Towing with TDI Golf or Jetta

I am going to purchase a TDI Golf MK6 and am wondering if anyone has suggestions about towing and hitches. I want to attach one of those basic ball hitches (so I can rent a U-Haul trailer on occasion). I would only be using to transport small pieces of furniture--300 lbs or less. Is this possible? What hitches do you recommend using?

Thanks!

Lots of info in the non-performance related upgrades thread...

Some light reading material:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=255330
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=255777

How often would you be towing?

not very much...

perhaps 3-4 times a year. just a piece or two of furniture on occasion.

I routinely tow my 17' boat with trailer brakes... and lots of folks tow often... just be sure you manage the tongue weight properly and you will be fine.

I had U-haul put a hitch on my car as I was in a hurry and needed to move some stuff. It has worked fine. I think occasional hauling in a flat region is no issue at all. If you are going to haul more weight longer distances you will want to consider an EGT gauge (ExhastGasTemperature) as towing increases the load on the engine and you do not want to melt your turbocharger.

Unless something is seriously wrong with your car in the fist place. You don't need extra gauges or gear to tow.

I tow all summer with mine. I tow a 1200lbs travel traler. Plus God knows how much in the car.

NB_TDi said:

Unless something is seriously wrong with your car in the fist place. You don't need extra gauges or gear to tow.

I tow all summer with mine. I tow a 1200lbs travel traler. Plus God knows how much in the car.

Click to expand...

Well I can see you have never seen what happens to EGT when you climb a steep hill pulling a 1200lb trailer. I am thinking the stretch of I-24 going east out of Chattanooga TN. If you try this hill in 5th gear you will melt your turbocharger, in 4th gear it will be hot but ok. It is not a function of anything being wrong with the car, it is a function of the capability of the engine to handle the load. My car is chipped so it has lots of power, but that does not mean the EGT does not climb when pulling a trailer. Ignorance is not bliss.

I towed a 2500lb Escort on a U-Haul 800lb 2-wheeled tow dolly about 800 miles. I left the e-brake on on the Escort by accident. I still managed 38mpg @ 70mph. The most annoying part was that the Jetta was light enough that bumps on the road would cause it to bounce up and down in the rear.

Yes, I was wondering why my midway fillup smelled funny

Curious Chris said:

Well I can see you have never seen what happens to EGT when you climb a steep hill pulling a 1200lb trailer. I am thinking the stretch of I-24 going east out of Chattanooga TN. If you try this hill in 5th gear you will melt your turbocharger, in 4th gear it will be hot but ok. It is not a function of anything being wrong with the car, it is a function of the capability of the engine to handle the load. My car is chipped so it has lots of power, but that does not mean the EGT does not climb when pulling a trailer. Ignorance is not bliss.

Click to expand...

Your engine is modded. The masses are not.

NB_TDi said:

Your engine is modded. The masses are not.

Click to expand...

Exactly! I doubt a stock TDI would have EGT problems.

With a heavy load, it always makes sense to downshift on steep hills. Or on any hill, if you want to be safe.

Dean_Ousterhout said:

I routinely tow my 17' boat with trailer brakes... and lots of folks tow often... just be sure you manage the tongue weight properly and you will be fine.

Click to expand...

Any issues with pulling the boat up the ramp. I have a 2004 tdi jetta wagon 5 speed and the same size boat in a Trophy(2200 lbs with the trailer). I am wondering if the clutch was enough meet to handle pulling the boat and trailer up launch ramps. I know the engine torque is ample. Call me chicken but I don't want to kill the car. I am even thinking about upgrading to the 09 tdi but us diesel guys are frugal...to say the least. Trips would be no more the 30 miles and maybe 10 time a year. What do you think?

My whaler is much lighter then your boat but I have had no issues pulling it out of the water so far! Its nice having FWD because the ground isnt as wet....never had tire spin.



I have a Vespa and I was thinking of getting a hitch "rack" for it but I dont know if thats too much tongue weight for the car....what do you guys think? Max recommended tongue weight is 200, and im not sure what a 50cc Vespa weighs.

great pic keven. I rented a camper to a tdi owner a few years ago (1700 lbs) who towed it to and from a family reunion about 1200 miles each way without any issues. The dreaded ramp pullout is my only question with the weight. I'm currently using a 07 GMC sierra 4X4 5.3L, a bit of overkill, but won't have it after December. BTW Truck goes a whole 600 km on 100L of fuel. 350 km when towing something heavy (5000lbs). The tdi has now got me spoiled for economy 800km=42L. Wish VW made a small tdi 4X4 truck with a transfer case. I am going to look at a new Touareg tdi next week but think it will be too much $$$ but heard they will tow 8000 lbs

tdi_addict said:

I am going to look at a new Touareg tdi next week but think it will be too much $$$ but heard they will tow 8000 lbs

Click to expand...

I suppose you've seen the video of a Touareg TDI towing a 747? Not very far, it's true.

Guys I am thinking about towing a small Harley (Sportster?) on a 4x8 single axle trailer. It is 1200 miles. I am very familiar with towing, but not that familiar with towing with the Jetta. I towed 800# on this trailer, top heavy ,and had no issues. I imagine the bike is about the same weight, but lower center of gravity. Any thoughts?

helloskyharbour said:

Guys I am thinking about towing a small Harley (Sportster?) on a 4x8 single axle trailer. It is 1200 miles. I am very familiar with towing, but not that familiar with towing with the Jetta. I towed 800# on this trailer, top heavy ,and had no issues. I imagine the bike is about the same weight, but lower center of gravity. Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

Look for the "show what you tow" thread -- I think there are several photos with motorcycles on trailers.

Interesting question (replying to the original poster)... I've been looking into towing more with my Golf as well, though mine is an 03. I wonder if you can tow more with the new engine and chassis (MkVI) than the older models.

I found a section in the TDI FAQ that shed some light for me on the issues of towing:

http://www.tdiclub.com/TDIFAQ/TDiFAQ-6.html#f

I've got a class 1 hidden hitch and a small utility trailer that I've been hauling trash and stuff, but now I'm thinking about towing an Aliner camper:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=263663

I've been finding out these cars are a lot more useful at hauling stuff that I would have thought possible!

i tow a 16ft airstream RV with my golf... tows like a dream too.