[Closed] £1395 for a bike rack, where am I going wrong?

I have a used stainless t5 atera tailgate rack coming up for sale - will be about £200.

Any independant tow bar dealer/fitter will be a fraction of the price of a main deler.

Not always - our VW touran had no wiring for towbar from front of vehicle, and so a 'proper' connection was uber expensive as they needed to run wires through the car. 🙁

Seems ridiculous when there are all the lights there at the rear, but apparently that is the way VW run their electronics, and save 3m of cable per viehicle in the factory...

Try Tow Trust ... I think they are on the M56 / A49 junction. Or just order a type bar from them and find an auto electrics place to fit it.

P.F.Jones in Old Trafford fitted me a Westfalia detachable tow bar with dedicated electrics (apparently exactly the same as an OE one) to my Audi Q5 for £530.

Can't be too much different to a VW one, so worth a try.

Try Manchester tow bars, I ve had 2 fitted there, would recommend them.

I think for that sort of money I'd probably buy a Mondeo.

My Wesfalia detachable was £300-odd fitted down here in Hants, including the correct wiring to deal with the parking sensors.
Over a grand? Sod that, just buy an old Berlingo purely for bike lugging!

If you were towing a big caravan then it's worth getting a proper job done as the vehicle stability stuff gets modified. It then works out if you are towing and adjusts how it intervenes the help keep things on s straight line.

For a bike rack, get an aftermarket towbar and the fitter will use a relay box to ensure the car doesn't have a paddy attack and tell you all the bulbs have failed.

I can't justify that sort of money. Where the heck did y'all who have the Ateras get your towbars from? How did you justify the cost?

Depending on the tow bar fitting shouldn't be that hard.
http://www.towbarsaustralia.com.au/towbar-kits/transporter-t5-van-1
I fitted one of these by myself which was probably a mistake as it was a pain to support everything but nothing that complicated if you have a decent socket set and somebody to help you.

I've fitted towbars to my Iveco van (and a front pushbar/towball), and to a Honda Civic. A genuine Witter detachable and electrics was less than £200.

The fitting was easy on both, 6 bolts into existing holes in the Civic, and about 8 humungous bolts on the Iveco...the most difficult bit was lifting the towbar into place whilst lying on back as its huge and rated for 3.5t!

Electrics is the more fiddly bit, partly as it usually involves removing trim and if there is no 12v point in the boot, running a 12v from the front of the car. You could always fit the bar and get an auto sparky to sort the lighting.

The dealership wanted £1500 to fit mine, PFJones cost less than £500.

Had a detachable Westfalia towbar and 13 pin electrics fitted to our 13 plate Touran a couple of months ago for £300. Hasn't disabled the parking sensors but that only takes a button press, otherwise spot. Peter Bowman towing in Bury. They did our CRV years back as well.

Personally, I've used Fiamma racks on both my T4 and T5 and find them ok. I did replace the straps on the old one though and give the newer ones a wipe and lube now and again.
Yuo can buy uprated gas struts for your tailgate quite cheaply too, I'm sure my mate paid £23 each and has no issues with three bikes on his tailgated t5.

I think we paid c£1300 for our detachable on the T5 main dealer fit. Was a mammoth job as they had to remove alsorts to run the wiring loom through. And it doesn't disable the parking sensors when connected either, apparently it just won't!! I've even had them check the coding. Great job though. IIRC a non-detachable was c£900.

So you have a van but you don't put the bikes inside? How strange.

Not really. I wouldn't want bikes trashing the insides of a nice camper.

When I'm travelling alone, I do put one bike in my 'nice camper' and can still get the bed down with the bike held by its fork, on a removeable fork holder fixed to the floor, with the rear wheel between the two from seats.

VW main dealer wanted £1k for a fixed and £1.5k for a detachable tow bar on a Golf. I got one fitted by a local mobile fitter for £260. Ideally I'd have had the vehicle specific electrics but the main dealer costs were a piss take (imo)

So you have a van but you don't put the bikes inside? How strange.

Or for our next trip the above (minus the skis and board) plus canoe, two paddles, 4 bouyancy aids, amwing tent, 2 big bouldering mats and one huge bouldering mat.

We want to be able to shuffle all that around to get to sleep without having to chuck stuff outside.

great replies from people. I'll have think.

I think you need a bigger van.... hows about something like this:

have you got a tailgate or barn doors? if the former why not go for a VW rack?

300€ off ebay and 140€ at the powder coaters....

[img][url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7593/16907410237_a06fff40d2_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7593/16907410237_a06fff40d2_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/rL3U24 ]MTB T5[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/72344643@N00/ ]sod_the_taxman[/url], on Flickr[/img]

our VW touran had no wiring for towbar from front of vehicle, and so a 'proper' connection was uber expensive as they needed to run wires through the car.

Hmmm. Not sure about that. Last time I wired a towbar up I just spliced the electrics into the rear light cluster. 15 minute job.....

Some modern vehicle electrics don't get on well with current draws greater than they are expecting.

You can get around modern electrics with a bypass relay, a 'proper' connection means the ECU can adjust its ESP and/or enable its trailer stability program. Not worth it for a bike rack or garden trailer as it probably wouldn't even detect a change in vehicle handling in order to recognise its towing and change its parameters.

The guy I saw towing a huge twin axle caravan with a Ford Kuga the other day...I was surprised. Apparently it has a specific anti-snake feature for towing (presuming he hasn't got a cheap towbar!)

have you got a tailgate or barn doors? if the former why not go for a VW rack?

Tailgate.

I want/need to be able to get into the back to turn the gas on/off and unload stuff from the boot. The former can be done from inside but the latter can't. I realise that this really is pushing the definition of 1st world problem. It's not really that much of an issue. But it's enough of a hassle that we leave the bikes behind when it'd be nice to take them along just in case. Like last weekend we went from Manc to Nevis for skiing and I wanted to take the bikes just in case, but it was just enough hassle not to bother.

Are you going to be able to open the tailgate with a tow bar mounted rack anyway?
Obviously some do tilt, but are the angles going to work?

Hope so, that's the key driver for getting one.

I can lift the tailgate with two 15kg bikes on. Three bikes with the help of a friend.

PSA.... DO NOT LIFT THE TAILGATE WITH A BIKE ON THE INNERMOST TRACK. It will dent the roof!

Forgot....

I got a length of pole and made a catch to support the tailgate when open with bikes on it.
It will stay up with just the rack,but my struts are the beefiest that were fitted as standard (Caravelle).

+1 for splicing into the existing wiring, its not hard, a relay costs about £20 and the ecu never knows its there. Dont run them directly (i.e. 2 bulbs in parallel) from the existing loom though as it wil fry the ecu. Another option is swaping the trailerboard lights for LED'S as they'll draw almost nothing and also not be noticed by the ecu, just be carefull to never use a board with normal bulbs.

2nd hand rack, and a towbar from towequipe.co.uk was under £200 in total.

That Atera works with my T4. The towbar company spaced it outwards a bit to make sure. You might need to turn the bars of the bike nearest the window if you run 780's..

geoff:

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

A little low down on why towbars at dealerships have become so expensive.

Something called type approval expanded recently (On commercial vehicles) to include extras fitted to the vehicle. It doesn't really apply to used vehicles because you can pretty much do what you like with them still, however on new vehicles, fitting a towbar etc outside of the dealership is a bit of a nightmare. What used to cost £250-£350 for a towbar now costs £5-600. Why???? Because the workshops basically got given the devine right to shaft everyone on these fittings because they got automatic type approval as a manufacturer approved fitter. The small independent can buy whatever TYPE APPROVED towbar but he isn't approved to fit it. He would have to go to VOSA for every single vehicle install and do a SVTA on every one costing £300 a time. Or he would have to get himself type approved but again, he would have to do it for every type of vehicle he worked on (Thousands ££)

So what happens on new vehicles is the vehicles are registered and then the customer takes his 'used' vehicle to the same installers and a towbar is fitted for £250 + VAT like they always have been.

Trouble is the dealerships have set their costs at unrealistic levels because they truly believe they have a captive market.

Anyhow, that new vehicles.......

Used vehicles, just take them to your local fitter. We have a great guy I have used for 15yrs in the Cumbria and South West Scotland area so if anyone needs one call Plyline Northwest 01228 812085.

Someone made mention above about the ESP and he is correct. Get the wiring etc (On factory fresh) from Merc/VW etc and you get your ESP to take into account you are towing etc. Factory towbar for Merc on Vito is £275 + VAT so well worth it from new. But for bike racks etc I wouldn't be too bothered about getting factory wiring.

In 15yrs I have had the traditional splicing into the rear loom at the lights, Canbus protection device fitted (Sorry I just refer to it as the 'box') and towbar fitted for £250 + VAT (Might be more to public).

Obviously the dealership will wipe their hands of anything remotely like an issue with electrics on a vehicle under warranty but y installer guarentees any faults caused by his towbars are covered alongside manufacturers warranty and in 15yrs I haven't had a single case to ask him to cough up. Oh and trust me we have had it the other way where they have blamed him and he has proven that it was absolutely nothing to do with him (Embarrassing for dealership).

Sounds a bit like an advert but tbh, towbars are a huge cash cow for dealerships and its one of those things I personally think someone installing 1000's of towbars a year wipe the floor with a dealership mechanic who fits maybe 10 per annum.

Excellent input. Thanks very much.

Spoke to the very helpful guy at PFJones and he said they can do Whitter fixed for £254 fitted. £15 extra for the Relay, but he says that I don't really need it as it's the '56 plate not the newer one. Would anyone like to proffer an opinion on whether it's worth the extra £15?

Also, for all the Strada lovers, can you confirm whether the position/make etc of towball makes any difference as to whether it'll tilt enough to open the tailgate? I'd hate to spend all this cash and then find out I can't get into the van through the back.

cheers

And just to double check, it's the Atera Strada [b]DL [/b]that I want?

4 cross country bikes, no ellecies, no DH bikes. Need it to tilt.

You want either the DL3 or the Evo 3, as these are the ones that slide rather than just tilt. You should check the max weight for your tow bar is more than the weight of the rack and bikes.

Getting the bikes onto the rack can be a real squeeze, and something of a puzzle figuring out where to put the arms. I tried the DL3 but swapped it for the Evo because the arms on DL3 can't be removed or swapped around. Maybe not such a big deal if you're always carrying the same bikes, but just about every time I use mine I end up taking arms off, moving them around and slotting them through the few remaining gaps as I try and find a position where the bikes aren't in danger of touching each other.