I've been back and forth over all the vw towing threads and I've seen people suggest using weight distributing hitches, but I haven't seen anyone talk about their experiences with one. So, is anyone out there using a WDH? If so, how is it working out.
I know that you'd need a 2" receiver to mount the WDH to the car - which seems to mean custom hitchwork. I've seen some nice custom jobs with the 2" receiver, I'd just like to know how the rear factory hitch mounts deal with the torque imposed by the torsion bars on the hitch.
For the record, we towed a 1700 lb (loaded) 8' Jayco popup about 1200 km last year without any incident, but I suspect the hitch to be a bit flimsy and we get a bit of push-pull action on rougher surfaces at lower speed (but no sway and the tail is not wagging the dog). I have no doubt the the golf is good for the pull, but it's the tongue weight of the trailer that concerns me. We're probably at 180 lbs, which means we're in the money as far as trailer CofG, but that's more than VW wants on the hitch even under the non-US/Can towing guidelines. I can feel that some weight's been taken off the drive wheels and I'd like to put it back with a WDH just to make the rig more stable. So it's down to a WDH or a minivan and I really really don't want a minivan.
I know that you'd need a 2" receiver to mount the WDH to the car - which seems to mean custom hitchwork. I've seen some nice custom jobs with the 2" receiver, I'd just like to know how the rear factory hitch mounts deal with the torque imposed by the torsion bars on the hitch.
For the record, we towed a 1700 lb (loaded) 8' Jayco popup about 1200 km last year without any incident, but I suspect the hitch to be a bit flimsy and we get a bit of push-pull action on rougher surfaces at lower speed (but no sway and the tail is not wagging the dog). I have no doubt the the golf is good for the pull, but it's the tongue weight of the trailer that concerns me. We're probably at 180 lbs, which means we're in the money as far as trailer CofG, but that's more than VW wants on the hitch even under the non-US/Can towing guidelines. I can feel that some weight's been taken off the drive wheels and I'd like to put it back with a WDH just to make the rig more stable. So it's down to a WDH or a minivan and I really really don't want a minivan.