Beware: Dolly's ruin oil pans.Hank Folk said:Can I flat tow my TDI? It is a 2004 manual trans. A dolly would be a real pain to deal with when I am not towing.
__. I bought the tow plate for my Jetta from a guy who had used it to tow his Jetta something like 75K miles. He lives full time in his motorhome (actually a converted bus). His wife wanted a Passat so they pulled the plate, sold it to me, sold the Jetta, and then bought a plate for the Passat. No problems in the 75K miles.PAW said:guess what i have towed a 2000 NB behind my Rv for 5 years--ranging from 1000 miles to 7500 miles at one time--no problem at all--just one thing --if you make a tight turn in or out of a gas station or something like that --go back and chk to see that your sterring wheel did not relock---other then that--you won't even know its back there!
Jason--you are correct again!
phil
Does the owner's manual comment on it? I suspect flat towing is not a good idea with a DSG.Since the DSG is not a slush box, can I flat tow in neutral? Been using the jeep, but it was designed for the purpose, and does not count the miles on the odometer.
You just need to keep a sign in the car that says "is it in gear?" I did a complete trans and engine replacement for a bus company that left one in 1st......all it took was a few hundred yards.....$11.9K......EVERYTHING was destroyed. I MEAN EVERYTHING.....wiring, radiator, inj pump, turbo, alternator......I still have the remnants.....
Wow... just... wow. For $12k replacement cost, somebody oughta fabricate up a 'The Club'-style shifter lock to keep it from being moved out of neutral, or just disconnect the linkages at the transmission after it's been verified in neutral. Just have to realign the shifter linkage when you want to use it, takes all of 3 minutes.
Advantage.....less weight/length to pull. Being overweight/length can result in a fine as CDL rules may kick in.What's the advantages/disadvantages of flat towing over a car carrier trailer?
I have a Blue Ox Alladin (Aluminum) tow bar and it works great for flat towing. The base plate is just as JasonTDI stated behind the bumper cover and the removable pins come out the bottom vents. When setting it up try to have the tow bar as horizontal as possible (drop down receiver) if you need to. Best of luck.
CarpeDiem
Good point!! I've never towed a car somewhere, so I've never dealt with the nitty-gritty.In addition to the weight and lenght factors, we find that the tow bar is much easier to store at the destination relative to a trailer. The bar simply folds and stores on the bus without removal from the receiver. A trailer would have to be unhooked from the bus then hooked up to the jeep and then maneuvered into a storage spot IF we could find one. We could never manuever the trailer with a 45 foot bus in the space available.
I hadn't thought of that since I've never towed a car. I am considering buying a Mk 4 TDI that has been flat towed behind an RV. Anything I should look at myself during my inspection related to being towed? The car has about 100,000 driven miles, but I don't know how many towed miles it has.Disadvantage.....the wheel bearings, CV joints, and transaxle rack up miles that are not reflected in the odometer.
You have to leave a key in the ignition...it dosn't need to be left in the "on" position just don't remove or steering will lock.Where did you find the plate and tow bar? How do you keep the steering wheel from locking over long trips?