decent trailer

[Dave_T]

Hi,

I'm inking about getting a trailer for all our stuff. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm after a secure trailer that I could either put bikes in, or attach bikes to the top of it.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Meoncoast]

Not the cheapset but the best trailer we have had came from interspension, just google it.

 

[Dave_T]

Thanks for that.

I found a nice trailer:
http://trailers.co.uk/Product/0000002189/TVA750

However is £1800, and coupled with the cost of getting a towbar fitted (about a grand, no factory prep ), it's all looking quite expensive...

 

[sbmcd]

I use two trailers on my Cali, one motorbike trailer for my dirt bike and one large braked trailer for taking stuff to the tip / materials collection. If you plan to use your trailer on trips as it sounds, make sure you can open the rear tailgate without removing the trailer as I have to with my large trailer.
Halfords do a range of small trailers which may be of interest, Gumtree is also good for second-hand stuff.

 

[jts46]

We have an "Erde 143" bought from wickes several years ago in kit form i think it was £300.
Have used it in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and UK. We strap bikes to top of trailer using roof bars and bike carriers from halfords. Never had any problems of "things" going missing.

John

 

[Stu]

The Erde / Daxara range are pretty good for general use.

Erde is the budget model, Daxara slightly better but to be honest not a lot in it and most parts are interchangeable.

If you have access to CostCo they normally have the Daxara 127 at a great price.

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk ... 5.2/139567

There are a number of add on options for these. Mine has a hard top and also a 'roof rack' which can be used for bikes or even a roof box.

I bought mine used but they do retain value so do your homework.

 

[Stu]

Here's a quick picture of mine, stored on end.

 

[teeboy]

We have the erde 122, looks pretty similar to Stu's. We have different bars, ours fit to the trailer, so we have a soft cover, then we attach cheapo bike racks to the bars.

We hardly ever use it, but it is just handy for occasional outings and tip runs.

Not sure I would want it for a run to the south of france, but for local use they are very useful.

On the cali you can easily forget you are towing as you can't see it behind you (unless I have the bikes on top) - less of a problem on the car.

T

Sent from my Sony Tablet S using Tapatalk

 

[Stu]

Should be the same Tony. Erde 122 = Daxara 127

The lid comes with the bars and is actually an Erde part.



ABS Hard Top

I guess you have these bars -



Erde Bars

 

[teeboy]

Thats them. I also have the soft high top thingy which allows you to fill it really high, probably a bit more than the abs box cover, but that is from my old tent days - and is no good for bike carrying

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[Dave_T]

awesome, thanks for the info everyone... That's all really useful info.

 

[Dave_T]

I'm going to go ahead with this.... First step, getting the towbar fitted.

I don't have the factory prep for the witing loom... Does anyone know how this is fitted? I would hope that it attaches to the fusebox under the passenger seat, then along the underside of the van. if it goes inside the van, then I can see there will be problems, i.e. You'd have to take the kitchen out!

Cheers
Dave

 

[Andy]

Search forum for p j Jones they sell West fail oem kits with wiring that goes under van. A control module goes under passenger seat. Wiring then goes up to dash via drivers seat.

Sent from my SM-G900F

 

[Dave_T]

Hi, thanks for that, however I'm looking at getting the vw dealer to fit the kit... Is that the same part?

Thanks
Dave

 

[rippers]

The Westfalia kit is the same as the OE one I'm led to believe. Also if you book it in with VW dealer they will more then likely take your van to a local Towbar fitter then charge you twice as much!
Where abouts are you based? Oli at BMVS recommended a company to me that was very reasonable for the Westfalia OE kit

 

[Andy]

Cheaper to get one of pf Jones aproved fitters to fit their kit. Look on their Web site.

Sent from my SM-G900F

 

[Dave_T]

Hi. I'm based in north essex. The guy I spoke to at the dealer said that they do the fitting themselves.

If I sort it though PF Jones, do you know if there be any impact on my warranty?

cheers
Dave

 

[briwy]

The advantage of the erde and daxara trailers is that they are type approved in france if you are planningon going there.
over 500kg gross weight needs to be braked as well for france and you also have to have a spare wheel which is a sensible thing anyway

 

[Dave_T]

yes, I reckon I'm going to get an erde 122 with the abs top. That should do the job nicely.

So for the official parts... Does the wiring go under the van?

Thanks
Dave

 

[Andy]

If westfalia kit, which is OEM, fitted by PF Jones it should not affect warranty.

If dealer fits wiring inside the van they have to remove all the kitchen & wardrobe, which makes it time consuming & expensive. So I would hope they now fit the westfalia external wiring loom.
You could ring a dealer & ask.

 

[sandalfarm]

We have an Ifor williams its very good will last forever but might be à bit too substantial for what you want

 

[Dave_T]

I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer about whether they use the 'under the van' kit. Ideally I would like to get it all done via VW, but not really if they have to pull the kitchen out.

 

[teeboy]

Make sure you ask lots of questions when speaking to the dealer. Just because you ask a VW salesman to fit the towbar they have many options:

1 - Fit is as per factory (in the van) - I doubt many would do this as it takes ages - I also doubt that you would want this as most dealers would do more damage than good (no offence meant but it is a massive job - and I suspect some trim will get scratched and it might squeak afterwards!)

2 - Fit the westfalia under the van kit - which I what I did DIY and would be my preferred method if VW were doing it. This is the stock towbar which fits in the tool kit and works just like factory.

3 - They might just send it off to the local towbar fitter and then you have to ask all the same questions of them they may just use the cheapest fixed bar and a bypass relay.

When negotiating for my van, the salesman told me he just sends the van to a local fitter...

T

 

[slowcoach65]

I had an Erde - catch to stop it tipping snapped on the motorway after 18 months. After a year a wrangling with Halfords I got a Daxara replacement, which I sold to friend after a year - a month later a wheel fell off! Neither were overloaded or abused.

Good luck,

Andy

 

[Dave_T]

I've now heard back from VW, and they say they fit the westfalia wiring loom that goes under the van, which is obviously the best option for all concerned!