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Thread: Towbars

  1. #1
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    Towbars

    Just a heads up with regards to fitting a BOSAL towbar.

    I purchased a vehicle 2 years ago which had a towbar already fitted, hooked up the boat to find the lights didnt work on the trailer, had them checked out. The trailer lights were ok but it seems the plug which was fitted with the towbar was faulty. Contacted BOSAL directly and was told that it was a simple solution you just disconnect and remove the earth wire and leave it off for a couple of seconds then reconnect.

    Yip it was a simple solution. The only problem, everytime the towbar gets wet the earth wire has to be removed. I contact bosal once again and ask about their "lifetime warranty". I was told that BOSAL only offer a 1 year warranty on their electrical harnesses and that they contract the harnesses out to various "subcontractors" to design and supply with their towbars. I started doing some research asking towbar fitment cnetres etc, to find that this harness fitted to my VW is a faulty unit. SO i contact BOSAL again to enquire why they didnt recall all these units at the time if everyone knows about the problem. The response, we will replace it at at a fee of R850.00.

    So if you find your trailer lights keep going on the blink and you own a bosal towbar. There is a solution you can replace it with the same faulty unit for R 850 and a 1 year warranty...I hear you will be lucky if it works for 2 weeks after being replaced, or you can go to a place like TOWRITE DURBAN and have a reliable unit fitted with a lifetime warranty for R 1200, Like the one I have on my other VW which is 7 years old and still works.

    Dont get mixed up with towrite and towbar SA.

    Towrite...good with lifetime warranty.

    Towbar SA...bad workmanship...shocking

    Bosal...dont use their wiring harness...rubbish with only a 1 year warranty.

  2. #2
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    Was this a new car or a used car? There is a specialised fitment kit that you have to buy to wire it. Have to admit, I have found one to be faulty, but was just the wiring that was swopped around. Corrected that and no problem since. Another good make is BTM, which is plug and play.

    To be honest, I'd be weary of a towbar for under R2500 for ANY vehicle. It's a safety item and you wouldn't want that failing, while driving in front of a bus full of schoolkids.

  3. #3
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    The vehicle was purchased second hand.

    The issue is not the purchase, the issue is the wiring harness which is apparently a faulty unit, fitted by Bosal fitment centres and the 1 year warranty, which i am told by other Towbar centres is a common problem. Unfortunately we dont do recalls on faulty components in this country. I have a choice, either replace the electronic component with one from a more reliable supplier which backs their product for R1200 or Bosal will replace the unit for R850. My other concern is I need to find out which company supplies these faulty units. You know the story, everything is made in China just with a different label. I do know there are 2 different manufacturer/suppliers in Pretoria, just need to make sure i get the reliable one.

  4. Thanks given for this post:

    wynn (16-Mar-15)

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