Touareg Towing An Airstream

I was leaving Lubbock last week towing my travel trailer with my big Dodge dually and pulled up behind a medium sized Airstream, probably 28' to 30' long, at a traffic light. I couldn't see the towing vehicle.

After we passed through a one lane construction zone the highway widened to two lanes each direction so I eased out into the left lane and started around the Airstream. I was mildly surprised to observe the tow vehicle was a VW Touareg with Michigan plates.

I would have guessed the Airstream was a little too heavy for the Touareg but it seemed to be towing it fine. I think the Touareg was towing at about 55 to 60 mph.

If it was a V10 TDI Touareg, it probably had more torque than your Dodge.

They can tow up to 7700lb regardless of what motor is under the hood. I looked at Airstream weights and a 30' is not even approaching the towing limit with dry weight. It would have to be loaded with a lot of stuff it would seem to get anywhere near the limit. Even it it was a V6 TDI it probably had just as much if not more torque then your Dodge.

This summer we saw a white Touareg TDI new from Canada with a new (from Canada) Airstream in tow in Alabama. They had bought the trailer ans hitch setup from CANAM RV who added bracing for the weight distributing hitch.
They were setup correctly, towed level and well.
It made me jealous of the car, trailer, and the money in retirement to do all of that.

It looked like a great rig and comfortable as well.

FWIW, the owner's manual on our V10 specifically says not to use a weight distributing hitch on trucks with air suspension.

-J

compu_85 said:

FWIW, the owner's manual on our V10 specifically says not to use a weight distributing hitch on trucks with air suspension.

-J

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That is correct, but air is not a common feature and was special order only. V10 was the only one that came stock with it.

I thought the limiting factor on the tow rating was due to the uniboby construction, not either of the motors. As redbarron pointed out, the one he saw had the proper setup for the trailer weight.

Yes, the limit is the chassis.

If you plan on towing I would 100% recommend getting a truck with air suspension. VeeDubTDI can comment on this more.

-J

kjclow said:

I thought the limiting factor on the tow rating was due to the uniboby construction, not either of the motors. As redbarron pointed out, the one he saw had the proper setup for the trailer weight.

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No one here said the motor was the limiting factor. I even mentioned the rating is the same no matter what motor was under the hood. Limit is purely the chassis being unibody.

I was commenting from the background that the 2.8l 4cyl baby duramax is also rated at 7700 pounds of towing. The 3.0l V6 in this should be as good and the V10 should be a house puller, but the overall limit is due to the unibody. Sorry if I was not clear enough on my comment.

The Touareg id a hell of a tow car and several of the journalists who have tested it have commented that it is better than many trucks and more comfortable as well.
I don't have the time to google the articles again, but they can be found.
Of course in this country there is a basic feeling that if you tow you need a truck.
A lot of us just don't want to drive a truck all of the time and it doesn't make sense to have one sitting in the driveway waiting for the need to tow something.
I bought a 2016 Town and Country with the towing package to tow my 2800 lb 16' Scamp just for that reason.
The minivan is to replace the 2013 JSW we have now and we towed the Scamp with no problems using that.

This summer we towed a 5,000 lbs uhaul trailer from western Washington to Kansas via California and the performance was phenomenal. Not a problem maintaining 65-70 up mountain passes or quick passes in the hammer lane. Also got 19 mpg to boot!

Our limiting factor was the fuel gauge started to read improperly which left us stranded on the side of the road just outside of Bonneville. The gauge read over 1/4 tank left which would have got us to SLC but VW picked up the tow tab there instead.

AHHH , Harvey's Dodge will easily pull his big 5th wheel trailer AND the toureg and airstream without breaking a sweat. Guessing you guys don't know Harvey

Q5 Towing AS FC28

3L TDI (Touareg, Cayenne, Q7 and even Q5) will tow most AS trailers with no issues if properly set up.



As you can see by the picture, we had the hitch mod and set up done by Can-Am RV in London Ontario. We have towed close to 5000kM with the Q5 so far.

Glad to see you're using the towing mirros too. Nothing worse that not being able to see around what you towing. Except of course for the person coming up behind you that has no idea that you can't see him.

1854sailor said:

If it was a V10 TDI Touareg, it probably had more torque than your Dodge.

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Uhhhh, no, I don't think so. My Dodge is a cab and chassis with the work truck tuned Cummins which only produces 305 hp and 610 torque. The Cummins installed in Dodge pick ups is rated at 625, 650, and up to about 800 tq on the latest ones.