Tow bar electrics/Volvo

We do not have a Volvo but have used the same independent fitters for years and have had no problems with those fitted to a variety of cars. The independents are usually far cheaper and know the needs a caravanner far better than the garage who often put the work out to an independent anyway That happened with us when we did order a car form the dealer and it turned up with the towbar fitters sticker on the back window. I assume they added their margin to the fitters price.

If you particularly want the Bosal, then I suspect most fitters will be able to supply it for less.

Having said that if the garage fit supply it then you should get the makers guarantee with it rather than having to sort out who was wrong if problems arise.

If you go for the Volvo fitting make sure you get in writing that the electrics will be for a caravan as otherwise you may get them missing the fridge connection.

We do have a Volvo.

For £1,000ish your dealer should be fitting the Volvo factory fit electrically deployable towbar.  They should be charging the same price as if you ordered factory fit as you will find that many factory fit Volvo towbars are actually dealer fitted - our dealer never orders them from the factory - it will be an identical to factory fit item in every respect.

The electrics will be fully wired for pins 9 and 10 as you require, this is not a problem with Volvo unlike other manufacturers I could mention.  It has been suggested on here that Volvo do not fit a permanent live to pin 9, this is in essence wrong, they wire pin 9 to be live when the car is "awake" - this is a safety feature.  You will find that when you plug the electrics in the ATC on your van will not arm immediately until you wake the car up by for example opening a door or the boot. 

Finally I would mention that given all the rear facing safety sensors etc that the SPA Volvos have a number of which need to have their behaviour modified when towing as indeed are other systems such as Pilot Assist (which you may or may not have specified) I think it is well worth paying to have a proper Volvo towbar fitted. 

Thanks birderbilly. Really helpful reply.  Think I'll double-check what Volvo are offering me for the price they've quoted and go for that if it does indeed match the factory fit as you suggest.

You could also ask if they are still accepting CC membership to get a discount on all accessories including towbars. We did when we got our XC60 in 2016.

Birderbilly is correct with the reference to pin 9  its only live when the car is awake, be aware the ATC will self test when you start the car on each occasion. The Volvo discount applies to the towbar and other accessories and is exactly that, a Volvo discount and does not include any further dealer discount you might like to haggle for.

If pin nine is not live all the time then it cannot be described as permanent. the whole point having a permanent live is so that the vehicle battery can be utilised to power the caravan  internal lighting etc in an emergency. Whilst I can see that this would be a rare event nowadays it does not detract from the fact that Volvo is not adhering to the international standard laid down by ISO. 

I think Volvo know what they are doing.

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Just got home from the Volvo dealer after they fitted an electric towbar....cost £992.28 which equates to around 15% discount, I am relatively pleased with the discount. Obviously, we would all like more. I would be interested to have your opinions whether it was a decent deal or not. In Addition, the tow ball looks different from some of the Volvo pictures in their catalog insomuch that there is a machined bar going from east to west about 75 mm long going through the hitch just below the ball and just above the hole for the breakaway cable. Have they fit the wrong bar or am I just being stupid. I did wonder if the machined bar going through the hitch was something to do with the bicycle carrier thats available. Thanks Roy
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