and leisure battery whilst on tow.
In the end I had to take it to the local Westfalia tow bar specialist to sort out the wiring modification. It only took a few minutes.
No problem with tow hitch clearence, and the 3 litre V6 ML300CDI tows like a dream. Personally I would not accept the new 4 cylinder engines now being fitted, but I accept that is a personal preference..
You didnt say which model you were considering.
TF
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If you Google "New Tiguan Towbar" you`ll find the following reference about halfway down the first result page "1 day ago ... i had delivery of a 2016 Tiguan at the end of June, despite it not having the towbar on
it I had ordered. It was expected, I was told in the next few ..." - its actually a question to the Caravan Club expert but must have been posted when site was undergoing maintenance. It may well refer to a dealer fit towbar rather than the factory fit. I
have a swivel towbar on a Merc and they are worth every penny.Write your comments here...I am thinking of getting a Merc with factory fit towbar . I assume then there is no problem with clearance or electrics from what you say.
Write your comments here...No problem with electrics on the GLC with full wiring for Fridge ATC etc and clearance for ALKO Hitch is OK. Best to specify exactly the wiring you require as per the sales brochure. Towbar is a Bosal with intergrated 13pin socket
and hook for brake cable. There is a Video on line showing the operation of the towbar0 -
New tiguan :- Re bumper to centre of tow ball tow ball I posed the same question to VW who said it was 8cm .
It will be interesting to see if you get the same answer.
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pagan8c. I have a Merc ML with a Westfalia tow bar fitted by the Merc Dealer before delivery. The only problem was that they had no concept of the requirement to power the fridge and leisure battery whilst on tow.
In the end I had to take it to the local Westfalia tow bar specialist to sort out the wiring modification. It only took a few minutes.
No problem with tow hitch clearence, and the 3 litre V6 ML300CDI tows like a dream. Personally I would not accept the new 4 cylinder engines now being fitted, but I accept that is a personal preference..
You didnt say which model you were considering.
TF
I was considering the Cclass 250 estate but have now decided against it .I thought it a bit low for me and so did my wife. I also didn't like the number of stalks sticking out from the steering column. Especially the gearchange 1 for auto being on a stalk
and I struggled to find the cruise control which was on another stalk but hidden by the steering wheel. Decided to purchase 1 of the new V90 Volvos as there is very little difference in price but the Volvo has more standard kit and is bigger with more weight.Write your comments here...
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..... Especially the gearchange 1 for auto being on a stalk and I struggled to find the cruise control which was on another stalk but hidden by the steering wheel. ...
You only have to move your head a little to see them ... and it's not as though though the wheel is that big for them to hide behind .... you know they're there somewhere
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New Volvo V90 does look an interesting proposition. I am surprised that they are sticking to just 2 Litre diesels for the car, but they have done it with the XC90 and people do seem to like towing with them.
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Pagan8c. Funnily enough that lowness that you describe on the C250 was one of the reasons I only kept my E220 for a year. - That and its 4 cylinder engine.
I am praying that the time will come that the manufacturers will move away from this current insistence on small engines, and go back to some smooth 6 cylinders with stacks of low end grunt - sorry torque!
When I complain about the lack of big engines they point out that the new smaller ones put out the same or better BHP. But they do not understand that we "Tuggers" want Torque at low revs. Not high BHP at high revs. The trouble is that we are a very small
customer base so don't count for much.Will probably keep my lovely ML. The best offer they have made is £13.5K and its worth much more to me!
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Pagan8c. Funnily enough that lowness that you describe on the C250 was one of the reasons I only kept my E220 for a year. - That and its 4 cylinder engine.
I am praying that the time will come that the manufacturers will move away from this current insistence on small engines, and go back to some smooth 6 cylinders with stacks of low end grunt - sorry torque!
When I complain about the lack of big engines they point out that the new smaller ones put out the same or better BHP. But they do not understand that we "Tuggers" want Torque at low revs. Not high BHP at high revs. The trouble is that we are a very small
customer base so don't count for much.Will probably keep my lovely ML. The best offer they have made is £13.5K and its worth much more to me!
Write your comments here... Also a lot of the new small capacity engines with decent BHP figures on paper are often described as breathless. The new Honda CRV being one example since it's switched from 2.2 to 1.6
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Hi, am just about to buy a 2018 Tiguan with swivelling tow bar and wondered if the above question was ever answered; i.e. will I be able to hitch an Alko stabiliser?
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Hi, am just about to buy a 2018 Tiguan with swivelling tow bar and wondered if the above question was ever answered; i.e. will I be able to hitch an Alko stabiliser?
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Short answer is Yes. Mine fits perfectly and tows perfectly smoothly. Best tow car I have ever had (2ltr TDI 4motion)!
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Well it seems the controversy over it will fit, it wont fit, goes on.
I bought my Tiguan R Line new in March 2020 and thought nothing if it when I ordered it with a factory fit swivel towbar. Until it was time to hitch up and go that was. The clearance between bumper and the Alko stabiliser hitch I retro fitted to my old Swift is too close for comfort. Fine in a straight line but tight corners and I would be in trouble. So it looks as though I have to return to the old hitch original to the caravan. Unless someone has a solution of course ...... (and hindsight is no longer an option)
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...No such thing as a factory fit tow bar.
<panto mode on> ... Oh yes there is. 😊 The factory towbar on my Merc is noted on the build sheet & can be found using the VIN number on various websites.
And a few years back while chatting at the local Vauxhall dealer, towbars they do fit are/were fitted in house due to various electrical/coding problems experienced by having them fitted at the local towbar specialist as they used to do.
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All German manufacturers offer factory-fitted towbars because only they are in a position to be able to document fitment in the original issue of vehicle registration papers. This is a requirement in Germany and can involve considerable additional administrative effort, and of course cost, if retrofitted. For that reason, customers there prefer to purchase vehicles with factory-fitted towbars.
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A Class? ..... G Wagon? 
