Towing with my 2014 Golf wagon (Jetta wagon the amerians)

So I sold my 2003 gti last month and replaced it with a brand new '14 Golf wagon 6 speed manual, I love it! Best daily I could possibly imagine.

I would love to tow stuff with it, but how much can I tow? I was looking at different tow hitches for it and all the ones for the car only go up to 2000 lbs. I have a turbo charged mazda miata that I use mostly for track use. I would love to take it off insurance or just put classic car insurance and tow it to the track with a dolly. the curb weight of a miata is around 2300 lbs. I could strip it but there isn't much to strip in that car.

Is there any hitches for the wagon that can carry the weight of the car plus a dolly? Or can I get a higher class and bolt it to the car?


I don't know much about tow hitches so any help is apprechiated!

Not sure what country you are in, but in the US the owner's manual should be your first source for information about towing.

It will tow it fine. The tongue weight is the greatest limit.
The Westfalia (OEM) hitch is best followed by the Bosal.
Depending on what country you are in the weight limits are posted and found easily on the VW UK site.
This is for UK cars, but they are all the same.
If you also get the Westfaila wiring kit and modify it for the US Lighting system then your car will know that a trailer is attached and make modifications to the ESP to turn on the T-ESP mode.
It will aslo modify the engine and cooling parameters etc.
The weight of the Miata is too high to be unbraked, but if you add on the braking system for the towed car that would do nicely. The tongue weight limit of 75 KG would not be an issue for the tow dolly.
I think the UK limit for braked trailers is ~3300 lbs.
For a trailer the actual limit is the tongue limit which is pretty low and the percentage og the trailer weight on that tongue.
UK suggests that the trailer be no more than 85% of the tow vehicle weight and 10-15% on the tongue. This would indicate that wisdom would limit the trailer weight to ~ 1800 lbs. With the dolly this would not be an issue.
The JSW tows my 16" Scamp travel trailer just fine and has plenty of pulling power. If you get on the "gas" too much it will spin the front tires (or tyres depending on where you are). My JSW is the DSG version and I have had no problems with it towing.

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And before anyone has a hissy fit on insurance etc. We called our State Farm agent and put the trailer on our insurance and told them we were towing with the JSW. Their only comment was that they thought it might tear up the cas instead of using our old 1990 Suburban. In my mind this is a great combination and tows well. The JSW is a great handling car and continues to be towing as well.

I live in canada.

So you are saying I can tow more weight than 2000lbs on a 2000lbs rated rack as long as I don't go over the max tongue weight?

No, not if your hitch is not rated over 2000 lbs,
I used the specs for the UK Variant listed on their website.
I believe it is listed at 1500 kg weight max (braked) and 75 kg tounge weight.
I have the factory OEM hitch (Westfalia swan neck).
What I meant to say is for many cases the toung weight is a limit since the tongue shoild have from 10 - 15% of the trailer's weight on it. This would imply that the 75 kg limit on the tongue would limit the weight to roughly 1900 lbs.
The towing weight limit would be 3300 lbs. The tow dolly leaves the rear wheels on the ground and the tongue weight would be much lower

okay, that sounds good. I would have a hard time trusting a 2000 lbs hitch with my 2200 lbs track car. I'll look into those hitches, all the name brands i've seen online so far are only 2000 lbs. thanks!

http://www.pfjones.co.uk/vw-golf-7-estate-2013-on-westfalia-detachable-tow-bar-321782.htmllease check the PF Jones page on the detachable tow bar.
The 2000 listed is 2000 kilograms and not pounds.
The tongue weight is 80 kilograms.
that would be 4400 lbs towing weight (higher than the car)
and 176 lbs tongue weight (also higher than the car)

http://www.eurohitches.com/golf-mk6-2010-p-20.html?zenid=7oji1013d045jgr60d99mq7643

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/jetta/60607/tow-car-year-2013-volkswagen-jetta

Copied from above:

The classy four-door VW Jetta wins for a second year in a row

A first past the post scoring system made picking an overall Tow Car of the Year easier than ever.

Over three days, each judge used the 23 entrants to tow a variety of caravans nearly 700 miles on two challenging courses. Of course, they also rated each car’s ‘caravanability’, assessing how much luggage they could take and how easily it could be loaded. And the VW Jetta successfully defended its crown.

It scored with its crisp handling and superb ride, plus its impeccable road manners when towing. The DSG box shifted smoothly and on motorways the car’s stability was second to none.

VW offers three trims and a choice of petrol and diesel engines. But this 2.0 TDI is best for towing, preferably with the DSG twin-clutch box.

But there’s more to the Jetta than classy looks and capable dynamics. The boot has a huge 510-litre capacity, while top-spec Sport models get a hill-hold function, semi-auto air-con, cruise control and an iPod connection.

Plus, this diesel promises 53.3mpg economy, while 138g/km emissions mean low road tax bills. Sealing the deal is VW’s great-value £329 three-year/30,000-mile servicing package.



Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/jetta/60607/tow-car-year-2013-volkswagen-jetta#ixzz3EEfTwF8k

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...eat-american-towing-conspiracy-lives-edition/

I just installed the Westphalia hitch last Saturday.
It bolts right into place.
Hardest part is finding the cover plate.
Try eBay.uk

So you are adding 2,000 pounds to the engine, transmission and braking system of your car? Again, if you read the owner's manual it may state that towing is not approved. The risks is denial of warranty coverage if dealer thinks damage is caused by towing.

How do I get warranty coverage on a 2009 JSW with 212,000 miles?
OOPS never mind the sky just fell and I don't need to worry any more.

The only real problem is the tongue weight rating is low. I have to work on my 16' Scamp frame anyway to add the front bath the wife wants os at that time I am going to lengthen the tongue to reduce the weight on the car and that will also make the trailer more stable and track better. Not that there is any problem now.
This is the best towing rig I have had.

The VW handles quite well without a trailer and continues to do a good job with this trailer as well.
The trailer is a 1985 Scamp and I am refurbishing it for two to travel comfortably without lots of cooking.
The floor needs to be replaced along with the frame repairs (but I got the camper prety cheap).
Towed fron Mineral wells to Mobile, AL. over two days and averaged about 26 miles per gallon. This car did not win best tow car in Great Britian for no reason.
Think about the load you are questioning.... The added load is mostly air drag. Once accellerated to speed it still takes relatively little power to maintain it.
The car is rated to tow 3300 lbs from a 12 percent grade. With this weight the trailer should have it's own brakes.
The DSG is not a big heat producer like a torque converter Automatic so the extra heat on the transmission is from a small hydraulic pump that works the gear change and clutches.
The clutches are wet so heating should not be an issue and actually it seemed to pull off easily and the gearing is so low that it will start from idle nicely. Also the main problem I have read about ths the DMF and not the clutches. The DMF is there to help damp out the torsional vibrations inherent in a 4 cylinder inline engine. These are at maximum idling, not when the clutches are engaged pulling.
The gear changes happen so quickly with the engine and gearbox matiching speed from the computer that this would not be an issue either in my little pea brain.
Failure is always a possibility, but my bet is no more so that the many flogged tuned cars we read about there.
The problems with the TDI don't seem to be from stress, but rather those tha happen due to just bad luck. At least I might feel like the car deserved to break rather than why did this d**^& thing quit!
Personally I bought the JSW to use as is evidenced by the 212,000 miles in 5 years!
Oh yeah I have also installed the 2 Micron filters to protect the system from an exploded HPFP. (Not yet, but maybe it will last forever).
Also the Buzzken downpipe and .5 Malone tune (DPF).
I have replaced a VNT actuator. (Now these things fail because of load? I doubt it!)
The Diesel will probably not be stressed by the higher load, but the turbo might. Probably lower temps with the Buzzken pipe than stock, however.
Since the cylinder walls are lubricated by the fuel better than the gas engine I suspect it will run a long time before it needs major work. (At least I hope so)
The major wear factor on a car engine and the maiin cause of any problems is starting the car. Once that happens the wear rate is pretty low. Obviously my car has started less per mile than many others.
Drive and tow more, worry less (But put on the 2 Micron filter etc.and maintain the car).
The rest of the VW failures just happen when the German elves get mad. No predicting them, but Oilhammer has probly seen them scampering out of sight as he walks to the next job.

My Bosal hitch on my Golf is rated for 3300 pounds. I've towed a car via dolly halfway across the country without issue. However, you should know that towing with a dolly is VERY different than towing a two-wheeled trailer. Dolly puts essentially no (or very little) tongue weight on the car, which means they can be a bit squirrelly in certain situations.

I would not want to make a habit of it. A regular two wheeled trailer, as pictured above, with a 10-15% tongue weight, is a lot easier to tow with.

Currently shopping for a lightly-used Golf Wagon (just can't call it a Jetta!)and bringing the family back into TDI ownership, so dropped by to check on things.

If you really want to tow to the car's designed capacity, consider the differences between US and German towing culture and driving practices, get the factory hitch, and heed the German limits:
1. The American recommendation for always making sure you have 10-15% of the trailer weight on the tongue is all about stability... at any speed. The higher the tongue weight, the higher the speed you can drive before reaching the natural frequency of the car/trailer system (AKA undamped, oscillating trailer danger!). Enabling lighter tongue loads (and conversely allowing higher trailer weights) by telling American drivers to keep their speeds lower to avoid vehicular instability doesn't seem to have caught on here.

2. German practice is to regulate the maximum legal speed that a tow vehicle can travel (100 km/h)... strict adherence to that limit will enable you to tow with a much, much lighter percentage of tongue weight. Just don't get run over.

I don't have the link handy now, but I have found full listings of the German braked/unbraked tow ratings for the different VW models, as well as a neat ADAC article (German) where they test/demonstrate the onset of trailer instability in relation to decreasing tongue weight and increasing speed.

Cheers,

The UK Caravan Club suggests the trailer no more than 85% of the tow car gross weight.
My 2009 JSW is rated 4456 lbs and 85% would be 3787 lbs.
This would place the 3300 lb limit less than the max recommended weight.
The difficult part is the 165 lb tongue weight limit.
Again the Brits suggest no less than 6% weight on the tongue which would be at 3300 lbs would be 198 lbs.
This would indicate that the maximum weight would be around 2750 lbs.
One way to limit the tongue weight while keeping the same center of gravity would be to extend the tongue. This would also make the system more stable.
I am currently rebuilding the frame of my 16' Scamp and I plan to extend the tongue another 18 inches to help with the tongue weight issue.
Another important issue would be to keep the mass near the center or axle of the trailer. The important thing is to keep that center of gravity forward of the axle.
Also important is the stability of the car on tow and off. If a car handles poorly without a trailer then adding the trailer probably won't help any. I think that the reason so many people think you need a big truck to tow is that the trucks handle poorly in the first place and adding a little weight in the back might help them a little. But they still have very rudimentary suspensions and are limited in the handling anyway.
Tests have shown that front wheel drive cars are typically more stable on tow than RWD.
It is important that the weight distribution of the car when loaded is still biased towards the front.
Testing has shown that if the above limits are observed then G loading below .3 G will not be dynamically unstable.
Also the VW has T-ESP when the factory (OEM) Westfalia wiring kit is installed.
The module will detect the presence of a trailer when hooked up and will modify the ESP for trailer ESP that will activate one or more brakes, throttle, and give bias on the steering in the proper direction.
The yaw rate measurement, steering wheel position etc are taken into account to damp and eliminate incipient divergent oscillations. Te system will automatically apply the brakes etc. for safety. The Germans say that 800 lives are saved each year with the system which is mandated by law on cars produced since 2005.

I have a westfalia hitch (pf jones) and towing springs from idparts, the car tows a 2000lb trailer very well. the hitch and car are rated at almost 3800lbs with brakes in Europe. drive it reasonably and you will have no problems.