Show what you tow!

domboy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2006
Location
Wilmington NC
TDI
2003 Golf GLS TDI 5spd
gjslutz said:
It is my little 1220 LB "7" toy car. I enclosed an Aluma trailer to haul it. The trailer weighs 950 LBS.

;) This is the reason I purchased the JSW. I can get my track tires in the rear. The JSW tows it like it isn't there.
1220 + 950 = 2170lbs... wow!! That's pretty impressive. I guess if my ALH TDI can pull 1500+lbs around without too much sweat, the new 2.0 TDI must really be able to pull. Is this with a class I hitch? What kind of tongue/hitch weight does your loaded trailer have, and how does the rear suspension hold up?? Got any more pictures??
 

gjslutz

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Location
Ohio
TDI
2010 JSW
:rolleyes: I used a Westfalia hitch, thanks to others here. The only two hitches I had interest in was the Westfalia, & Bosal. Some posters here said the US made hitches were very weak. The hitch was not an area I wanted to go too light with. I also installed a Surge brake on the trailer.

I made the hitch weight 90 Lbs, by placement of the car. Likely I will add air bags to the rear to haul extra stuff in the back. With just the car there is no need. It is stable @ 90 MPH and pulls strong and stops well.
 
Last edited:

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
gjslutz said:
:rolleyes: I used a Westfalia hitch, thanks to others here. The only two hitches I had interest in was the Westfalia, & Bosal. Some posters here said the US made hitches were very weak. The hitch was not an area I wanted to go too light with. I also installed a Surge brake on the trailer.

I made the hitch weight 90 Lbs, by placement of the car. Likely I will add air bags to the rear to haul extra stuff in the back. With just the car there is no need. It is stable @ 90 MPH and pulls strong and stops well.
Who said the US hitches are weak?

I've towed about 5000 with mine and regularly tow 3500-4000 and my hitch holds up well after almost 5 years..
 

S_Sanders

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Location
Alabaster, AL
TDI
2010 Golf Coupe and 2012 JSW
No pics with the TDI yet because I just bought it two weeks ago.
I've got two campers that may be of interest. If you're looking for a light weight popup camper in North America, check out Quicksilver campers by Livin Lite http://www.livinlite.com. They make high quality all aluminum campers. We have a "Quicksilver 6.0" (650 pounds empty with Air conditioning) that we have been towing with a Honda Civic and a Honda Fit. I traded the Fit for my Golf :) . The other camper I have is a Roll-a-Home http://www.rollahome.com. It's a fiberglass camper that's designed to be pulled by a motorcycle. It weighs about 400 pounds, and my BMW K1100LT pulls it very well. Can't even see it behind the Civic. It has A/C also! (Hey, I live in Alabama and it's hot down here!)

I looked at teardrops, but since I'm 6'4" tall and the popup design provides so much more space once setup, it seemed the only reasonable option.

I've ordered a Curt hitch and a Kriss wiring isolator http://www.kriss.com/traileri.php. They should arrive next week, and I'll be installing everything next weekend.
Any advice on trailer wiring??? The owners manual for my TDI says not to use LED lights, but that's what is on my Quicksilver. This is why I ordered the isolator. They work very well on motorcycle electrical systems that have very small wires that can't handle additional load. I'm guessing that it's a good thing to use in this application as well.

I tried to include a picture of both campers set up at a campground, but I can't figure out how to insert the picture. :confused:
Edited to add picture. :) Future pictures will include the TDI!
 
Last edited:

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
Golf 2004






The first pictures are me towing my fathers bike back 1500 miles after fight with a deer on I-80. Thankfully I was able to tow my father back as well (not in a coffin either but with 12 broken bones). It was a long ride home and it was none stop. He doesn't remember the ride. Then there is a picture of my towing the VW truck from ID to SD (my intro into VW's). Then there is a couple pics of the truck hauling (sorry, no towing). One is a king sized tempur-pedic bed (130 mile trip). Then there was 1200 lbs of concrete to the dump and the wood from a radiator crate from the mine I work at. My dog likes to hold things down.
 

McBrew

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Location
Annapolis, MD
TDI
2003 Golf GLS TDI, 5 speed, Silver/Grey
TDIJetta99 said:
Do you have anything nice to say?
Yes, I do. I don't know if you have read any of my responses on the towing issue, but you'll find that I am probably the most outspoken person here in favor of towing with small cars (in fact, I just started a web discussion group on the subject: http://smalltow.ning.com ). I would just hate to see someone cause damage or injury... or cause the wrong people to freak out about towing with small cars (car companies, insurance companies, politicians).

I don't have a problem with people driving 90 MPH when and where it is safe. I don't have a problem with people towing trailers when and where it is safe. I can't think of many occasions when the two are honestly safe when done together.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
McBrew,

Nice page! I just joined and added photos. Just you and me so far. Time will tell if it catches on. :)

Scott
 

Quanger

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2008
Location
Toronto/Ottawa
TDI
Mk4 ALH TDi
Some of you guys haul some heavy stuff. Here is a snap of mine:





I wish I could go and weigh both the vehicle and trailer once it is loaded.
It's a 14ft aluminum boat with a Mercury 25hp. There are wooden floorboards thorough out, two wooden paddles, Emergency kit, 20lb anchor, trailer, and trailer spare. It probably weighs roughly 900lbs.
 
Last edited:

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
Here's a couple of older photos I shared on McBrew's new page:

Hurricane clean-up. Not sure how much this weighed. But I made four trips to a burn site 40-miles away with approximately-equal loads...


During our move from CA to VA. Trailer had about 1000-1300 lbs of stuff in it. I intentionally cut the box close to the same height as the trunk lid in hopes of maintaining fairly decent aerodynamics...


Most frequent use of the trailer is to support my autocrossing endeavors...


:)
 

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
Golf 2004
If you want to know the weight find a local grain elevator or feed mill and see if they will let you weigh it. Most places don't shut there scales down at night so you could even go after hours. My brother works at a feed mill and there's is a drive through scale house that has a digital read out facing the scale.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
Thanks for the tip. But I wasn't that interested at the time. ;) I was given permission to dump wood at a friend's place and wanted to get it all done in a day without detouring to a scale (80 mile RT times four plus load/unload). So I loaded up what I felt was appropriate and safe (still plenty of open space on the trailer). I think I was pulling around 1200-lbs. The big black box used on our transfer WAS weighed at 1500-lbs. I didn't like the feel of the car, likely due to a weight balance issue. So I took some of the weight out and put it in the Passat since there was plenty of room. :)

[edit] Just noticed you may have been giving the advice to Quanger as well. :eek: [/edit]
 
Last edited:

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Scott, I didn't realize you had three identical sets of wheels. That's nice! :cool:
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
McBrew said:
Yes, I do. I don't know if you have read any of my responses on the towing issue, but you'll find that I am probably the most outspoken person here in favor of towing with small cars (in fact, I just started a web discussion group on the subject: http://smalltow.ning.com ). I would just hate to see someone cause damage or injury... or cause the wrong people to freak out about towing with small cars (car companies, insurance companies, politicians).

I don't have a problem with people driving 90 MPH when and where it is safe. I don't have a problem with people towing trailers when and where it is safe. I can't think of many occasions when the two are honestly safe when done together.
That's fine, I see where you're coming from.. Maybe I just took your comment the wrong way.. There are some people that shouldn't even be driving let alone towing a trailer..

I regularly tow a decent amount of weight at high(er) speeds than most are comfortable with... When I went down to Daytona last year I towed my bike on the small trailer, total weight was around 1100lbs I think with all my crap on the trailer and in the car.. I sustained between 80 and 90mph for most of the drive.. you can barely tell anything is back there..

I'll tow other cars with the tow dolly at 65-75 on the interstate.. It pulls fine and is very stable when the car is set up properly..
 

ducesrwld

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Location
WI
TDI
none
this is the hardest i've worked the jetta so far...about 500 mile trip bringing my new toy home with my buddy's sled on the trailer as well. pulled fine unless the road got a little bumpy then the ride got a little rough from the tongue swaying up and down.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I've never trusted the tiny wheels and tires on those campers. :eek:
 

McBrew

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Location
Annapolis, MD
TDI
2003 Golf GLS TDI, 5 speed, Silver/Grey
VeeDubTDI said:
I've never trusted the tiny wheels and tires on those campers. :eek:
I hear ya. Even the 12" wheels on my cargo trailer worry me. I see a lot of those Harbor Freight trailers with 8" wheels out there, and it's gotta be hard on the wheel bearings.

I imagine they went with smaller wheels on ducesrwld's trailer because, if I'm not mistaken, it is a clamshell trailer for snowmobiles -- it has to tip down to the ground so you can drive them in and out. If it had 12 or 13 inch wheels, it would be a much steeper angle.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
VeeDubTDI said:
Scott, I didn't realize you had three identical sets of wheels. That's nice! :cool:
Actually, I have four sets plus spares. :D But I'm likely to sell most of them since I hardly use them. I found some 14x6.5" BBS RZ Crosslaces I want to use instead.
 

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
Golf 2004
I agree with the fact some people shouldn't tow. My wife I found out can tow. She just couldn't back up. On the trip to get my father (we only owned the trailer for about 3 months) I woke up on her shift of driving to find her backing up because she missed her turn. Well lets just say when I saw the trailer out the drivers window I yelled STOP!!. She sent the jack handle through the lower part of the bumper. Thankfully I found one cheap on ebay. I think the whole world could here me screaming I was so mad. I have had her practice backing now a LOT and she is able to hold her own now some. She at least looks in the mirror. I will chalk it up to sleep deprivation.
 

ducesrwld

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Location
WI
TDI
none
McBrew said:
I hear ya. Even the 12" wheels on my cargo trailer worry me. I see a lot of those Harbor Freight trailers with 8" wheels out there, and it's gotta be hard on the wheel bearings.

I imagine they went with smaller wheels on ducesrwld's trailer because, if I'm not mistaken, it is a clamshell trailer for snowmobiles -- it has to tip down to the ground so you can drive them in and out. If it had 12 or 13 inch wheels, it would be a much steeper angle.
yes the trailer has to tilt so the larger the tire the steeper the tilt will be getting the sleds on and off the trailer...and even with the small tires it is still tough when the plywood is slick. this trailer is definately a pita trying to see anything.....big blind spot as it is 101" wide. To back up with no spotter i have to literally get out of the car to make sure no one is coming up behind me before i back her up. one thing i'd like to see is how my egts are doing pulling since i don't have my gauges hooked up....especially on hills when i'm pulling this sucker at 70-75 mph.
 
Top