As an additional equipment, LADA vehicles can be equipped with a towing device (trailer hitch or towbar). The towing device is designed for articulated coupling of a vehicle with a towed trailer. The design of LADA vehicles provides for the possibility of installing a trailer hitch without additional mechanical influences (drilling holes, welding) on the vehicle body. The following are instructions for installing and connecting a standard towbar on cars of the Lada Priora family.
For each LADA car model, several trailer hitch options are offered for installation, differing in design, but identical in the method of attachment to the car body.
The trailer hitch, regardless of the model and design of the device itself, is attached to the rear power elements (side members) of the car body.
Tightening torques for threaded connections
:
- M6 – 9.8 Nm (0.98 kgf/m);
- M8 – 24.0 Nm (2.4 kgf/m);
- M10 – 47.0 Nm (4.7 kgf/m);
- M12 – 81.0 Nm (8.1 kgf/m).
A Question of Choice
Today, the problem when choosing a towbar for a Priora, as well as for other cars, is not a shortage of auto parts, but an excess of them. For Lada, which is the hero of discussion today, experienced motorists distinguish three brands. This:
- AutoS. A Russian company that has earned a calling not only at home, but also abroad, for the quality of its products. Offers a clutch for Lada Priora at a low price, but meets the standards and does not cause problems during installation.
- Leader Plus. Also a Russian manufacturer, producing copies for domestic cars and not only. Drivers highlight only the advantages, because the towbar costs little, but it has no problems with installation on the car.
- Trailer. The quality of this Russian company is also maintained at a high level, as is the opposite price level for Russian cars. The towbar on the Priora from the Trailer fully justifies the stated parameters.
And although there are other manufacturers of couplings, it is not known whether they offer models adapted for Priora. This can only be found out by contacting the company, the official website, or when searching for a car accessory in a store. As for foreign products, these are not worth taking for Russian cars. It's expensive and unjustified. Find out which companies produce the best towbars from this article.
Towbar on Priora station wagon
Special attention should be paid to the type of ball design, because there are three options:
- Quick release tow bar.
- Conditionally removable.
- Welded.
What is the installation of a towbar (also known as a tow bar or trailer hitch) on a Priora?
You can buy the product in almost any online store or at a regular point of sale of components on Priora. It is very important to pay attention to the configuration of the proposed kit for installing a Lada Priora towbar. In addition to the presence of the tow bar itself, the following should come with it:
- complete set of mounting screws and nuts;
- a pair of reinforcing plates for mounting on the side members and another one under the trunk;
- an electrical socket for connecting a trailer and a set of wires to it.
Towbar for Priora
It is also very important to pay attention to what type of body the Lada Priora towbar is installed under. In accordance with the official AvtoVAZ nomenclature, a product can have both a text name corresponding to the car body type and its code:
- sedan - 2170;
- station wagon - 2171;
- hatchback - 2172.
Regardless of whether the towbar is mounted on a Priora station wagon, sedan or hatchback, AvtoVAZ designers, unfortunately, do not provide special fastenings in the body of your car. However, this can be easily fixed using a regular electric drill and a 13mm drill. A couple of holes are made according to the instructions for the product on both sides on the side members and two more under the trunk.
The only thing is that you should definitely take care of the anti-corrosion protection of body parts in the area of the drilled holes. Bare metal risks becoming a hotbed of corrosion, gradually growing, like an infection, over the body of the Lada Priora. For this reason, the holes made are either painted or treated with an anti-corrosion agent, after which you should not have problems with rusting due to the trailer hitch.
Any driver can install the towbar independently. There may be some difficulties in connecting the socket to power the turn signals and trailer dimensions on the Priora. But we will try to shed light on this issue for motorists who are inexperienced in electrical matters.
Installation diagram
If the towbar on the Priora is chosen correctly, then there will be no problems with installation. And the standard installation sequence includes the following steps:
- Dismantling of some auto parts.
- Installation of the metal structure of the coupling device.
- Installation of electrical wiring.
- Reassemble the car in reverse order.
- Carrying out a road test in conjunction with a trailer. Including testing of lighting equipment.
Due to the importance of the installation stage of metal structures and electrical equipment, we will analyze these stages in more detail.
Preparing for towbar installation
Installation
Now let’s move on to the nuances of installing a tow bar on Priora cars. There are several main steps here.
So it looks something like this:
- you choose a suitable tow bar;
- buy a trailer hitch that matches the Priora design;
- install the metal part;
- install electrical wiring;
- reassemble the car in reverse order;
- carry out a road test;
- hitch the trailer;
- check it in action with an empty and full trailer;
- testing the operation of lighting equipment;
- you are happy with the result.
Installation work
More often, the towbar is equipped at the factory with a pad for the platform, stiffening plates and rubber shock-absorbing inserts. Although professionals advise installation at service stations, more often drivers are interested in how to install a tow bar on a car with their own hands. In answering this question, we will list the necessary equipment and tools. It will include:
- Drill with drills.
- Multi-grade sandpapers.
- Water with a cloth to remove dirt.
- Degreaser.
- Rags.
- Anti-corrosion composition.
- Jack or inspection hole.
- High quality lighting.
Video about installing a tow bar
The mechanical installation sequence is simple. To begin with, the driver drills holes in the appropriate places, but not in contact with the electrical wiring. We clean them with sandpaper and treat them against corrosion. Afterwards it is necessary to apply a sealant for waterproofing.
What is the device
How to install a towbar on a Largus yourself video
A towbar is a towing device (TCU) that is installed at the rear of a car’s subframe and is used to couple with a trailer or tow rope. It consists of the following elements:
- beams;
- two mounting brackets;
- An L-shaped pipe with a ball at the end, which acts as a hinge around which the coupling mechanism wraps;
- socket box for installing the trailer plug connector.
It should be noted that for all types of Lada Priora bodies this principle is the same
From behind the car you can only see a piece of pipe with a ball onto which the trailer drawbar is placed. You can make such simple equipment for your car yourself or buy a ready-made one. For Lada Priora cars, purchased coupling devices of the following brands are most often used:
- Bosal produced by Bozal-Autoflex LLC;
- 2170C from ;
- VAZ-05, produced by , is especially popular among Priora station wagon owners.
Electrical wiring installation
It is better to entrust the connection to professionals to prevent electrical wiring damage. When installing electrics yourself, the steps are as follows:
- Emptying the luggage compartment, including carpets.
- Opening access to the electrical wiring harnesses of the vehicle's rear optics.
- Turn on the dimensions to search for the corresponding wire on the left lamp using a tester.
- Fasten and mark a 0.6 meter piece of wire in this place.
- Turning off the side lights.
- And turning on the right turn signal for subsequent similar markings.
- Further, the rear lights with brake lights are also determined.
- And then the electrical wiring is connected into one bundle, which is removed through the technological hole.
- Pulling wires to the towbar socket. For information on how to connect a towbar socket, read this article.
- Connecting the marked wires with the coupling electrics according to the diagram.
- Connecting the trailer plug.
- Functionality check.
At the stage of connecting the electrics, it is important to pay special attention to the insulation of the wiring, because if the standards of this stage are not followed, there is a possibility of a car fire.
Thus, choosing a towbar for a Priora is similar to the process for other cars. However, it is worth being familiar with the classification of towing devices, having information about manufacturers that produce devices specifically for this car, and also knowing how to install a towbar on a passenger car with your own hands.
How to install a tow bar on a Lada Priora sedan and hatchback
Do-it-yourself coupling device for a passenger trailer
Lada Priora is almost the most common car on the road today. They make it here, quite efficiently, fully maintaining the entire technological regime, and the machine is quite capable of satisfying the average resident of our country, who only needs a car to go to work and back, and sometimes to go on vacation to the nearest forest. The car is available in three body styles: sedan, hatchback and station wagon.
So everyone can choose a Priora according to their taste and needs: for some, a large and voluminous trunk is important, while others strive for compactness and maneuverability on the road.
But today we are not interested in this, but in how to install a towbar on a Priora with our own hands, and at the same time not break anything in the car.
Model selection
First we need to decide how we will look for a tow bar for ourselves. It’s not difficult to find any on a Priora, and it makes no difference whether it’s a hatchback or a sedan. We will need a towbar based on a tow ball, standard for our country and all neighboring countries. It is very simple, but fully capable of satisfying those who want to drive their car with a trailer. Externally, in the back of the car we can only see a pipe and a ball sticking out on it. In the part of the car that is invisible to us, there also remains a frame with brackets that secure this entire structure to the car’s subframe.
When a towbar is made, the mounting frame is first made, and therefore, depending on the depth of the subframe, the ball itself and the pipe on which it is attached are brought to the visible part. Everything is done simply on the Priora – it’s a standard car. The ball in this entire structure plays the role of a fixed hinge around which the trailer drawbar moves. Due to the perfectly smooth shape of the trailer, it turned out that the trailer can move both horizontally and vertically without causing any inconvenience to the driver.
There are also the following types of trailed equipment:
- Based on a trailer bracket.
- With tow hook.
Towbar Lada Priora
By the way, the towbar usually created a lot of inconvenience when driving. Usually, when making a sharp turn, the trailer could suddenly jerk the car to the side due to the fact that it is not firmly fixed. It often happened that the hook was torn off by the trailer. This happened because after long use the hook slowly wore out and the weld simply came off.
Installation of equipment
Having selected the desired towbar and all related equipment, we must begin installation. First of all, we stock up on equipment, we will need: a drill, mounting bolts, a soldering iron, anti-corrosive.
First of all, we look at the Priora sedan and select the desired location for mounting on the subframe. This should be clearly in the center of the rear bumper, since the towbar must pull the trailer exactly in the center of the car so that the trailer does not move to the side when driving. If this happens, it is guaranteed to lead to an accident.
So, we attach the brackets to the subframe and mark the places where we will drill the mounting holes. Having drilled them, you need to immediately treat them with anti-corrosion agent so that rust does not spread along the subframe.
Now we need to use the diagram to find all the signal wires from the lighting devices and connect them all to the socket on the towbar. The socket is necessary to connect or disconnect the electrical circuit of the trailer and the vehicle when the trailer is parked separately. The trailer usually already has a fork, especially if the trailer is new. To connect new wires to old ones, it is better for us to use soldering, since by simply wrapping them with insulation we risk that the wires may become disconnected at the most necessary moment and this will lead to breakdown of the car’s electrical equipment.
Features of connecting the towbar socket
If you need to additionally attach the trailer hitch socket, it should be installed in the towbar socket, and then connect the contacts according to the pinout of the towbar connector, wiring diagram. Conscientious manufacturers include placement instructions in the box with the product they sell. If there is no such pinout, each car owner will have to determine the identity of certain contacts independently.
It is important to prepare all the necessary tools and materials for the job before you begin to loosen or tighten any bolts, screws, or other fasteners on a car, towbar or trailer hitch.
Among the mandatory tools and tools for preliminary preparation for connecting the trailer hitch (taking into account the electrical kit) are the following:
- the actual socket for the tow bar;
- dismantling devices (for removing the bumper, as an option - for trimming the rear bumper, if necessary);
- electrical tape, heat shrink;
- fastening elements, including a fastening plate;
- screwdrivers and wrenches (a set of different sizes of wrenches);
- soldering iron;
- wires (if they are not included in the kit, it is recommended to choose copper wires of the specified thickness);
- connecting terminals for the contact ends of the wires (can be sold together with the towbar, otherwise it’s easy to buy yourself at the market, bazaar or construction hypermarket);
- connection diagram for the towbar socket (preferably on paper).
For those car owners who decide to install a trailer hitch and install the socket themselves, the following rule should be taken into account: the thickness of each core in a stranded wire must be at least 1.5 mm.
Installation of equipment
Having selected the desired towbar and all related equipment, we must begin installation. First of all, we stock up on equipment, we will need: a drill, mounting bolts, a soldering iron, anti-corrosive.
First of all, we look at the Priora sedan and select the desired location for mounting on the subframe. This should be clearly in the center of the rear bumper, since the towbar must pull the trailer exactly in the center of the car so that the trailer does not move to the side when driving. If this happens, it is guaranteed to lead to an accident.
So, we attach the brackets to the subframe and mark the places where we will drill the mounting holes. Having drilled them, you need to immediately treat them with anti-corrosion agent so that rust does not spread along the subframe.
Now we need to use the diagram to find all the signal wires from the lighting devices and connect them all to the socket on the towbar. The socket is necessary to connect or disconnect the electrical circuit of the trailer and the vehicle when the trailer is parked separately. The trailer usually already has a fork, especially if the trailer is new. To connect new wires to old ones, it is better for us to use soldering, since by simply wrapping them with insulation we risk that the wires may become disconnected at the most necessary moment and this will lead to breakdown of the car’s electrical equipment.
The towbar on the Priora is installed taking into account the principle of fastening (regardless of the type of body). Such tuning is often carried out by owners of the Lada Priora sedan. Various towing devices are installed on this car.
