tow bar for Symbol

Has anyone fitted or had fitted a towbar for Symbol.

I was thinking of fitting it myself.

thanks

Just going through that loop myself.

So far the cheapest quote I have had was £220 ish fitted in a workshop.

The basic towbar etc seems to be about £100 to £120 and I assume it would take me a day to fit. I think bolting on the mechanicals is likely to be straightforward, but the electrics....

My van has the CanBus system so I don't know how much harder that will make it, also being a motorhome, access to the wiring in the rear is pretty restricted due to kitchens and bathrooms..

The one I fitted to my 1995 Harmony was Watling Engineers PP29:

Boxer Van with caravanette conversion & 230mm step Fit a Tow-step to replace existing van step Jul-94 - Oct-06 £168.00 inc VAT.

I did write the fitting procedure up into an 'ideas sheet' some years back for the ASOC. I think they've dropped it so could share the content with you if you wish?

It's a good towbar - still in place and doing what it should.

Watling do some others - see their price list

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Bartfarst

If you email it me Bartfarst I will put it in the Factsheets, (preferably in .doc format) As you wrote it there wont be any copyright issues

Bartfarst wrote:The one I fitted to my 1995 Harmony was Watling Engineers PP29:

I have seen this listed on their website, but no picture. Have asked them but no reply.
Can we see a picture of one fitted?

Thanks.

I found some fitting instructions on this site

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and this one: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

assume they would be similiar on other makes

OK here's the text from my original description:

A towbar is a useful addition to the Boxer panel van conversions namely Harmony and Symphony. Not only can it then be used for towing purposes but also for the mounting of cycle carriers with a greater capacity and sophistication than the units normally attached to one or both rear doors.

Fortunately, Watling Engineers tel.:(01727) 873661 have produced a special towing bracket with a 9" extension to bring the tow ball rearwards and clear of the existing rear step. This unit, Watling type PP29, is currently priced at £160-33 including VAT and carriage.

Generally adequate instructions come with the towing bracket, however the following additional points based upon my experience fitting the bracket may be useful.

1 Removal of the rear step

Remove all four nuts/bolts fixing the original Autosleeper step to the body of the van. Only the step itself will be required any further and this may be removed from the supporting bracketry for future use. This is also a good opportunity to replace the original step if, as mine, water has penetrated the rubber outer causing the wooden core to rot.

2 Removal of the bumper

Remove the two bolts securing the bumper as instructed, but only slacken the two nuts at the ends of the bumper mounting brackets to the point where the bumper is allowed to be withdrawn. The reason is that, firstly, removal is unnecessary and, secondly, once the bracket is fitted, re-tightening becomes very difficult as access to the nuts on the nearside of the vehicle is severely limited.

3 Drilling of forward face of chassis member

The instructions provided do not specify the length of the 10mm drill required to cut a hole in the forward face of the chassis cross member. In practice a drill at least 150mm (6") in length, preferably longer, is necessary to avoid fouling elements of the rear suspension close by.

4 Enabling access to the spring hanger bracket mounting bolts

Access to tighten spring hanger bracket mounting bolts to the chassis is limited. However, the situation can be much improved by partially removing the upper horizontal bolt securing the spring hangers to the spring hanger bracket. To do this, remove the large 'Nyloc' nut then wind out the bolt just a sufficient amount to gain access to the hanger bracket bolts.

5 Spare wheel access

Once fitted, access to the spare wheel becomes even more difficult: the combination of the step and towing bracket making it very difficult to lower and particularly raise the spare wheel carrier into it's elevated position. It is recommended that this procedure be practised in case access is required under emergency conditions. NB access is also required to check the pressure of the spare wheel; fitting the towing bracket is an ideal opportunity to check this.

If access to the bolts to lower the spare wheel carrier is limited, it is relatively straightforward to remove the rear plastic panel across the rear of the van conversion to improve access. Note that rear wooden cross members may also require relief with a wood chisel to enable the ratchet handle supplied with the van to be properly applied to either of the bolts securing the spare wheel carrier. Further the ratchet mechanism in the supplied handle has an excessively strong action which sometimes restricts the racheting action. Minor and progressive 'spraining' of the spring actuating the pawl on the ratchet handle facilitates much easier operation.

6 Wiring

Remove both rear light clusters and both plastic 'bumper corners'. Carefully remove the foil aperture covers behind both bumper corners, remove the foam blocks, and the further internal foil aperture covers. The wiring from the towing bracket may then be routing into the rear cross member, into the first corner 'chamber' then upward to the rear of the nearside rear light cluster where connections may be made to the van's wiring harness. A further wire should be led back down and across the rear of the vehicle to the offside rear light cluster to connect to the RH indicator. Check rear light clusters for water ingress - mine corroded as a result.

Connections may be successfully made with 'Scotchlock' connectors. The wiring connections are as follows assuming the socket is wired conventionally:

Socket wiring Function Van wiring
Yellow LH indicator Blue + black
Green RH indicator Blue
Red Stop Red + black
Brown and black wires commoned Side Yellow
Blue Fog Grey + yellow
White Earth Black

MB these colours relate to a 1995 van - I think they're different now on my Boxer Mk2.

I have found the Watling towing bracket most robust and satisfactory - I hope that the above hints enable others to fit this bracket with relative ease.

And here are some photos:

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Bartfarst