Check your new hitch!
Probably most of you would but a little cautionary tale has prompted me to write.
I recently swapped my Mitsubishi Outlander for the PHEV one agreed the tow bar would be fitted before delivery. It had a nice shiny black plastic cover on it and I was delighted to see the 13 pin electrics much more accessible on the permanently fixed tow bar. So today I was driving round Lincoln shopping and was behind a car with tow ball PLUS the protector thing to stop the caravan run into the bumper during hitching. I decided to get one and went to my favourite towing place Portland Towing. Dear man fitted the protector and then said "didn't you say it was for a caravan" they have fitted the short necked ball!!!!! So correction made and he flipped the cover of the electrics - one pin is missing! WHAT a frustration it would be to be ready for an outing and find the caravan didn't fit! obviously a case for checking everything before hand!
That is the second Mitsubishi bloomer with the tow bar - 2 different dealers. The first one fitted the electrics upside down so water got in the unit/modem! I daresay any dealer might make the same mistake so I thought I would warn everyone!
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I couldn't see which one - he thought it could be the fridge - I think it was right of centre about 4 o'clock if that makes sense? I will plug everything in tomorrow before I blow my top at Mitsubishi! Since he is a trusted professional at tow bars and electrics I trusted his judgement - should check of course!
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We wanted to have towing hitch fitted to our new Jeep when we bought it. Dealer quoted us an astronomical amount, so we got a tow bar specialist to come out and fit ours at home, Jeep on the drive. He told us that most dealers simply get a tow bar specialist to do such work anyway, then they add a dealership premium, passed onto customer, after paying the mobile fitter a lower price. We always get a specialist to come to us, unless I can swing it as part of the vehicle purchase package👍
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Yes Skoda encouraged me to get a specialist to fit a tow bar so I did.
What happened to the Customer is always right? All the excuses about fitting the tow ball and the electrics all come already connected so that wasn't their fault! I got quite heated with them! On the other end of the scale I called the Club's Technical department and got a lovely lady who told me without pin 13 the caravan battery would not be recharged while driving. That could be very annoying. I will ask my friendly tow bar fitter what price the electrics - and maybe cut my losses and go for peace of mind. I am quite tempted to return the car to them!
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Incidentally the independent Tow Bar fitter told me some horrendous stories about caravans using the short necked tow ball - apparently they can hitch up (which mine didn't some years ago) and it goes against what ALCo recommend so please be aware that it is far from ideal.
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Another twist on tow bar and electrics.
If you have it as a factory order then you have a 3yr warranty. If it is fitted by the dealer or a 3rd party of there choice before you collect the car then it should have a 3yr warranty.
If you collect the car and take it back to the dealer for fitting later, or have it done by a 3rd party then you will probably have a 1yr guarantee.
For the above reasons I have asked for a factory fit where possible, or at least fitted before I collect it.
The non fully functioning electrics I thought was a fairly common problem, particularly with VAG. I know our continental caravaners do not favour a battery set-up so cars are often not set up for providing a permanent feed to a battery/fridge.
Asian/Eastern cars were I thought [wrongly] more likely to be set up for UK demands.
Colin
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