Toureg towbar issues

Apologies to the OP if I have hijacked his post - but, JVB - are you saying that the Treg is perfectly capable of running the fridge when towing - because if that is the case, I will get my dealer to make sure the fridge is connected when it goes in for service in a couple of weeks time.

We have a 2015 Touareg Escape.  I couldn’t find one with a FF tow bar.  So had a Westfalia detachable bar fitted by PF Jones who also coded the electrics.  No problems with the tow bar except it doesn’t have a loop for the breakaway cable.  I am not sure if an R line the bumper has to be cut for the tow bar to fit.  It didn’t with the Escape, which is less blingy model.   VW also advise that you get the radiator fan upgraded I did and it cost £1000.  To be honest I am not sure I would pay that again.  I haven’t heard of anyone having a problem with the standard fan.  
I find that the Tourareg tows superbly, we tow a 8m 2000kg single axle caravan with it so I think a fair test.  

I have towed with a Discovery Sport, Discovery 5 and now a Range Rover Sport all with the Euro 6 diesel engine and fitted with tow bars at the factory. In each case the fridge has worked without any problem so perhaps Landrover deal with it in their wiring spec. Neither did they need any additional cooling fan. When I bought the D/Sport brand new I asked Landrover how long before I could tow a caravan and the reply was straight out of the showroom. There are regular posts on this forum from V.W. Audi and Volvo owners all asking for help to resolve problems when preparing for towing which seems disappointing given that they make fine SUVs. 

I have this evening had a Conversation with a Treg owner 2nd year and he advises he has not had any problems towing his coachman and his fridge has worked OK , his van is 8years 

Yep, same as my JGC, No problems with electric and fridge and no extra cooling required. hitch up and go, great tow car. 

Same here, not had a problem with wiring on any of my Land Rovers including Euro 6 diesels. As for cooling it just shows the penny pinching of some of the German marques if they are sailing that close to the wind with cooling specs and not providing wiring to ISO specifications.

At the end of the day Land Rovers are designed and equipped for towing from the outset.

 JLR apologists are fortunately easily identifiable by their rose tinted glasses and short memories

http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/detachable-towbar-recall-153957.html

other links are available btw

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 

The fridge works in my caravan while being towed behind a Euro 6 Merc ML .... no  idea if there were any mod's to fans etc as the bar was factory fit and I bought the car second hand.

I am sure we can all rake up occasional design faults for every make of vehicle if we try however Discovery 3 production ceased 11 years ago, I am referring to the ongoing failure by certain vehicle importers to supply vehicles to the correct international wiring standards or supplying so called SUV's with a cooling system so borderline that it needs to be upgraded in order to tow a caravan for example.

The tow Ball issue affected more than the Disco 3 and wasn’t resolved in 2009, as I assume Vulcan knows   
Getting back to the Touareg.    I honestly don’t know if the fridge works on 12v I have simply never checked.   The first SUV we had was a pajero and spent endless hours getting the fridge to work on 12v.  We then had a Land cruiser for 9 years and never checked the fridge so I have never checked the fridge on the Touareg and this has never been a problem.  

Regarding the cooling fan.   The factory fitted tow bar should come with the upgraded fan.  And I agree it is penny pinching not to fit one as standard.   I suspect that the vast majority of Touareg’s, with after market towbars fitted won’t have the upgraded fan.  I chose to pay for one and on reflection I am not sure that they are necessary for towing a caravan.  I am not aware of the lower rated fan causing a problem and that includes vehicles with FF towbars which were supplied in error with the lower rated fan.

All vehicles have faults and a big fault on a big car is going to be expensive.  The only fault we have had was a rear door lock fail.    VW wanted close to £1000 to replace.   I bought a scrap lock online and the correct tools and with the help of YouTube fixed it for less than £100.  It tows a 2T caravan very well.  I am sure a Discovery or a Mercedes or a BMW would also do it as well.   But one of the reasons we bought a Touareg was it doesn’t carry a large badge premium.