Need details on OEM trailer controller wiring...

[gt40mkii]

Looks like my Touareg isn't wired for a trailer (no unused wiring connector under the driver's-side dash.)

Anyone have a part number for this harness and installation instructions? This is the only thing holding up my hitch install.

[gt40mkii]

Originally Posted by gt40mkii

Looks like my Touareg isn't wired for a trailer (no unused wiring connector under the driver's-side dash.)

Anyone have a part number for this harness and installation instructions? This is the only thing holding up my hitch install.

Scratch that -- I think that connector is used for aftermarket brake controllers only. Is this correct?

[Vegas Matt]

Yep, the connector for an aftermarket brake controller is under the dash, if its there at all. You don't need to do anything under there when installing just the VW hitch and wiring with no brake controller.

Matt

[gt40mkii]

Originally Posted by Vegas Matt

Yep, the connector for an aftermarket brake controller is under the dash, if its there at all. You don't need to do anything under there when installing just the VW hitch and wiring with no brake controller.

Matt

You mean the VW hitch, wiring, and OEM controller (that mounts next to the CD changer,) right?

I'll be doing the install myself (I build cars for road racing, so installing a hitch is well within my comfort zone,) but I want to make SURE it all goes off without any issues. I hate getting 80% of the way through a job, only to find out I need more parts, or there is significant extra work that I didn't know about.

So, let me see if I have this right. I need the OEM hitch kit, which includes:

- Hitch & attaching hardware
- OEM trailer controller (controls trailer lights and brakes,)
- Wiring harness from the controller to the hitch.

In addition, I need a plug that installs in place of the blanking panel next to the hitch (in my case, a 6-pin plug, I think.) This is available from Waytek. (I've been a customer of theirs for a LONG time.) I'll also need an appropriately-sized ball and bracket to fit into the receiver.

I MAY need to replace the OEM bolts that are in the hitch kit with larger bolts, available from VW.

Is that all?

Installation seems pretty straight forward. This biggest worry I had was whether the chassis wiring for the brake controller was installed. Now that I know that the wiring under the dash was for an aftermarket controller, I assume all Touaregs are wired for the OEM brake controller (except for the wiring from the controller to the hitch, which is included in the OEM hitch kit.)

Correct?

[Vegas Matt]

It sounds like you have everything covered. There are a couple things of note:

The OEM VW Trailer Control Module does not control trailer brakes. You need an aftermarket trailer brake controller (Tekonsha Envoy/Prodigy, etc) to control the brakes on a braked trailer.

If you have an early 2004, you need the 14mm hitch mounting bolts. From the latter part of 2004 on, you need 12mm bolts. On my install, the bumper bolts were not long enough to accommodate the hitch, which had welded collars that the bolts installed through. You could use the bumper bolts, but they were nowhere near threaded in enough to safely tow with.

All Touaregs do not have the wiring for an aftermarket brake controller under the dash. I believe this was deleted for the 2007 models, but don't know for sure that they all had it. In the US I believe they all have the chassis harness that connects to the VW Trailer Control Module, which installs near the CD-Changer/Audio amplifier in the right-rear corner.

Hope this helps,
Matt

[gt40mkii]

Originally Posted by Vegas Matt

It sounds like you have everything covered. There are a couple things of note:

The OEM VW Trailer Control Module does not control trailer brakes. You need an aftermarket trailer brake controller (Tekonsha Envoy/Prodigy, etc) to control the brakes on a braked trailer.

This just keeps getting better all the time!

(BTW -- I verified this with a couple of techs at the dealership.)

All Touaregs do not have the wiring for an aftermarket brake controller under the dash. I believe this was deleted for the 2007 models, but don't know for sure that they all had it.

So what then is the solution? It sounds like i'll have to run my own wires for the brake controller.

In the US I believe they all have the chassis harness that connects to the VW Trailer Control Module, which installs near the CD-Changer/Audio amplifier in the right-rear corner.

Hope this helps,
Matt

It does -- quite a bit.

Right now, I see no compelling reason to go with the OEM hitch kit if it can't control the brakes. Going aftermarket is MUCH cheaper, and it doesn't appear tht I'll be loosing much in the way of functionality. Installation seems to be pretty much a pain in the ass either way I go, since I have to install a brake controller from scratch.

[nltomba]

Going aftermarket is not MUCH cheaper. It is somewhat cheaper. I went the somewhat cheaper way and I wished I spent a little more.
There is a write up somewhere on this site with my frustrations

[ericwarren]

so what is the final veridct for those with 2008 Touaregs and factory or dealler installed hitches?
do we have brake controllers that came with the package?
any way to check (short of hooking it up and trying?)?
if not present, is it true that no socket exists in the drivers area?
if not present, is there a step by step direction post to wire it up?

thanks!!!!!

[gt40mkii]

Quick update...

I installed my hitch last weekend -- easy. I'll have a DETAILED write-up on my web site -- sometime. (No promises on an ETA -- I know how my schedules usually go -- say two weeks and ites more likely to be six months!)

Originally Posted by ericwarren

so what is the final veridct for those with 2008 Touaregs and factory or dealler installed hitches?
do we have brake controllers that came with the package?

No.

any way to check (short of hooking it up and trying?)?

I don't think they ever came with a brake controller. I've no idea why except that I suspect VW figures too few folks will avtually tow with their Touareg to warrant installing a brake controller 9or even the harness for one, it seems.)

if not present, is it true that no socket exists in the drivers area?

This is true for my '08 T2.

if not present, is there a step by step direction post to wire it up?

Actual wiring will depend on the brake controller used, I believe. I haven't installed a controller yet, so I can't comment with any authority. I'll have a write-up on the install -- eventually.

[nltomba]

I regularly tow this (without the trash thank god. This was a rental clean up)
trailer is 18 feet, has brakes but i tow without brakes hooked up.
Before I towed with the treg. I had a Ford expedition There was a huge difference in braking (and accellerating too)thanks to the tregs brembos's