Fitting Dedicated Towbar Electrics

Dealer list for retail supply and fit on website.

Fitting dedicated towbar electrics.

An important but often overlooked aspect of towbar fitting is the wiring required to power trailer lights and caravan internal electrics. These kits in most instances where the features are present on the vehicle interact with the built in safety features on the vehicle whilst towing. A bypass relay is necessary if you are fitting a universal wiring system in a modern. A dedicated towbar wiring kit it the best choice for your towbar electrics as it the only wiring that will synchronise with advanced vehicle functions.

Standard and vehicle specific wiring kits. As the dedicated wiring is manufacturer approved this will match the terms of your warranty. For any tow bar there are 2 ways the wiring can be fitted. Dedicated wiring or vehicle specific wiring however is a method designed for the specific make of vehicle it is attached to.

Vehicle specific wiring dedicated electrics. If the vehicle is still under manufacturer s warranty fitting universal wiring may contravene the warranty as most state that any towbar fitted must be the same as the wiring already in the vehicle. Dedicated vehicle specific wiring kits sometimes known as dedicated wiring looms or plug in kits are becoming ever more popular for towbar wiring installation. Universal wiring kits are needed to connect the tow bar electrics to the car electrical system.

Having dedicated vehicle specific electrics activates all the features your tow bar would have if it was factory fitted. These could include enabling trailer stability control or the reverse lights on the back of your trailer. Dedicated vehicle specific wiring will activate your cars trailer stability control function which is an addition to the vehicles normal stability control. Website includes sample i fit instructions which show in illustrated steps how a wiring kit is fitted.

On older vehicles you have the option to fit universal aftermarket wiring as well as dedicated specific wiring but with some newer vehicles only dedicated specific wiring can be fitted. This method is relatively simple and allows the functioning of the lights on your towed caravan trailer. The basic wiring to the plugs and sockets is fairly straightforward however the fun starts when you are required to fit audible buzzers relays and bypass units to cope with the increasingly complicated cars. In some cases mostly in modern cars a bypass relay will be needed when fitting a universal kit this is to ensure the towing electrics and vehicle electrics co ordinate voltage power and wont detect the drop in voltage power as a fault.