Bumper Damage

Whilst hitching up our caravan,a certain person ( not me ) managed to reverse the Alltrack into the caravan hitch,damaging the bumper.

Not a massive amount of damage it has to be said but it's away to the repairer on Tuesday to be assessed.

Ian

Wiper Hesitation

I have noticed that when the vehicle is stationary using the Stop/Start and the windscreen wipers are in use,when the car starts again there is a noticeable hesitation in the wipers but nothing else electrical.

Does anyone know if they all do this or is it something that cn be corrected ?

Only a minor thing I know but I would like to know.

Ian

Breakaway Cable Attachment

As I have mentioned previously the breakaway cable attachment on the Westfalia towbar is a bit of a faff to connect being a "grovel on the ground" sort of a job.

I have attempted to remedy this a bit by attaching a suitably robust shackle to it,whilst not making the job a doddle it does improve things somewhat.

Hope this is of some assistance to somebody.

Ian

Excellent !!

Just returned from a few days caravanning in Scarborough.

The Alltrack was excellent,towed a caravan,four passengers,packed with luggage,a full roofbox and two childrens bikes with no problem at all.

The auto/Tiptronic gearbox is a delight.

Well pleased with things so far.

Ian

Towing

We used the Alltrack to tow our caravan for the first time last weekend to watch the Tour de France in Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales.

There was only one word to describe the Alltracks towing ability and that is awesome.

It was rock steady on the road,even when passed by artics. on the A1 it never moved,put it in "cruise" when appropriate to do so and just steer.

It turned in just a shade under 30mpg whilst towing our Bailey Orion ( according to the digital display ) and the pop-out factory fitted towbar did its job without any problem.

The only very minor gripe is that that the securing point for the caravan breakaway cable on the Wesfalia towbar is hidden away at the back which means a hands and knees job to clip it in.


Ian

Film Time

Had some protective film applied today to prevent the bodywork getting marked by stonechips.

Front of bonnet,either side of the front number plate and to the back bumper behind the retractable towball.

Very good neat job done,I was going to include a photo but they can barely be seen with the naked eye let alone with a camera so a bit pointless really.

Would be a good idea if they were offered as a factory/dealer fit extra.


Ian

Update On mph/kph

Visited the dealer yesterday asked if they knew how to alter the digital reading from km/h to mph in the digital display as mentioned previously.

The answer was that it can't be done ( well it could be done with some jiggery pokery in the computer but would be illegal ) as the speedometer only shows mph and legally it has to show km/h somewhere as well.

In other markets it is allowed hence the bit in the handbook describing how to do it.

So there is the answer,you can't do it.

Ian

Trailer Assist

It appears VW are to offer Trailer Assist on the forthcoming new Passat for 2015.

Trailer Assist

It would doubtless help us caravanners who aren't exactly red hot at reversing although I can't see it being retro-fit to older models but you never know.

Ian

Beware That Hosepipe !!

Have just given the Alltrack its first clean and it occured to me how easy it would be to get an exhaust pipe ( or two exhaust pipes ) full of water from using a hose.

Think I will cover them with a plastic bag next time.

Ian

Stop/Start Stopped ??

Yesterday I thought the Stop/Start system had packed its bags and left town as it didn't work.

It wasn't until I consulted the handbook I discovered that there is a long list of provisos before the Stop/Start decides to Stop/Start,one being not having the fan on Max which we had at the time.

Ian