i own a vt calais, and want to fit a tow ball/bar what ever they want to call them.. some thing to tow trailers with lol.. climbed under the back of the car and noticed 3 bolt like threads hanging down, is it just a matter of bolting it straight to this? or does it have to be welded and stuff on? i can do the wiring, thats easy.. just need the rest of it so i can pick up my new boat.. cheers peoples...
I think the 3 bolts you are referring to are the bolts for the fuel tank straps, you don't use them. I think holes need to be drilled but I'm not sure about that.
The bar you need will be custom made to suit your car. Just a matter of removing the rear bumper and bolting it on with the existing fasteners which are holding the rear crash strenghthening bar behind the plastic bumper. You will probably have to cut out the hole for the tang to fit through. The custom wire loom for the trailer lights will just plug into the socket already in your loom hidden behind a panel in your boot.
the heavy duty towbars have more mounts to bolt onto i think, and they bolt onto the reo bar which isnt accessable untill you remove your bumper iirc
The one i have is fitted behind the rear bar by two bolts on each side . Then there is a small brace that bolts onto the underside of the tow bar then bolted to the underside of the body by two offset bolts . In the middle of your rear bar there is a little square that you push out where the towbar tongue pokes through.
depends on the size of towbar you are looking at getting, the 1200kg ones bolt straight on to the factory bolts where the reo bar is, under the bumper, the, i think 1800kg ones bolt on there and underneath there is two bolts near the fuel tank, in the middle of the car, and the 2500kg ones need to have about 4 holes drilled in around the spare tire well, with thick steel braces that go on the inside of the wheel well, all of that should come with the set up but.. whichever tow bar you decide to go with will be a bolt on fit, no custom made stuff, its a commodore, not a ferrari.. (dunno how to spell it) if you choose to fit it yourself, it should be fairly easy, if you get one of the smaller ones. you'll need a phillips head screwdriver, to take the bumper bar off, about 3 screws in either side of the rear wheel arches, and mudflaps if fitted, then two little plastic clips that hold the bumper on near the fuel tank, if your rough with em they'l break, and a 10mm spanner or socket to unbolt it from inside the boot, underneath the tail lights, there will be two silver nuts on either side, once all thats off, pull either side of the rear bumper from the rear wheel arches, outwards, dont be afraid to give it a good pull, probly get a mate on the otherside, do them both at once, there bumper bar off.. then u'l need a 17mm spanner or socket to remove the reo bar 4 bolts, two on either side, too easy.. and then a 19mm probly socket, its easier to fit in the brackets, to undo the reo bar brackets, take em off, slide tow bar on, might be a little tricky, just give it a bump with ur hip or something, put the brackets back on, 4 19mm nuts to hold it on, id normally locktite all nuts and bolts, you dont want them coming loose ever.. then put the reo bar back on, the 17mm bolts, get them all started before you do em up, easier.. for the wiring, i think theres a grommet on the passenger side, but where i used to work we just drilled a 13mm hole about 2inces below the drivers side taillight on the flat bit of steel there, and put a wiring grommit in there then cable tie it down the towbar and screw the plug onto your rear bumper at the bottom with two self tappers.. alternatively you can get the flat wiring that you hang out your boot when your towing and tuck it back away when your not, but ive found that they end up scratching ur rear bar a bit.. damm didnt mean to go on that much, but ive done like a thousand of these heyy.. hope it helps, its a real easy job.. if anything doesnt make sense just ask me...
Have fitted well over a million of the hayman Reese style towbars and other makes or towbars to a VT/VX really easy to do i have some pics below of when i did mine... Mine is 1600KG mini hitch bar H/R style the hitch section is 40x40mm. The heavy duty one is 50 x50mm(2100kgs) and has braces that goes inside the boot well it requires more holes bout a extra 8 more holes than my one below.... (take care if you drill the holes on the D/S use a drill stop otherwise you will drill into the fuel tank) There is also a standard to bar which is rated 1250kg and has a bolt on neck... On the VT the you dont need to cut the bumper bar if you use a hayman reese one P/N 1571 as it comes under the bumper bar if you go for the 40x40mm (P/N RL1810) or 50x50mm(R1803)bar you will have to cut the bumper but there is a dotted outline you can use to do this so its not so bad and the H/R kit comes with a section of pinch mould to go around your cut so it looks nice, Also there is a groumet in the middle of the beaver panel below the boot catch that you can use for the wiring WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WITHOUT BUMPER ON HOW TO GET BUMPER OFF WITH BUMPER ON If ya need any help just shout..... Dont want to brag but use to be able to fit these in 18min flat drive in drive out :yeah::yeah::yeah:
