Steve S. Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 Dear All, Firstly hi to everybody,I've just bought my first Galaxy.It's an R reg Ultimabought mainly to ferry aged relatives about but also my drum kit etc. I've trawled through the posts relating to this tow-bar thing but there doesn't seem to be a consensus as to which is the "best" after market towbar and ball. I don't mind it being a pemanent fit, but would rather not cut the rear bumper.Does this limit me to the type of ball ? ie detachable/swanneck/two bolt common type etc. I read the discussion on electrics with trepidation but I think due to the age of the car the problems with parking sensors doesn't apply and I assume its got that nice socket in the rh cover.(I've not taken delivery yet) So, if you've got any suggestions I would be pleased to hear from you. Also, I would be pleased to hear from other Ultima owners as to what they think on the question whether it is possible to retro fit the roof bar rails as this model never had them. Thanks in anticipation, Steve S. Quote
latrine Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Hi Steve sorry i can't answer your question, other than with one of my own! I too am looking to have a towbar fitted - i have a facelift 2001 Gal and the towbar place have told me that they will need to cut the bumper don't fancy this much but neither do i fancy shelling out Quote
tim-spam Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 I have fitted a Brink towbar to my 2002 Alhambra - Halfords is their main UK agent and it cost a little over Quote
Steve S. Posted March 31, 2005 Author Report Posted March 31, 2005 Dear Tim, Thanks a lot for your guidance...very useful. Do you have any preference for the type of ball, I think it's probably down to the look of it in the end,unless the swanneck has advantages, such as clearance,over the flange??? type.Do you know the part no. for your bar by any chance? Cheers, Steve S. Dear Latrine, Let me you know which route you decide on. I think you'll be ahead of me on this one as I have'nt taken delivery of mine yet,but there's no harm in forward planning! S. Quote
johnb80 Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 I have a facelift 115 Tdi, I fitted a Towsure bracket and later the removeable towball kit. Neither requires the bumper cutting at all. For the electrics there's a nice feed cable right at the front of the fusebox near the drivers right knee, simple job to run the feed internally to the back by pushing it under the door sill capings. The whole job including electrics took about 3 hours, the hardest bit was taking the covers off under the rearlights. Regards - John Quote
greg_68 Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Hi, don't know whether you are intersted but there are a couple of towbars on ebay plus a wiring assembly (VW I think). Quote
Guest thecodfly Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 hi there all have got a witter towbar fitted to my gal, took the bloke about an hour to fit it, but we did supply with plenty of tea lol, he did have to cut small cut out in bumper though, but you would never notice it, all in it cost about Quote
tim-spam Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 The part numbers for the Brink towbar are:1996 - 2000 swan neck 270200 - requires cutting of bumber1996 - 2000 2 bolt flange 291300 - requires cutting of bumber2000 and later swan neck 350000 - no cutting required2000 and later 2 bolt flange 350200 - no cutting required As regards 12S wiring, I prefer taking the feed directly from the battery - this is then pretty much independent from the car electrics. In addition, the fuse is easily accessible right next to the battery, and the cable can be properly protected along its whole length with flexible trunking. I have fitted the 2 bolt flange type, as this is compatible with a wide range of stabilizer brackets and other things such as cycle carriers. The bumper to ball clearance is very similar for both types. On previous cars, I have fitted Witter towbars, which I found to fit well, but the Brink is definitely better, and much more like the genuine VW/Seat/Ford part, which is why I chose it. Tim Quote
Guest Aussie Phil Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Sorry Steve, can't help with R reg but can help Latrine, I too have a 2001 facelift Gal Tdi (Y) and had a Witter towbar fitted a couple of years ago. It has a permanent 2 bolt ball mount, not a detachable model. No cutting of the bumper needed as the towbar curves under the bumper. Took about an hour and cost Quote
latrine Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Cheers Steve I would be grateful for a picture by the way, where in the country do you live? L Quote
Guest Aussie Phil Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Having trouble uploading a photo as IMG button is requesting a URL - which I don't have. Also tried attaching a image file but errors out saying file is not in the correct format. Have tried bmp, jpg and gif - no idea what it wants. Will try again later on when I get on a decent PC. Phil Quote
Steve S. Posted March 31, 2005 Author Report Posted March 31, 2005 Dear All, Thanks for all the replies....however,the mists of confusion are beginning to circle! Are we saying that pre face-lift models need their bumpers cut no matter what bar/ball arrangement you choose, or is there in fact a brand of bar in existence that avoids this? ( or am I just a little paranoid about a small snip.. if you'll excuse the expression!) Tim,I hope you can help with this, sorry to sound like a bit of a dork! By the way anybody got any thoughts about the roof rail question I posed? I can't actually remember whether the roof had provision for the rails or not or whether it was seamless. Latrine...I live near Nottingham but originate many(many!)years ago from near Middlesbrough . Regards, Steve S. Quote
tim-spam Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 As far as I am aware, pre-facelift models will require the bumber to be cut, but I am told that it is not difficult to make a neat job of it. All of the pre-facelift models I've seen with towbars appear to have had their bumpers cut. However, the only Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra I have fitted a towbar to is my own 2002 Alhambra, so if someone else reading this has fitted a towbar to an older model, they may be able to be of more help. The other thing to try is www.brinktowbars.co.uk - I think you may be able to download their fitting instructions in pdf format. As regards the roof rails, you could try a search on this site - I'm sure someone else has done this job. Tim Quote
latrine Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Ausie Phil, where did you have your towbar fitted mate? Quote
Guest kd035050 Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Hi, just noticed all this going on. I have a MK1 2000 model Galaxy and have fitted a towsure bar to it with an Alco extended neck tow ball and the electrics are just the standard dual electric kit that cost me around Quote
Guest Aussie Phil Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Latrine, Got my towbar fitted in a small, one man band place in Slough, Berkshire on the A4. I've had 3 towbars fitted there so far and no complaints on any of them. Can PM details if required. Have pictures now (hopefully). If not, hyperlink should work.My Webpage Philhttp://www.tramart-productions.com/towbar002.gif Quote
dipsomaniac Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 I have the fitting instructions for mk1 Galaxy towbar from Towequipe. They sell there towbars on eBay. Approx Quote
latrine Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 Auusie Phil thanks for the photos mate, looks a nice neat job and you say there is no interferecne with the parking sensors one thing i note is that there doesn't appear to be much clearance between the ball and the bumper - the hand book (as far as i recall) suggests a gap of 80mm presuambly you tow a cravan with the bar (hence twin electrics) - have you ever had any problems hithcing it up at all? do you have a stabaliser fitted on the van? cheers bruce! M Quote
Guest Aussie Phil Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 Latrine, My installation has a 50mm gap between the bumper and the front edge of the ball.Have towed a number of different outfits and never had a problem altho lack of a bumper plate means a bit of care is needed hitching up. As you can see, no bumper damage at all. I don't have a stabilizer plate fitted and the sensors work fine. A stabilizer plate may cause problems with the sensors unless it is low down. Thats why my sockets are below the ball fitting out of the way. The further away from the bumper the hardware is will only put it further into the sensors field of view. This will make the parking sensors more susceptable to false triggering hence why Ford's recommended solution is an expensive detachable unit. Phil Quote
latrine Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 ok mate, thanks for all your advice on this! Quote
galantlad Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 I have a towsure towbar fitted with removable ball which was easy to fit and has caused me no problems as yet http://www.towsure.com/default.asp?d=0&t=0&p=0&op= Quote
jasper Posted April 7, 2005 Report Posted April 7, 2005 Hi there Noticed all the information being passed on this. In answer to your question on cutting the bumper, I have a pre faclift galaxy fited with a towsure towbar that di not need any cutting of the car, i connected to the connector located inside left hand rear compartment(wher the two 12v sockets are usually). whole job took only a few hours, i have been towing with it for 6/7 yrs with no problems. Quote
Bubbles Posted April 12, 2005 Report Posted April 12, 2005 HelloHave just come across your queryI have just fitted a Towsure bar on a 1999 Tdi (cost approx Quote
latrine Posted April 12, 2005 Report Posted April 12, 2005 Hello Bubbles! is it easy to fit? we have a Towsure depot in sheffield and they quoted me Quote
Ivor Posted April 12, 2005 Report Posted April 12, 2005 Had my towbar fitted 2 1/2 years ago at the main dealer for Quote
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