Xc90 Tow Bar, volvo or aftermarket?

I've heard something about the genuine plug being different, Surely a tow bar joint or an auto electrician would be able to sort it. I cant see why you wouldn't be able to run a wire directly off the reverse light wire in the car. I definatly would not be going to a Volvo dealer! They would only get a mobile guy in to fit it any way. and then charge you double.

Don't quote me on this but the tow bar is the tow bar physically but electrically you most probably will need the factory tow package wiring. As an auto elect myself but don't do cars anymore early 2010 land rovers ect you couldn't just hook into the light wiring it would cause issues , faults and wouldn't work you needed the tow package wiring it may be different for volvos but being euro i amagine it's not. Any reputable Auto Electricial business may be able to help but they may also say the same.

Needs the Volvo tow pack unit

@Philia_Bear might have some info?

im chasing one myself .... new one from hayman reece around1000 odd installed ... does need the volvo towing box /harness .... one wrecker quoted me 220 another 480.... i fitted our xtrail with one from a wrecker 160 bucks 4 bolts make sure they are torqued to spec.... run harness plug it up... i asked volvo here in Perth and they no longer make the genuine part for a 2008 xc90... worth hitting barbagellos up... or a dealer sometimes genuine parts are cheaper than what you'd expect.... i got OE rubber volvo mats from sweden for 140 bucks from barbagallo in WA... some things are silly but i thought the mats were quite a good deal.... hope that helps...

From the somewhat limited mucking about that I got involved with (we have a 2013 XC90 R design with a Volvo tow bar setup), the Volvo tow bar is rated to have a tow ball weight limit of 180 Kg. The manual usually says a mere 90 Kg's, which is hopelessly limited. If you go for a non-genuine tow bar, you may be 'limited' to the 90 Kg, as they will not go against the manufacturers recommendations AFAIK. With the genuine Volvo tow bar, the 90 Kg limit is miraculously raised to 180 Kg.......

As far as wiring goes, my only comment is that subject to the nature of the trailer lights (mostly LED's these days), we had a 12 pin setup for our new Jayco CrossTrak caravan, it also required a special 12 pin adaptor plug setup that I sourced from Ford (it was around $65, Part Number: FOAB3Z15436R), this adaptor stopped the weird behaviour observed with the LED lights (the indicators would always be on etc...), something about load resistors apparently. see link https://www.jeffersonfordparts.com.au/new-genuine-ford-px-ranger-lw-mk2-focus-12pin-led

I was told by various auto elec's that this situation is common on many cars (Merc's BMV, Volvo, Ford Rangers etc.....)

Tow ball weight is a grey area, from what I gather, and I cant find what I read somewhere but 90kg is if your 7 seats are full, overseas specs. I have a genuine tow bar and tow ball weight is 180kg. Tow capacity is 2250kg. I tow 2000kg caravan, tbw is 120kg. It tows great. Car and van weight is 4600-4700kg total by the time I load up the car with gear. I have just fitted a genuine factory used transmission cooler for those 40deg days.

Here is some of the information that may be relevant...

This latter table was for USA/ Canada if I recall correctly, not Australian models.... The above photo is of our tow bar, there is also a special sticker inside the drivers door clearly stating that our car is rated for 180 Kg towball weight, 2250 Kg tow max weight etc.

I spoke to a rep from Hayman Reece regarding their tow bar setup, even though the tow bar was rated to 225 Kg tow ball mass, and a 2250 Kg tow max weight, he stated that you could not exceed the tow ball mass in the original Volvo booklet, which for our car was set at 90 Kg.., Luckily we picked up a car with the original Volvo setup, took the pain away.

By the way, the car tows the caravan brilliantly, apart from slightly reduced acceleration, you would hardly notice it otherwise.

Hope that this helps to un-muddy the murky waters somewhat.........

If the tow bar is plated 180 or 225 kg, in Australia its 180kg... 90 kg from my understanding is for those rude looking tow bars in the uk. An after market tow bar I would use if it is stamped 180kg or higher, no problem.

FYI for my 2012 3.2L R Design I got a used Hayman Reece tow bar from Berrys and fitted it myself. Then got aftermarket wiring and a Redarc brake controller fitted at a trailer place in Geelong called Sparks. There have been no issues at all.

My tow bar and wiring was on my car when I bought it. The plug is just a flat 6 or 7 pin, don't know how its wired but works good with my caravan, although I haven't my 3 way fridge in the van connected to the car. Don't have a brake controller either, My van is European, Adria with AL-KO overriding brakes. So I don't need any fancy wiring.