Pulling a trailer w/ the TDI ?

Hey Guys, I am going to be getting married this May and my father has kindly donated a nice bedroom set to my future wife and I for when we get our house after we get married. I would love nothing more than to make a roadtrip out of it and put a trailer on the back of my Jetta and make the trip from Atlanta to Alexandria, Louisiana and back. My question is, does anyone see any problem with the Jetta being able to pull a 5'X 9' trailer with a full bedroom suit in it? I guess I would be looking at about 1500lb I'm assuming. Anyone have any input or cautions for me?

Thanks

I have pulled about 1000 lbs with my 2001 Golf TDI with no problems. It held constant cruise even up moderate hills. Handling was good. Only realy noticed the trailer when stopping. No problem, but I left more room between me and the car in front of me. MPGs went down a little, too.

It will do it, just remember, this is a VW, not a Kenworth. Take it easy and it'll be fine.

I routinely tow a motorcycle trailer with mine; total trailer weight about 500 kg / 1100 lbs; I've probably done 16,000 - 18,000 km total with the trailer behind.

I have towed over 1100kg before with no problems.
Just make sure the tow bar is rated for the rate.

is there any stated manual towing capacity or does vw void your warranty if you do it

Read the owner's manual for your particular vehicle. It varies depending on model and year.

It's got nothing to do with whether the car is technically capable or not. The Euro version of my car is rated for 600 kg without trailer brakes, or 1200 kg with trailer brakes. My North American version says "Vehicle has not been tested for towing capacity" or something like that. I've towed a bit over 600 kg without problems. 'Course, I'm not worried about warranty any more.

I have towed my trailer weighing in excess of 2,000#'s but at this weight you need to use extreme caution when loading the trailer. make sure it's not tail heavy and that the CG is just forward of the axle. If it's over or aft of the axle you will more than likely lose control of the trailer and it can and will flip taking you with.

Common sense and caution must be used when towing with a TDI or any other car for that matter.

I suggest limiting your total weight including the weight of the trailer to under 2,300#. This will give a stock TDI sufficient and safe acceleration and stay within a reasonable braking distance under max effort.

Before you tow also make sure the car is inspected including perfect tire pressures according to the VW labels, oil quantity and new DOT4 brake fluid to prevent brake fade.

Also make sure the tires are properly inflated to support the weight of the trailer. Under inflation can and will more than likely lead to a tire overtemp and blowout leading you into the nearest ditch

If you have anydoubts about the condition of your car or trailer don't do it.

If your car and trailer are properly maintained towing is a non event for the TDI. I have towed my trailer with heavy loads over 10,000 miles this year even with the chip and I have had zero issues and no close calls

DB

Having towed for many years, I'll endorse what DBW says. Up to about 1000kg/2200lbs is fine. (VW UK actually states up to about 2700lbs, but best limit to the accepted figure of 85% of the car's unladen weight) Ideally, for best stability, the noseweight should be about 7%, ie 70kg at 1000kg trailerweight.

TDis are VERY popular towcars in Europe.

PS - I'm assuming in the above that the trailer is BRAKED! Sorry if I caused any confusion.

[ December 27, 2001: Message edited by: chopchop ]</p>

My problem is simply this. I haven't a clue where to get a hitch for my 99.5 Jetta TDI, nor do I have any idea what a reasonable price is, including installation.

Any help here?

There was a long trailer hitch discussion on this forum about a year or so ago. You could do a search. Try "receiver hitch" or (mispelled) "reciever hitch,"

I found a hitch for my 99 Beetle TDI on the Draw-Tite website. I had a hitch installer order and install it. The bill was around $ 130.00 parts and labor. This is not a first-class hitch nor installation (two holes in spare wheel well), but so far it has worked fine for pulling about 800 pounds.

In Europe, hitches and trailers must meet much more rigid specs than in the U.S. for them to be legal. Because of this, VWoA sidesteps the trailer issue for their North American customers by simply saying "not recommended."

1500lbs is 680kg.

That is just over the limit that VW, and the law, sets for a trailer without brakes in Europe (I think that it is 650kg, from memory).

It is quite a lot of weight to stop, and without brakes, all of the force is taken by the hitch, and where ever on the body shell it mounts.

So you need a good hitch.

It the trailer has brakes then it shouldn't be such a problem.

Other than that, load the trailer in the following order:-

Heaviest stuff in the car, if possible, and well forward i.e. fold the rear seats and put it there.

Heaviest stuff that has to go in the trailer, low down and over the axle.

Next heaviest in front of the axle.

Only the lightest stuff should be high up or behind the axle.

Better to get a wide trailer and lay things flat, than stacking it up high (height reduces stability).

Aim for about 75kg on the ball (you can use bathroom scales to measure).

On the other hand, if this is a one-of job, it might cheaper just to hire a van or pickup.

The engine / trans will have no trouble pulling this weight. Just make sure that you can stop if someone does something stupid in front of you, and don't go too fast, especially down hills (which is usually where people loose trailers).

blugg,

To answer your question, I have found that you can accually have a hitch ordered and installed at U-Haul for around $150 including wiring. I don't know if anyone has any experience with how good the install job is but if its anything like the quality of the trucks then you may want to avoid it. If anyone has any other ideas or places to stay away from to purchase a hitch and have it installed that would be most helpful.

All of what DBW said plus this: remember that a big 5x9 box trailer has quite a bit of windage and that the main stress will be from air resistance, not the weight. So keep things slow, 55-60 tops, and if your car is chip-tuned for god's sake go easy on it because the exhaust gas temps can get really high and the front of the trailer can get really sooty...