XC90 - Westfalia Detachable towbar fitting guide

[Ron_XC90]

Couldn't agree more, an air ratchet really makes the job a lot easier...

[giw12]

Originally Posted by XCF

Other features - such as parking sensors automatically deactivating happens by default without any software if you use the Volvo plug and play wiring /trailer module.

Presumably the parking sensors will automatically reactivate at some point? Is that when the towbar is removed?

[TruckbusUK]

Originally Posted by giw12

Presumably the parking sensors will automatically reactivate at some point? Is that when the towbar is removed?

Thats a bit of a job .... they reactivate once the electrical connection to the trailer 7/13 pin wiring is disconnected ( if the Volvo trailer module is used, not sure about other brands.)

[exdirectory]

Sorry for the delay in replying...

Westfalia took about 2.5 hours to fit and two of us doing it. There are some tips and tricks and mostly shortcuts, find them on this forum, it will save you hours rather than following the instructions which basically rtell you you will need to dismantle your car completely - not the case!

Mottez took about an hour to put together and get right I suppose, instructions not great.

Total 4 hours with a couple of beers and head scratching.

Towbar: Perfect solution in the end, love it.

Bike Rack: The mottez is very good, not perfect though. The bikes are slightly bigger than the wheel holder positions, I need to see if I can move them slightly. A bulb blew on one indicator after a month or so. Putting the bikes on is an art as it is a confined space but I am putting on 4 adult bikes with baskets and extras!

I found removing the upright bike holder piece is the easiest way. 4 bikes takes me 20 mins on my own to put on with lots of straps for safety, about 5 minutes to take off.

Driving along no problems, done a few hundred miles now with bikes. Haven't tried the tilt function, it is not easy to operate!

Number plate, I recommend ebay, 5.99 delivered 48 hours later, didn't need to leave my house, perfect!

Any questions, please ask.

[pram man]

Hi Bluey,
did you reuse the electrics from your 2004 onto your 2011?
I am going to do the same.
I have a 2005 t6 that we are upgrading to a 2010 active.
Looks like the westfalia bar will swap over, I just wondered if the Volvo supplied 7 pin electrics will just plug in?
Ant help would be great,
Cheers,
Pram man

[theonlyone]

I used the instructions here for the Westfalia on my MY2013 SE and found them very useful - it saved a lot of time avoiding the unecessary dismantling. I did struggle though with the template for the bumper cut out.

The first 2 attached pictures show the template cut out (and I may have misaligned it, but it wasn't clear to me). The 3rd shows the additional cut I made in the bumper to accomodate connecting the trailer plug. The bit I found odd was that I had to cut out some additional plastic framework seen in that picture.

It all works fine and is not visible from the rear.

[Rouseslane]

Hi

I just tried to order the Westfalia vertical detachable towbar from P F Jones as recommended by many others here and they told me that they have now been advised by Westfala that this towbar will not fit the R Design with twin exhausts.

Has anyone else fitted the Westfalia detachable to an R Design and if so did it foul the cross bar, or how did you overcome this (longer exhaust rubbers etc?)

If I have to have a horizontal towbar, I may as well have the proper Volvo one fitted.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Ed

[twindecks]

Last year I fitted the detachable westfalia to my 59 plate XC90 R-Dseign. I'm very happy with it and have no regrets.

The twin exhausts did make it difficult, I detached the rubber mounts to allow me to pull them down a little and then get the cross bar above them. The next issue is that once fitting was complete the exhausts are gentle in contact with the cross bar, causing rattle. I put some heat resistant tape around the bar so it made contact but no rattle.

I think others have been successful with the rdesign also, although I haven't read what the ideal solution is.

[Rouseslane]

Thanks for the quick reply.

mine is a 2011 R Design, so should be the same as yours.


I would have thought that if the exhaust is touching the chassis even with heat proof tape, then there will be some kind of resonance drone, so using longer exhaust rubbers might be a good option to force a small gap ?

anyone else with R Design that could share their experience ?

cheers
ed

[Rouseslane]

Please if anyone with the Westfalia Detachable Towbar fitted to an R-Design 2011 (or thereabouts) could you send me a photo of the bumper cut.

Not sure how best to do this, but if you can PM me through this site that would be great.

My dealer just fitted mine and cut a complete section out of the R Design trim thus exposing the vertical socket.

It looks to me as though a small section of the bottom of the bumper trim needs to be removed and not the front face of the bumper trim.

Many thanks in advance