Two questions about towbars: Ducato PVC

[Simon G]

First: 2023 Ducato L4 (6.36m) PVC: any recommend/avoid types or brands please. Online order for mobile fitting in suburban Derby

Second: PFJones list 7-pin electrics 'Universal kit (with Bypass)' for sensible money. And 'Vehicle Specific' kit for 6x as much... What is a 'bypass' and what are upsides of vehicle specific?

And I know that's three questions in all...

 

[Grummyb]

I think vehicle specific will just plug and play at least it did on my defender and a universal kit im.guessing you will have to splice into your loom

 

[monkeybrand]

The vehicle specific kit is supposedly easier to fit. I think it just inserts between a join in the lighting cables in the rear lights. I fitted the bypass which needed joining onto the wiring loom, Long time ago so can't remember so clearly now. I managed it though so can't be too difficult

Beat me to it

 

[Brize]

I would go for 13 pin electrics, rather than 7 pin, it has far more functions.

Vehicle specific means that the additional towbar wiring loom is tailor-made to connect to your vehicle canbus wiring.

 

[treblid]

The vehicle specific kit for the 2023 Ducato includes connecting to pins on the body ECU. Certain data connections are routed and looped through a module they provide which decodes the signals and controls the towbar socket feeds.
Although more complex, all the connections are at the vehicle battery and lower dashboard and run to the rear in one loom.
The key advantage is it integrates into the Ducato systems; e.g. bulb out warning system, reversing sensors, etc.
To get more information, download the specific installation instructions for the kits off of the PF Jones website.
I would also recommend you get a 13 pin socket kit and not 7 pin for future proofing and flexibility. You can get adaptors from 13 to 7 if you currently only have a 7 pin board.

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[pappajohn]

A bypass kit is harder to fit.
It's a block of electronic relays which are wired to the individual wires feeding the rear lamps usually at the lights.
It has it's own 12v feed wire from the vans fuse box and individual wires to the tow bar socket.
The wires from the lights to the relay block act as trigger wires only and are very low current so the canbus doesn't register them.
All the other wires are normal voltage and current.

 

[Coolcats]

First: 2023 Ducato L4 (6.36m) PVC: any recommend/avoid types or brands please. Online order for mobile fitting in suburban Derby

Second: PFJones list 7-pin electrics 'Universal kit (with Bypass)' for sensible money. And 'Vehicle Specific' kit for 6x as much... What is a 'bypass' and what are upsides of vehicle specific?

And I know that's three questions in all...

Hymer fitted a Brink removable tow bar to our Ducato great peice of kit https://brink.eu/en-gb/towbar/fiat

And the 13 pin not only more functions but less issues down the line in terms of weathering.

 

[Simon G]

A bypass kit is harder to fit.
It's a block of electronic relays which are wired to the individual wires feeding the rear lamps usually at the lights.
It has it's own 12v feed wire from the vans fuse box and individual wires to the tow bar socket.
The wires from the lights to the relay block act as trigger wires only and are very low current so the canbus doesn't register them.
All the other wires are normal voltage and current.

Thanks pappajohn et al. So vehicle specific upsides: ease of fitting, more functionality and (potentially) more reliable. The purely financial consideration is how much extra the fitter will charge to install a bypass kit? Sounds like I need to talk to the fitter...

Point taken re 13-pin, new to me. 7-pin had an 'accessory' pin connection I never used, so now I'll have 7 redundant pins.

 

[oldiesontour]

Vehicle specific kit is probably more time consuming to fit and if the by pass kit is properly...no scotch locks.. fitted inside the vehicle it is as ( if not more ) reliable.
All tow bars have to comply with relevant standards....beware max nose weight if you may want a tow bar mounted bike or motorbike rack...think 150kg is max available

 

[Simon G]

Thanks oldies... Very aware of max nose weight as have 2 ebikes here in NZ and a 60kg limit on the hitch. Towbar I'm looking at is 100kg: I'm not going to tow a plant trailer so that should be fine.

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[fishplug]

I've researched this, but not yet bought or fitted it.

I don't really tow anything on a regular basis but having had a tow bar on my old Sprinter was quite useful on a couple of occasions and I figured that any wiring would be easier to do now before I'm too far down the line with my conversion.

From what I read there were a few people who had reliability issues with the bypass electrics (possibly due to poor installation or scotchlocks). It also seemed that the Fiat Ducato branded wiring in some kits was more expensive than the (exactly the same part number and loom) Peugeot Boxer branded one... Don't know if that's still the case but worth looking at the various Stellantis permutations to find the cheapest.

Ultimately I priced mine up around the £570 mark for a 'proper' heavy duty tow ball and all the gubbins and it seemed like a lot of money to spend on something I don't actually need, so that's as far as it got. I think the 'universal' wiring kit brought it down to about £300 from memory.

A friend who tows a lot of stuff pointed me to the Towsure website as he's had good experiences with their products and services over the years.

 

[Simon G]

Thanks fishplug. When I was in the UK Towsure was my go-to, but seems to be pricey these days. I've been looking at a 'pattern' loom, but still a lot of money for a similar scenario to yours.

 

[rob1234]

hi ,,i took mine to guy near Lytham,,does a brilliant job even gives you a car to use while you wait ,,half the price of other towbar suppliers ,,all the local motorhome sellers use him ,,