Trailer Hitch and Wiring Recommendations for a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle

Question:

How hard is the install? How hard is it to wire it up and is there a wiring harness offered? Also I may be towing a small camper that will have its own battery, what harness do I need to use to allow it to charge while the engine is on?

asked by: Steven B

Helpful Expert Reply:

We rate installation difficulty based on how long it takes to perform the installation on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being easy and 10 being difficult. Installation of Curt hitch # C11354 is rated as a 3 because it should take someone with experience about 30 minutes to perform the installation. At home in the driveway it should take the average do-it-yourselfer about an hour. I have included a link to the installation instructions for you to view.

This hitch does not come with a ball mount. If the camper requires a 1-7/8 inch ball use # 19256 and if it requires a 2 inch ball use # 19258. For wiring use # C56380. I have linked instructions for the wiring as well.

This wiring harness will provide the basic lighting functions for the trailer. To add a 12 volt circuit to provide a maintenance charge to the battery you will need to add an additional trailer connector and route some wiring to the vehicle battery via a 40 amp circuit breaker.

The most common connector that uses a 12 volt circuit is the 7-Way blade style. I recommend using # ETBC7 which is going to come with the 7-Way (the 4-Way will just plug into it) and wire and circuit breakers. This is the kit we normally offer if someone is adding a brake controller to actuate electric trailer brakes but it would be ideal for you as well.

You will need to ground the white wire to the vehicle frame and the black wire will end up being connected to the positive battery terminal via the included 40 amp circuit breaker. I have included some links that show and explain the ETBC7 installation. If you do need a brake controller I recommend the P2 # 90885 because it is easy to set up and use.

Be sure to consult your vehicle owners manual on the towing capacity of your 2013 VW Beetle before towing anything. The hitch is rated for 1500 pounds gross trailer weight and 150 pounds tongue weight. If the vehicle is rated lower you always go by the lowest rating.