Show what you tow!

Interesting. So why are the US ratings so much lower, or sometimes not even stated? Liability?

newguy said:

Oh, and YES my wife drives the motorhome!

As for the passat, I was overweight on the tongue, but I kept a very close watch on it.

The Airbags made a HUGE difference and for anyone that tow's I would highly recommend them.

Take a look here at the towing ratings...

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/passat-estate/which-model/engines/towing/

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/golf-estate/which-model/engines/towing/

The new Jetta Wagon with a TDI is good for 1399KG with a manual transmission! 3084lbs for us 'mericans

Cheers!

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Show what you tow

This is what is behind our 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon most weekends in the warmer weather.

Papa: Wow, that's a pretty big load too. How much does all that weigh? What hitch are you using and do you have stock rear suspension?

newguy said:

Naaa... lack of demand...

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There is a lot more to the towing capacity of vehicale then just being able to pull it. I had a friend killed by one these "Darwin Awards" when a pickup was pulling a skid steer down the highway someone cut him off causing the pickup to lock up his brakes and snap the rear axle the trailer took out 7 other cars between the trailer and skid steer. The driver claimed he was within the limits of the truck but was actually 400lbs over the trucks limits due to his 3 passengers which he didn't account for.

All airbags do is level the tow vehicle and keep the rear axle from bottoming out. They don't increase the vehicle capacity and they don't put the weight back on the front wheels. When your bottoming out the suspension of any vehicale its your 1st clue that over the limits. Most cars are designed to carry a full load that's passengers and all their crap. If you towing a trailer with all the seats full and all their crap plus a 1000lb trailer you are certainly over what it was designed to do.

QuickWrite said:

Papa: Wow, that's a pretty big load too. How much does all that weigh? What hitch are you using and do you have stock rear suspension?

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1. Weight? I need to run it out to the DOT weigh scales after hours. The trailer is rated at a GVW of 2190lb. (It does get loaded with much more occasionaly though. I do try to keep those occassions to less than 3800lb and short distances)

2. The hitch is a Hidden Hitch.

3. Still a stock supension.

I do have the ball mount (that goes into the receiver) going up __/-- and I purchased a long neck 2" ball and filled the gap between the bottom of the ball and the ball mount with 3/4" washers. This raises the top of the ball high enough that the trailer pulls flatter. Balancing the load so that there is little weight on the hitch really helps also. I can lift the trailer tongue easily.

The quads are listed as 571 lb and 755 lb dry. Ten gallons of fuel is about 100 lb. The mud is weightless. kind of like eating a Brat at the ball game (Very little or no Calories)

Fuel economy does drop to about 37-38 MPG though and even less when against a strong wind. (My buddy feels good when he gets 21 MPG with his new Tacoma Sport and no load)

BadMonKey said:

When your bottoming out the suspension of any vehicale its your 1st clue that over the limits. Most cars are designed to carry a full load that's passengers and all their crap. If you towing a trailer with all the seats full and all their crap plus a 1000lb trailer you are certainly over what it was designed to do.

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I had an experience like that once. My wife and I were moving cross-country with our 1970 Chevy Blazer, pulling our 1989 Subaru Justy on a U-Haul flatbed car trailer. Both the Blazer and the Justy were loaded with stuff. I began to notice the rear suspension on the Blazer was bottoming out: the bump stops on the axle were getting smashed and I didn't like the way it was handling. Halfway along the trip, I found another U-Haul and swapped the car trailer for a tow-dolly, which made the trip a lot less stressful! It wasn't the weight of the car that was so bad, but the heavy U-Haul trailer and the massive tongue load it placed on my truck.

QuickWrite said:

Interesting. So why are the US ratings so much lower, or sometimes not even stated? Liability?

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Different standards, different laws, different driver training, different expectations of the vehicle ...

In europe, all but the lightest trailers have trailer brakes, and they use what we call "surge brakes" that apply trailer braking in proportion to what the tow vehicle is doing, unlike the electric brakes that are pretty much on or off (not in proportion to tow vehicle braking).

Vehicles towing trailers are restricted to a lower speed on motorways.

In europe, towing trailers with cars has been standard practice for decades, so a lot of vehicles are designed with hitch attachment in mind. The hitches have different weight classification ranges from North American hitches.

But yeah, a lot of it is market demand (or lack thereof) and fear of liability. In europe, larger cars are expected to have trailer towing capability, and if you as a manufacturer don't offer it, sales numbers will suffer! Nobody drives pickup trucks over there ...

towed home

Big brother picks up little brother. Blown turbo, stock ecu on a 3bar map, didnt know any better. lasted not even a day, it sounded awesome just before it blew up, I felt like a plane, it sounded like a 747 jet airliner was driving down the street, it was hilarious, I was thinking wow this is so cool, then all of the sudden POP!! then all this some and no more turbo noise! uh oh jet airliner on fire!! I thought my exhaust popped off and it was burning my sidewall, then I realized no turbo noise and the car is going nowhere, must be the turbo.

vwcandy said:

Big brother picks up little brother. Blown turbo, stock ecu on a 3bar map, didnt know any better. lasted not even a day, it sounded awesome just before it blew up, I felt like a plane, it sounded like a 747 jet airliner was driving down the street, it was hilarious, I was thinking wow this is so cool, then all of the sudden POP!! then all this some and no more turbo noise! uh oh jet airliner on fire!! I thought my exhaust popped off and it was burning my sidewall, then I realized no turbo noise and the car is going nowhere, must be the turbo.

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Wow, I think you are overloaded on that single axle trailer, aren't you? LOL

yeah by like 300 pounds, not to bad, 3500 pound axels. It was an emergency! thats why I have the ass end jacked up with a jack while it sat in front of the house while I cleared out the garage. you can see it in the picture. Why is everyone so crazy when it comes to towing. People towing big stuff with little cars, people towing big things on little trailers, what is wrong with all these people??

oh, now I see the jack!

it's all good man - I was just having fun poking at you... I got poked at plenty for towing my **massive** popup camper with my VW...

I was pushing the limit, but I took it easy.

vwcandy said:

Blown turbo, stock ecu on a 3bar map, didnt know any better. lasted not even a day

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No offense intended, but I've seen some of your other posts, and I think you need to read/learn some more about these engines before you just start bolting stuff on. There is a prescription for power on these cars that is well-established. There is nothing wrong with innovation, and there is likely room for some more TDI innovation...but you need to start with the established methods first and then build on that. A 3 bar map comes after a bigger turbo and with new tuning to make it work right so that things don't go boom. As you found out...a 3 bar map on stock tuning and a stock turbo is not going to work for long.

Good luck.

thats funny, I didnt just install the 3 bar. It was part of the egr delete, 3"exhaust, Fmic install all at once. Better for me anyways because I get to buy something better! I will have a rocket by the time I am done blowing things up.

Y'all already know I'm nuts, but...

The hitch...


What I pull with it...

This one was easy... 100 miles of highway...


This one was a little heavier.. Me.. In the pouring rain.. With a 2001 Taurus on the dolly..


I'll try to find the pictures of the F-150 I had on the dolly.. I've also towed my Camaro to the dragstrip numerous times with the TDI. Mostly off highway hilly terrain. The camaro weighs 3500lbs on a light day.. The only issue I ever have with the dolly is slow speed turning, like in a parking lot or on dirt.. The dolly only turns so far, then it starts to push the back of the car sideways if you need to turn sharper than the dolly wants to turn..

Stopping power was fine..

Does that dolly have trailer brakes?

Keven said:

Does that dolly have trailer brakes?

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nope...

And it tows fairly well? I need to buy one of those

flyfishin machine

another kinda trailer

Dandy: Dang, you really pull that with your Jetta? What's it hold, a glider? How much does the loaded trailer weigh?

I am willing to guess that the trailer weighs as much as what it holds.

Yes, it's a glider trailer. 600 kg empty, glider weighs 230 kg - 830 total, manual 5 speed 2006, so 907 kg max tow (trailer has brakes). Trailer is 1000 kg max. I use a Bosal hitch, which in Europe is good for 1500 kg.

Another pilot in my club has a 2006 tdi as well, same trailer, 50 kg heavier glider... and at my last club, 3 tdi s.

Trails like a dream; no sway, lots of torque.

TDIjetta99 - Does your tow dolly have a pivot or wheels that steer, is this why it is hard to turn in parking lots? Also did you modify that draw-tite hitch in anyway to accommodate for the extra weight that is getting pulled through it?

bryanbryan89x said:

TDIjetta99 - Does your tow dolly have a pivot or wheels that steer, is this why it is hard to turn in parking lots? Also did you modify that draw-tite hitch in anyway to accommodate for the extra weight that is getting pulled through it?

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It has a pivot in the center and it doesn't pivot very far.. That's exactly why parkinglots are a PITA.. the dolly has more traction than the rear of my car..

I took the hitch out of the box and bolted it on the car

Figured I would keep this thread alive. Here is what I tow with my TDI







Probably around 1100 lbs when fully loaded with tools and ATV.

I'll be going out to Ohio to tow an Acura RSX back here with the dolly.. I'll be sure to post pictures..

TDIJetta99 said:

I'll be going out to Ohio to tow an Acura RSX back here with the dolly..

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Hey, Jason... how would you feel about taking one of my patented short-cuts - through Montreal - and towing my hydro-locked Golf halfway to Toronto ?? (Nah... crossing the border with that tow-dolly may be problematic...)

Yuri

ymz said:

Hey, Jason... how would you feel about taking one of my patented short-cuts - through Montreal - and towing my hydro-locked Golf halfway to Toronto ?? (Nah... crossing the border with that tow-dolly may be problematic...)

Yuri

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haha, I would, but I don't have a passport.. I think I need one of those now to go to Canada... And you're probably right about the dolly