allroadCole

I've posted a bunch earlier about a hitch so here is the follow-up/summary.

As most of you know the North American allroad hitch has been discontinued and is impossible to find. However the European allroad hitch is still being produced and available. The Euro hitch is a slightly different design because it has to meet the strict TUV standards. The Euro hitch is also rated higher than the na hitch, 5500lbs vs. 3000lbs.

All sources seem to indicate that the Euro hitch will work with the North American allroad, and it really should, but as far as I know it has never been done, sooo...

Getting the hitch here is the hard part, I have called a bunch of places and got some outrageous prices for importing this thing (n.a. Audi dealers can not get it). I live in Bellingham Wa., which is only about 20 minutes south of the big white boarder; I have found that for some reason it is cheaper/easier for Canadian importers to import this part.

I've been talking to a well known Canadian importer that is willing to import the hitch (directly from Audi) and then drive it in a truck across the US border, meet me in person and sell it to me for $750 US. Which is really not bad considering the retail on the hitch is 734 euros (970 US). This is ocean freight though, so it will take a little more than a month to get the hitch once the order is placed... For $50 more he can air freight it and it will take 2 weeks...

This is more of a update for everyone rather than an offer for a group buy, I asked and he checked, but he said his cost from Audi and for shipping is the same if it's an order for one hitch or ten...

BUT, if anyone wants to order a Euro hitch for $750 plus actual shipping cost from Bellingham to where ever you live, let me know and I would be happy to add one to the order. I really think this is the best option for obtaining a high quality class II hitch. This hitch is removable just like the N.A. hitch, mounts in the same position and I <i>think</i> it comes with a wiring harness (all the ones I see for sale online include the wiring harness, but I have been unable to confirm if the part no. of the part I'm ordering includes the harness).

Thoughts? Questions?

Here are some links/info for reference...

- euro part number : 4Z7092156

- <A href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&langpair=de%7Cen&u=http://zubehoer.audi.de/zubehoer/zubehoer.jsp%3FsprachID%3D1%26baureiheID%3DMO_AU_A A6R%26modellgenID%3DMO_AU_AA6R%26modellID%3DMO_AU_ AA6R_C5_4BH%26hgID%3DMO_AU_AA6R_C5_4BH_I_3004%26gr uppeID%3DMO_AU_AA6R_C5_4BH_I_3004_3034%26teilenr%3 D4Z7092156&prev=/language_tools" target="_new">audi.de hitch page</a>

- <A href="http://madisonminer.com/images/ar/au0637.pdf" target="_new">usage instructions</a>

- <A href="http://cgi.ebay.de/Anhaengerkupplung-Audi-A6-Allroad-2006-abnehmbar-E-Satz_W0QQitemZ260090479027QQihZ016QQcategoryZ76107 QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem" target="_new">One being sold on ebay.de (with pictures)</a>
none of the ebay.de sellers will ship outside of Europe (most will not ship outside of Germany)...

yrk2.7t@curbside

Nice work!!

uber_ar

I will add this data to the FAQ as well.

Scot W

The euro wiring will have extra prongs for the independent amber turn signals, backup light(s) and rear fog light. You will probably just need to source the US pigtail to convert as the plug on the car is the same.

allroadCole

50mm, so I guess that will have to be close enough :|

glidar

It snot. ;-) I've heard horror stories resulting from this assumption...

allroadCole

surely a well used and worn 2" ball is smaller than a new 50mm ball...

hmmm... layer of Duck tape?

really though, all the trailer couplings I have seen clamp down pretty tight and appear to have much more fudge factor than 3/100 of an inch

glidar

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68521/connector.jpg"></center><p>

glidar

In my case, I'm typically using a 2" ball with a 50mm coupler (if I don't have a 50mm ball). The main issue in this case is convenience -- it can be a royal pain to get a 2" ball to drop out of a 50mm coupler. Going the other way (2" coupler with 50mm ball) I would think would result in extra slop and resulting wear. Safety? I dunno. I've heard warnings of dire consequences of mismatching ball and coupler but I don't know if those warnings come from actual experiences or from safety nannies.

Golf18t

e-mail me- I just started an group import of euro passat hitches