I'm completely out of depth on this one: my partner has been offered a free small trailer, which would be quite handy for her business in garden maintenance/design. She drives a T-reg 306 HDi estate.
Questions: is fitting a towbar a fairly straightforward DIY job or not? I realise that the electrics are involved here.
If it is a DIY thing, can anyone give useful hints and advice? If it's not a DIY thing, can anyone recommend a fitter? (I'm in West Hertfordshire.)
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Recently fitted a towbar to a peugeot partner van which is very similar to the 306 i believe. Think i paid around £300 for the towbar from the local Peugeot dealer which i didn't think was too expensive considering it was properly load tested, plastic coated and came with all the electrics, towball, bolts and spacers needed for fitting.
I guess they can be fitted on a DIY basis but it would be awkward without access to a proper ramp and you need a 20 something mm ring spanner + socket set as obviously all the bolts need to be torqued up correctly for safety. The kit comes with everything you need and full instructions. Electrics shouldn't give you any trouble if you can wire a plug ok.
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Speaking for a 1993 hatchback, main trailer connector only.
Fitting the metalwork is very straightforward using existing mounting points/holes in the subframe. Be sure to buy the estate towbar, which is different to the hatchback towbar. The difficulty is all in the electrics.
As well as some seven-core trailer cable, you will need a relay/warning buzzer for the indicators (both readily available from most motor shops). The relay/buzzer can be mounted in the boot just below the right-hand light fitting. The trailer cable can be routed through an existing grommet into the right hand bodywork in the side of the boot behind the rear wheel.
All you then need to do is scotch-lock the trailer cable and the relay into the existing right light cluster. For which you will need the wiring diagram and some patience to identify which wire goes where.
There are more relays and more difficulty if you want to install a secondary connector for (eg) a caravan fridge.
Ian
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For a price comparison www.towbarsdirect.co.uk does the following:
306 estate towbar (Witter brand) £107 inc vat
50mm tow ball & cover £5.50
"Single" electrics kit, with scotch-locks and buzzer £6.50
Delivery £8.50
Total £127.50
If your T-reg 306 has bulb failure sensing (I don't know), you need a 7-way by-pass relay kit as well (£19.95) and run a separate fused feed from the battery to the by-pass relay. Read the comments on towbarsdirect's web site.
I can recommend Witter towbars from personal experience.
I have had no dealings with towbarsdirect.
Ian
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