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Subject Topic: Ford Focus Towbar advice needed Post Reply Post New Topic
05/9/2013 at 7:46am
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Does anyone know what type of towbar I should have fitted to my 2012 Focus Titanium?

Its for towing a folding camper and I have parking sensors.

I've been getting conflicting advice. One the one hand I have towsure and towbar express who simply say "detachable" and thats it.

no mention of things another guy from a towbar fitters in York, who says that fixed would actually be okay. But that I should also get something that alters the stability programming? of the car. And something about getting the card coded after its been fitted?

Any help would be gratefully appreciated!


05/9/2013 at 8:27am
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Have the towbar fitted using the dedicated loom & you should have no trouble with the electrics. You might have to take car to main dealers afterward for programming of electrics with the Ford software though. I can't see a problem with a fixed towbar provided dedicated loom is used, I'd go for a swan neck, they look neater than a flange towball. If you want 'full' electrics ie 12n/12s or fully activated single 13pin ensure you ask for this as some cars require an extra loom. If your camper only has a single 7pin plug you can go for cheaper single 7pin socket on car.

Unfortunately dedicated electrics are somewhat more expensive than bypass relay which many would argue should not be used on new cars anyway.

-------------
Regards, Jack+Jon.


05/9/2013 at 3:04pm
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Fixed flange towbar for me everytime, But sometimes a swan neck towbar can be cheaper if you shop around.

The towbar is unlikely to affect the reverse sensors, Its usually the electrical socket so bend that plate to side neatly at the side of the towbar rather than alongside it.

Check your trailer wiring is long enough to do that though. Tell them which side you need the socket if its tight.

Check with the dealer your car may need programming for any trailer ABS or satbility programs. But it will also switch off the reverse sensors when towing as well as the foglights etc.

Beware some dealers may not have a clue howto do this properly. Poor training.
So expect return trip if it doesnt do what they say.



05/9/2013 at 4:14pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Grampian91 on 05/9/2013
Fixed flange towbar for me everytime, But sometimes a swan neck towbar can be cheaper if you shop around.

The towbar is unlikely to affect the reverse sensors, Its usually the electrical socket so bend that plate to side neatly at the side of the towbar rather than alongside it.

Check your trailer wiring is long enough to do that though. Tell them which side you need the socket if its tight.

Check with the dealer your car may need programming for any trailer ABS or satbility programs. But it will also switch off the reverse sensors when towing as well as the foglights etc.

Beware some dealers may not have a clue howto do this properly. Poor training.
So expect return trip if it doesnt do what they say.





Excellent post Grampian91 (as all yours). we were lucky with the reverse parking aid. The bleeper goes continuous when the actual towball is approx 3-4" from any obstruction behind. Perfect. Also, once I had fitted a dedicated loom kit from good old P F Jones (the car came to me with only a 12N wiring c/w horrible bypass kit as prev owner only towed a small trailer) I took the car up to my dealer and the technician explained that Saabs automatically recognise that there is a trailer connected when a dedicated kit and 13-pin is fitted, so no programming necessary. Before we got the first Saab we were possibly going to go for an Audi A4 but the prices were so high, age/mileage same as the Saabs, plus I was told that programming was necessary at a VAG dealer a bit expensive, also possible different rad fan?
Pete



05/9/2013 at 4:37pm
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Thanks for the quick replies folks! :)

Although I'm feeling a bit more confused now with talk of "dedicated looms" and such. What is a dedicated loom and how will that help?

(apologies for sounding dim but I am a complete noob to this - the last towbar I had fitted was to an Escort estate and it cost 50 quid!)


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05/9/2013 at 5:14pm
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Dedicated loom is towbar wiring specific to the car which is plugged into existing connectors in the car so no splicing of wiring. Generally the newer the car the better it is to have specific wiring. It does cost more but once fitted & programmed if required it should be trouble free. For a 12reg I would go for that, you don't have to understand how it works. For some cars towbar fitter will only use dedicated looms anyway because it is less likely to cause problems.

Also as car is under warranty it would be a good idea to check if your main dealer has a list of approved towbar fitters as any problems caused by the towbar fitting that could not be rectified by non approved towbar fitter may need fixing by main dealer at your expence.

Does your folding camper have twin cables or 13pin plug or is it a trailer tent with single 7pin plug? somewhat cheaper just to fit single 7pin electrics to car.

-------------
Regards, Jack+Jon.


05/9/2013 at 5:58pm
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It's got double electrics but the current owner only uses single when towing and I'm inclined to do the same.

Does anyone know for sure, if it was fitted by towsure or towbar express, if it would need a visit to ford afterwards for coding?



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