When buying a towbar for your vehicle in order to tow a trailer or caravan, an important decision to make is what kind of towing electrics, electrical system or wiring kit you will use to connect the vehicle to your trailer/caravan. This is to ensure complete safety while on the road.
Towing plugs and sockets can be used as a connection for the electrics from your car to your caravan, trailer and cycler carrier. At Kits-n-Bits we supply a selection of tow plugs and socket additions for your vehicle. From mounting brackets and plates, caravan plug holders, socket adapters, and much more.
A towbar wiring kit works by connecting the electrics and lights on your main vehicle to the lighting board on your trailer, caravan or bike rack. Meaning that when you indicate or brake, these lights will be illuminated on your trailer or caravan as well as your car. This is a legal requirement when towing. We provide mobile towbar fitting for your convenience.
Towbar Electrics Fitting
To start off there is the choice between what socket you will need, a single 7 pin socket, twin 7 pin sockets, or the new 13 pin socket. If you are towing a trailer and you need to run just your rear lights behind the trailer you will probably want a 7pin socket.
7 Pin Electric Socket
If you need to run a leisure battery in a caravan or car battery while you are towing, you will want a twin 7 pin electrics socket (2x7pin) or a 13 pin socket(standard in Europe). Check your caravan for the correct plug connection and towing electrics.
Twin (2x7pin) Electric Socket
13 pin Electric Socket (standard in Europe)
Dedicated or Universal Towbar Electrics
With modern vehicles and the increasingly complex vehicle wiring a new decision now also has to be made: Universal Electrics or Dedicated Electrics.
Universal Tow Bar Electrics
Universal electrics have been the standard for many years, involving cutting and splicing wires into the vehicle’s existing wires to allow the power feeding from each wire to each vehicle light/function to also travel through to the corresponding trailer light/function.
More complex vehicle wiring now means that in many modern vehicles wires power more than one light and the power system often works on a pulse system rather than a constant feed. These changes have meant a bypass relay is required for most modern vehicles using universal wiring.
Tow Bar Vehicle Specific Electrics
An alternative to Universal Electrics is Dedicated Electrics, also known as ‘Vehicle Specific’ wiring or ‘Plug-In’ electrics.
Dedicated kits are made specifically for each vehicle, and do not require the cutting or splicing of wires. Often a module can be found in the back of the vehicle in which the dedicated kit is plugged in, leaving a relatively simple job of feeding the wires through to a few points on the vehicle to connect into place.
A dedicated kit is more expensive, usually costing between £50 and £200 depending on vehicle model, and also does not usually come in the twin 7 pin socket variety (normally 7 pin or 13 pin) however there are several benefits over universal electrics to consider:
• Will does not void your vehicle warranty (Most vehicle warranties will be void if using universal wiring and so in the long run a dedicated kit could in fact save you a lot of money)
• Will allow the vehicle to automatically activate any towing electrics’ modes (including safety and stability features)
• Much simpler and easier to fit.
• Designed to original equipment specification.
Vehicle Recoding
One point to note is that several dedicated kits will also require recoding. We are able to recode most modern cars without you having to go to your local car manufacturer dealer at an additional cost. To find out more about recoding click HERE
To go to our towbar page click HERE
We at Kits N Bits offer towbar fitting throughout South Wales, including Cardiff and Newport.