Deano K.

Hi guys,
I've got a new allroad on order, arriving in May, that is going to get the Westfalia completely hidden vertical hitch treatment. I plan on doing the install myself, having done the same on my '04 2.7T allroad, which I just sold. The difference is that the '04 came factory wired, where this one required the wiring kit. I looks like they give you blow by blow instructions so hopefully it will go in "without a hitch."(sorry!)

Here's what I ordered: Westfalia 305425 hitch £137.50, wiring harness 305214300107 £92.08 (This is a 7 pin harness what bypasses the parking assist, puts the vehicle into trailer mode when activated and also indicates lamp out trouble in the trailer)
The hitch comes with a 50mm ball. 2" = 50.8mm so I believe we are talking total 2" compatibility here!

Shipping from the UK to Oregon is £99.

The UK supplier is PF Jones ltd. who have been previously mentioned on this forum. Great to deal with and about 50% of what the US supplier wants for the same EXACT items!!
I did have to order the 7 pin to in line 4 adapter from the USA company.
I intend to shoot some video of the install and pump it out to Youtube. The only video I've seen there is a guy with an A4 Avant sporting the crappy looking hang down black monstrosity CURT hitch. He had some serious ground clearance issues with it.

Note: I think I'm going to have to have a couple safety chain loops welded on to the Westfalia hitch.

News at 11....

theSaint024

Great! Can't wait to see the install. There have been some interest in hitches on the forum. Can't understand why the allroad didn't come with the option.

cjv-baires

Deano K.,

I'm a new member from Canada and also interested in a Westfalia detachable hitch. Just curious to see if you had finished your install.

Deano K.

Well, I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't even begin the Westfalia install. The car is great however!

Here's what the hold up is: I am trying to find out EXACTLY how to remove the rear facias so I can get started. I don't want to break anything in error. The car also has the rear proximity sensors which complicate the process.

I also want to do a nice clean opening for the hitch in the brightwork panel and am researching the best method to accomplish that. Audi makes a specific panel, but as usual the price is astronomical for what you are getting. $600+
I think I can do a lot of fancy cutting for that money.

Keep you posted. In the mean time I can highly recommend the UK source for going ahead and purchasing the hitch and harness.

Deano K.

The install is done! I GoPro'd some of it and took tons of stills for the rest so will be putting together a how to in awhile. All that is left to do is take it to a tech who can modify the modify the essential data bits to accommodate trailering mode, which turns off the rear proximity sensors used by park assist and probably by side assist as well. I am super pleased with the way this thing looks and how solid it is! You have to get down and have a good look underneath to see that there is anything different when you are not running the ball arm.

Deano K.

Couple more pictures. There is a factory valance panel specifically made for this but in typical Audi fashion it's $600 before shipping from Europe so screw that! I cut a nice radius cornered rectangle into the metal (which is stout stuff BTW!!) that retains the 3 mounting screws to the rear floor pan, which is something I beleieve the factory job does not. I ended up lengthening it from the original to allow clearance for the wire harness to pivot fully down to the left side of the car. Details in the how to to follow.

cjv-baires

Deano K:

Congrats on the install, it looks great! Can't wait for the write up as I have been contemplating and researching the subject. Curiously, did you cut the valance smaller than the Westfalia documentation states? I recently received a pic from Eurohitches of Audi's factory precut valance and it looks like the opening is much bigger, something I didn't like since it made the opening quite obvious. Also, what did you use for the edges?

Deano K.

Thanks and yes I did do a minimalist opening for the same reasons you describe - a huge hole which if I remember correctly lost the center of the 3 mounting screws which hold the valance to the body pan. The edge wrap is a small black U-channel which is purposed for a door edge guard kit. Just over $9 at NAPA for waaay more than you would need. I used a 3" x 10" rectangle with 1" radiused corners which is just enough room for the wiring connector arm to swing down.

theSaint024

Nice job. Looking forward to the how to writeup.

Deano K.

I have a writeup done with the exception of programming. I took the car to a local Audi shop recommended by a dealer and had him change a data point to recognize trailering mode when the trailer harness is plugged in to the car.
According to the Westfalia wiring directions, my car has trailer logic built in, which saved about 20 involved steps which have one pulling individual wires from connectors and substituting wiring provided by Westfalia
Just now I had the first chance to put it all to the test and have mixed reviews. I see no indication that the car knows anything about the trailer or that "trailering mode" has been activated. I'm not sure what I should be seeing, if anything, but "I got nuttin'" - No trailer lights work. The only plus is that when backing up the trailer the rear proximity sensors appear to be bypassed as there is no squawking from the car.
I can say that the 50mm European ball works perfectly with a 2" hitch.

Any ideas are appreciated. At this point I'm going to be talking again with the Audi shop programming guy as well as PF Jones techs.