Tow bar help

[Bigb]

Hi there, I'm going to buy a removable tow bar for the x5 and I was wondering if anyone had used the pf jones one? How is it for quality and fitting? The only part that bothers me is the electrics so I think I would biy the dedicated kit that seemingly just plugs in. I see it's rated to 2500kg which is more than enough for my needs. Thanks in advance

[buzz]

I got it with the dedicated kit....tow bar very good quality and electrics work perfectly, disabling rear sensors and enabling trailer light checks....

[Bigb]

Do the dedicated electrics indeed just plug in? Thanks for the reply

[snrbrtsn]

I used PF Jones for my westfalia bar, first class service and quick delivery
I used the dedicated wiring however it's not strictly plug and play, you have to find the canbus wires and a few others, overall relatively easy though read the instructions several times and understand the options your car has, then read them another time.
The dedicated kits are supplied with snap (scotch) lock connectors, i spliced and soldered my connections.

[strummer]

Tow bar electrics on my e53 from pfjones needed no piggybacking onto wires,simply plugged into oe connector under the spare wheel

[Bigb]

I just bought the pf jones detachable towbar kit, I also bought the westfalia dedicated 13 pin wiring kit, it says it does not charge the leisure battery though (something about pin 10?) so hopefully get this all fitted before the weekend, bought them through eBay as the pf jones site wouldn't recognise my postcode.

[Alan Gunn]

I did the same as strummer also got the module that plugs in by the battery that stops bulb errors and disables the parking sensors.
The module i got was from an e46 but the right part number(latest one) the price for one sold for an x5 was double the price if not more all working fine.

[Bigb]

The wiring kit I bought said it disables the rear pdc and fog lights I think

[snrbrtsn]

The dedicated kit does disable parking sensors, allbeit the reverse camera still works
The display shows a towbar symbol.
I fitted mine to E70lci and all wires were in boot area so far so good
However!
I have heard that LED lighting can be problematic if fitted to towing object, I believe it's to do with low power consumption, auld fashion bulbs works...

[Lyons]

I got the PF Jones towbar and paid extra for the proper BMW wiring kit. The towbar is very good quality, however it wasn't just a straightforward fit. When I put the bumper back on it fouled on the tail door, so eventually had to put a couple of extra washers behind the crash bar and thus angle the bumper slightly down and away from the boot. Not an issue now that it's fitted, was just a balls at the time.

The wee removable flap also hits the the towbar, so I keep meaning to cut a wee bit out of the handle hole to make it sit flush.

All in all I'd still buy it again! Good quality and cheap enough.

[Bigb]

Thanks for that input lyons,hopefully I won't have any issues but good to know what to do if I run into that problem.

[Bigb]

Fitted this today, 4hrs from start to finish.very happy with this kit, so glad I opted for the idiot proof electrics as they were a doddle. I had one problem as mentioned above, I had to grind some plastic off the rear cover as it fouled the towbar frame a little but other than that great. The 4x4 warning light was on on first start up, went for a run,switched off and back on and it was off(I was told this would happen so wasn't alarmed) very

[tsinc]

[quote="Bigb"]
Fitted this today, 4hrs from start to finish.very happy with this kit, so glad I opted for the idiot proof electrics as they were a doddle. I had one problem as mentioned above, I had to grind some plastic off the rear cover as it fouled the towbar frame a little but other than that great. The 4x4 warning light was on on first start up, went for a run,switched off and back on and it was off(I was told this would happen so wasn't alarmed) very

[Bigb]

I bought the pf jones detachable towbar and the westfalia dedicated 13 pin electrics(separately) both from ebay £146.99 for the towbar complete kit and the dedicated electric kit was £69.00. I just didn't use the electrics that came with the towbar as it was beyond me to wire.i have no clue how to send links so hopefully you can find these on eBay.