Born / EV tow ball and bike rack compatibility
Just a heads-up for anyone looking at installing a tow ball for a bike rack. We had a Brink RMCu fitted yesterday, which our local installer said was the only make/model they could get for the Born. On arrival the actual ball has what Brink describe as a 'pin' integrated across it, the idea being that it stops you putting a trailer or caravan onto an EV or hybrid.
Which is great, but my Thule XT3 bike rack doesn't fit onto this keyed ball, despite Thule and Brink being part of the same group, and the rack only being a couple of years old. I'm not entirely sure what my solution is yet, but if the Brink truly is the only option out there, then their list of compatible racks may prove useful to others.
Which is great, but my Thule XT3 bike rack doesn't fit onto this keyed ball, despite Thule and Brink being part of the same group, and the rack only being a couple of years old. I'm not entirely sure what my solution is yet, but if the Brink truly is the only option out there, then their list of compatible racks may prove useful to others.
I think this might win the award for most barmy post ever! Imagine making a towbar which not only doesn't allow you to tow, but also (at a glance) doesn't fit over half of the bike carriers on the market! Genuinely, utterly insane, but thank you for sharing as if you hadn't, I would never have believed you!
If you don't mind me asking, OP, how much did it cost you to have fitted and how "integrated" was the "trailer" wiring on the car? i.e. are we talking a simple plug and play, or a nasty pile of scotchlocks?
ps. It does look like some judicious use of an angle grinder on that ball might assist with their compatibility matrix...
If you don't mind me asking, OP, how much did it cost you to have fitted and how "integrated" was the "trailer" wiring on the car? i.e. are we talking a simple plug and play, or a nasty pile of scotchlocks?
ps. It does look like some judicious use of an angle grinder on that ball might assist with their compatibility matrix...
It was £800 for supply and fit of the towbar, which felt reasonable since the factory option on the id.3 we ordered was £750 eighteen months ago. If I'm honest I haven't looked at the physical wiring, but I do trust our local installer and they've always done a good job for us previously on other wiring-related things. They must have done more than scotchlocks for reasons outlined below. They demo'd the setup when I collected the car. There's a small cut-out in the rear diffuser, which isn't visible unless you're underneath the car. The plug swings down, and then the towball locks into a hole. It's all very neat.
The rear sensors are deactivated when you engage reverse, and the proximity display shows the Born with a little trailer attached at the back instead (no photo because this only happens when the electrics are plugged in, and the bike rack is currently folded up in the shed!). The rear-view camera also has a 'trailer' setting when you go into reverse - button highlighted below. The button wasn't there previously AFAIK, so must have been activated in software somehow. The reversing display for this new mode has amended aiming lines - there's just a central yellow one which moves with the steering wheel to show where the tow ball will end up. The installer plugged in a testing board and simulated a faulty bulb on the bike rack, and sure enough when I used the indicator in the car the cockpit gave me a message to say the 'trailer' had a faulty signal light.
