my new golf tdi, towing my airstream

cab591

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:( Maybe one day...
Old thread, I know, but stumbled across this while searching for Eurovans towing airstreams...

The Golf is one of Europe's best tow vehicles. It shouldn't have any problems with a 16' trailer. It'd be a hassle with bigger trailers, though. Just remember that you are towing something heavy. The problem with Americans towing is that they believe their car / truck should still act and drive normally -- they expect similar acceleration and braking. Back off, drive slow, and be careful, and it'd do it just fine.

As far as emergency handling goes, check out the first part of this video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAH-8_x4SuE


Yes, the trailer is probably lighter than an airstream, but the idea is the same. The Golf is actually pretty sure-footed (and, the MPG is in British MPG -- their gallon is bigger, so naturally they get a few more MPG).

...Figured this would be useful info for anyone else looking up the towing capabilities of a Golf TDI.
 

CraziFuzzy

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I grew up in the early 80s taking 2-week long trips around the southwest in a gasoline rabbit, towing a 13 ft scamp, and a 12ft fiberglass boat strapped to the roof. I need to bug my parents to see if they have a picture of the epic rig somewhere.

On a related note, I'm trying to find a trailer that would work well enough for my family (wife and I plus 5 and 7 y.o girls), that I can sling around behind my 09 tdi sportswagen. Was thinking that the scamp 13 would be way too small, and a 16 starts to get a little too heavy after adding gear. Have toyed around with the idea of building an aluminum teardrop to use as kitchen and bathroom, and sleep in our large tent.
 

SilverGhost

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Gear and options will add weight fast. It all depends on what you can live with and without when out on your trips. We have a 17' camper with a bathroom that can sleep two adults and several kids fine. The trade off is it is not dressed up inside with wood cabinets. IE; it looks a little sterile inside, but my wife is working on decorating.

Do a google search on fiber glass RVs and you'll find there are many different manufactures large and small. I settled on EggCamper by a one man operation in Michigan, mainly because of weight

Jason
 

eric 2010 golf

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2010 Golf 6-sp manual
Originally Posted by airstreamer View Post
i've actually driven the rig through 50-60mph crosswinds, no problem (other than a increase in fuel consumption). insurance has no problem insuring the rig or tow vehicle either.
in europe smaller cars tow RVs all the time (and smaller cars have towed RVs in north america in the 50s,60s,70s,etc...), but i wouldn't expect your pea-sized texas brain (i guess not everything is bigger in texas, eh?) to be able to comprehend anything outside of your bubble of being sold the the marketing from truck companies. Can-AM has been in business for 40 years.
get your head out of your ass before you spew a bunch of nonesense you know absolutely nothing about.
can you "AMAGINE" that?
I also like it. I've been towing with mine for over 15 years and these cars take control of trailer exceptionally well. Remembering the post from someone who said a jeep was the worst tow vehicle, keep in mind the Golf is low to the ground, the hitch is very close to the rear axle and the car is actually quite heavy for its size. These combine to make an amazingly good tow vehicle and thousands of drivers in europe agree. I forget sometimes that the laws of physics don't apply the same in the US because we all think we're special. Texas is VERY special. Mine handles this sort of towing in MOUNTAINS as I live in PA and used to live in WV. The one time I had an accident towing, it was in a Chevy Avalanche. I'll take my Golf any day.
 

GTSLOW

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I've gotten many laughs from this thread. The best being "oh I tested swerving in a parking lot"... ya because that's going to simulate going 60+ down the freeway. Also on an auto tranny?
 

brnsgrbr

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Old thread, I know, but stumbled across this while searching for Eurovans towing airstreams...

The Golf is one of Europe's best tow vehicles. It shouldn't have any problems with a 16' trailer. It'd be a hassle with bigger trailers, though. Just remember that you are towing something heavy. The problem with Americans towing is that they believe their car / truck should still act and drive normally -- they expect similar acceleration and braking. Back off, drive slow, and be careful, and it'd do it just fine.

As far as emergency handling goes, check out the first part of this video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAH-8_x4SuE


Yes, the trailer is probably lighter than an airstream, but the idea is the same. The Golf is actually pretty sure-footed (and, the MPG is in British MPG -- their gallon is bigger, so naturally they get a few more MPG).

...Figured this would be useful info for anyone else looking up the towing capabilities of a Golf TDI.
Good job supporting the argument!


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kpants

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tennessee
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2010 audi A3 TDI
I've gotten many laughs from this thread. The best being "oh I tested swerving in a parking lot"... ya because that's going to simulate going 60+ down the freeway. Also on an auto tranny?

There is nothing wrong with towing on an automatic transmission. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about and also haven't read very much of the thread. Do you even know what a weight distribution hitch is? Did you look up canam rv centre? have you seen their videos showing cars aggressive handing towing big trailers slalom testing in a "parking lot" at 75kph?

I have a 2010 Audi A3 TDI regularly haul a 20ft yamaha jetboat, the rig weighs around 3500lbs. These transmissions have torque limiters built in specifically for this sort of thing (save tranny from premature failure due to load). This transmission is smart enough to adjust shift points based on engine load not just on the position of the accelerator pedal. That means it knows it needs to hold a lower gear longer when it is loaded.

I applaud the original poster, his rig is set up extremely well (better than mine). If you know anything about towing you can look at the photo and see that it is a safe rig. The car and trailer are both sitting level (no sag in the middle), anti-sway/weight distribution arms have good clearance... He already said that the trailer brakes are adjusted so that the whole rig brakes as well or better than the car alone. Just those things will keep this a perfectly safe combination.
 

turbovan+tdi

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Awesome thread. The naysayers, well, they know what they can do with themselves, ;)

Out of the box thinking is where its act, seems Europe use's their brains more than we do, too many sheeple around, :(

The post said this is bang on-
the average bad driver in a car alone scares me more then a good driver towing 4k
A friend saw a biker get KO'd today by some dumbass in a car making an illegal left turn, biker was pretty hurt, :(
 

kpants

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tennessee
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2010 audi A3 TDI
We (Americans) are starting to catch up to European ideal of smaller things doing more and doing it more effeciently. Fuel prices rising in the United States is one of the reasons for it. The sad thing is Ford has had small diesels in Europe for years, but they just don't sell here, but that too is changing.
 

eric 2010 golf

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2010 Golf 6-sp manual
new trailer brakes

After much frustration, I finally got someone to install the wiring for me to attach my brake controller to the car. This week, I will hook it up and take if for a test tow before the bigger trip to Finger Lakes in June with the In-Laws. My car has towed this trailer competently without brakes, but I want better control and maybe in the future the ability to tow something larger/heavier. I really want a weight distributing hitch, but can't get to Canada right now to have it installed.
 

kpants

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tennessee
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2010 audi A3 TDI
After much frustration, I finally got someone to install the wiring for me to attach my brake controller to the car. This week, I will hook it up and take if for a test tow before the bigger trip to Finger Lakes in June with the In-Laws. My car has towed this trailer competently without brakes, but I want better control and maybe in the future the ability to tow something larger/heavier. I really want a weight distributing hitch, but can't get to Canada right now to have it installed.
what hitch do you have on the car now? I need to get one too... I emailed can am to see if they can get me the parts for a stronger hitch than I have now...

the weight distribution system you can buy anywhere that sells that sort of thing, it will just replace your old hitch (if you have a hitch receiver that accepts class 3 or above hitches)
 
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CraziFuzzy

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Until they figure out a way to make a high pressure fuel pump that doesn't grenade itself regularly on crappy US diesel, I don't see small diesel engines expanding in the US market very quickly.
 

turbovan+tdi

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Until they figure out a way to make a high pressure fuel pump that doesn't grenade itself regularly on crappy US diesel, I don't see small diesel engines expanding in the US market very quickly.
I guess the European diesels have it figured out.
 

CraziFuzzy

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I guess the European diesels have it figured out.
I think they likely just have 'cleaner' diesel there. Pretty sure they are running the same pump, and they haven't had the rash of failures we in the states have. My 2009 jsw is in having the system replaced in its entirety for the second time. Would hate to have that happen in the middle of a family vacation - its hard to find a rental that you can tow with.
 

eric 2010 golf

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I have a 1.75" that cannot be used to distribute weight. It's also way too low, in my opinion, but it's a reese I got from e-trailer. The bosal swan neck is better but I was reluctant to pull the bumper to install it. It is also not capable of weight distribution. The only place I know of to get that is Can-Am. My passport is expired and I can't afford the time to get there soon, so I went ahead and did my own brake controller. I got a Hopkins InSight, which mounts in 3 pieces so I can tuck it away when not in use and it isn't mounted to my knee airbag, plus I can easily reach the manual brake override when needed. Email me at ericvwgolf@gmail.com if you want more info.
 

roostre

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..... I'm sorry, but this is bull****. There were roughly 150 reports of HPFP problems and 90% of them were found to be contaminated/improper fuel .....
Here is a post summarizing the data provided by VW to the NHTSA on 11/30/2012 where VW refers to "HPFP failures" as "Alleged Defects":

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4022187&postcount=177

The data indicates that as of late 2012:

There were 5,551 HPFP failures
27% of these failures (5,551 - 4,045 = 1,506) involved misfueling
 
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CraziFuzzy

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Here is a post summarizing the data provided by VW to the NHTSA on 11/30/2012 where VW refers to "HPFP failures" as "Alleged Defects":

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4022187&postcount=177

The data indicates that as of late 2012:

There were 5,551 HPFP failures
27% of these failures (5,551 - 4,045 = 1,506) involved misfueling
And I know of at least 2 more that after that report - mine - both not a result of direct misfueling, but more likely the result of poor fuel quality. Look, I'm not trying to be a dick about it, but I directly changed my plans on purchasing a trailer my JSW could tow because of the unreliability of the fuel system, and I'm one who truly believes in small car towing, and grew up travelling around in a 13' scamp behind a rabbit. I doubt I'm the only one who has made this decision.
 
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CraziFuzzy

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This issue is not limited to just the VW 2.0 engine. There are reports of mercedes diesels with fuel pump failures due to bad fuel. I've had the 2 HPFP failures on my jetta, and have also had 2 HPFP destroy themselves on a couple large 2000kW cummins diesels. All the exact same failure mode, and a result of the tight tolerances in the pumps, the ridiculously high pressures needed to meet new emissions standards, and the inconsistent lubrication they can potentially receive. I have no doubt that it's an issue that can be engineered around, but they haven't done so on the CBEA/CJAA engines yet, and as such, I have no intention of towing a trailer on a long family vacation with it. When the manufacturer reports an almost 5% failure rate over 3-5 years, and have not redesigned the pump, then there is a greater issue at hand - it is far more likely that you haven't had a failure due to geographic location than anything else. Every engine/vehicle will have a weakest link, but I'd much prefer my road trip vehicle's weakest link be something that is a couple hundred dollar single afternoon repair than 4-6 thousand dollars week plus repair.
 

tdi90hp

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yeah, i already conceded to that point, as i said in this last reply bosch pumps not vw2.0 pumps. I'm not so sure I buy the figures that guy "tabulated" to show what he thinks the failure % should read, but I see now that it's greater than I thought initially... I think we are saying pretty much the same thing at this point, except that mine has been reliable so I'll continue to use it until it fails.
and CANOTHER great thread has succumbed to the HPFP diseased conversation.....Can we get back to towing? It was so interesting.....
 

CraziFuzzy

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Sorry, I only brought it up because it weighed so heavily in my decision to move away from towing with my jetta. For what it's worth, I was very close to purchasing a Camplite 11FK when the fuel pump died the second time. Expensive, at about $22k, but it is all aluminum (I mean, ALL aluminum) and weight/size wise is perfect for the JSW - but then, when we decided to go away from that decision, we just went with something much cheaper, and just tow with my Armada. Even if the new Jetta's get the pump issue fixed, I couldn't afford the super light trailer AND a new VW. That price difference will buy a LOT of fuel for the much bigger rig.
 
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CraziFuzzy

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The eco benefit of diesel in a small car is the ability to run far leaner than stoichiometric when at low load conditions. This somewhat conflicts with the idea of a hybrid. The ideal hybrid would have a small highly optimized generator on board that only ever runs when the battery is low, and it only runs at it's full power peak efficiency point, where diesel would have no real advantage and would not burn as clean as the gasoline alternative (without the complicated exhaust handling our cars have). The idea of a plugin-diesel-hybrid seems more like a way to try to squeeze as many eco-happy words into a single product as possible than it does a good combination of ideas.
 

kpants

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lol whatever man im tired of arguing with you. tdi90hp is right, we are hijacking the thread with nonsense. I deleted my replies.

that volvo won't make it to the united states anyway so it's a moot point
 
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turbovan+tdi

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I think they likely just have 'cleaner' diesel there. Pretty sure they are running the same pump, and they haven't had the rash of failures we in the states have. My 2009 jsw is in having the system replaced in its entirety for the second time. Would hate to have that happen in the middle of a family vacation - its hard to find a rental that you can tow with.
Maybe, and agreed, its a crappy issue that hovers around you and you can't shake it. :(
 

brnsgrbr

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There has to be another business on the west coast that create a load balancing setup. This is important to me as this is one of my primary goals. A major reason for my engine build. Having a strong power train to pull a camping trailer through NW mountain ranges. Does that company have any relationships with another at least in the Midwest?


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TDIjeff

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Back onto topic.
The current Australian MK7 Golf specs ( sep 2013) show the below BRAKED towing capacity:
90TSI 6speed Man 1400Kg
90TSI 7speed DSG 1400Kg
103TSI " " 1400Kg
110TDI 6speed DSG 1600Kg <--------

Yet a euro doc that was posted on another forum shows:

"Towing a trailer of any kind with a vehicle that has a DSG and diesel engine will cause overheating and expensive engine and other damage...not covered by warranty. NEVER install a trailer hitch on one of these vehicles."
 
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WEDEL.1

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Yet a euro doc that was posted on another forum shows:

"Towing a trailer of any kind with a vehicle that has a DSG and diesel engine will cause overheating and expensive engine and other damage...not covered by warranty. NEVER install a trailer hitch on one of these vehicles."
Wow! How did I make it from Adelaide to Perth & return in our Golf V, DSG, 1.9TDI towing our Camper Trailer?

Just towed the same Camper Trailer from Adelaide to Geelong & return over Easter.

No problems either time.

Next Easter we'll be off to Brisbane the longish way, up via Newcastle & return via Bourke.

Maris
 
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