Camper towing

oldiesel

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Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Location
Ortona Florida
TDI
Looking for one
A question for the more knowledgable here.I am going to be towing a trailer that will weigh 12 to 1300lbs when loaded and probably for some long distances with my 98 Jetta.The car has 210xxx miles and runs just fine,oil consumption is about 1qt @ 6000mi and i use Rotella T 5w 40.It has a new turbo about 2000mi ago and has a manifold pressure guage,ex temp,oil temp and oil pressure guage.My question is what is a safe sustained boost and ex temperature as in climbing a looong hill and what is a safe level for the oil temp.The probe for the exhaust temp is tapped right into the turbo just below the flange that attaches to the manifold.The bulb for the oil temp is in the oil drain plug hole in the sump so i should be getting good info.Anyone care to offer opinions based on experience/knowledge. TIA Don:confused:
 

SilverGhost

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Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
oldiesel said:
A question for the more knowledgable here.I am going to be towing a trailer that will weigh 12 to 1300lbs when loaded and probably for some long distances with my 98 Jetta.The car has 210xxx miles and runs just fine,oil consumption is about 1qt @ 6000mi and i use Rotella T 5w 40.It has a new turbo about 2000mi ago and has a manifold pressure guage,ex temp,oil temp and oil pressure guage.My question is what is a safe sustained boost and ex temperature as in climbing a looong hill and what is a safe level for the oil temp.The probe for the exhaust temp is tapped right into the turbo just below the flange that attaches to the manifold.The bulb for the oil temp is in the oil drain plug hole in the sump so i should be getting good info.Anyone care to offer opinions based on experience/knowledge. TIA Don:confused:
EGT I believe has been quoted at very max 1600F, at which point bad things will start happening. I think the highest sustained egt should be closer to 1200F and cruising should be 600F-800F. Someone will chime in here soon.

I don't believe there is a max sustained boost you should stay under as there are many combinations being run around here. I would think it is more advisable to keep you oil temp and egt under control.

I would not run the oil temp much higher than my coolant temp, emphasis on much. My old aircooled variant would start acting up when oil temp got over 210F-220F. The newer cars operate with coolant about 200F for best eff, so oil temp close to that.

Jason
 
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oldiesel

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Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Location
Ortona Florida
TDI
Looking for one
My oil temp runs that high in normal interstate driving on a hot day,i would expect it to be higher when towing.Maybe i should consider one of the larger oil coolers offered by some of the tdi vendors on here, Thanks Don
 

TDIFanatic1.9

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Location
South Africa
TDI
1.9 Jetta TDI
Hi There
I've been in the camping thing for a while, towing a 700kg -1ton caravan. I used to tow with a 3l gas Merc but as fuel prices are escalating I got a Jetta 2003 tdi 110hp non pd and whill be using it as my daily driver and for towing.

What I do suggest is to rather stay in a higher gear to keep the revs up say above 3000 and use less throtle than to use a lower gear and have to run full throttle (and full boost= higher egt) to keep the speed up.
By doing this you keep the engine in its more ifficient rev range closer to max power.
Even on flat road I would suggest rather stay in 4th to keep the engine at optimal range, this also puts a lot less stress on the gearbox.
Go with the feel of the car, If you feel it is struggling go up a gear. Keep your speed under 100km/h for the cars sake and fuel consumption.
When going into a hill change up into a higher gear before you loose too much speed and rpm, keep the revs up with a higher gear not full throttle in a lower gear.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.
 

wny_pat

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Location
Western New York State
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI
TDIFanatic1.9 said:
What I do suggest is to rather stay in a higher gear to keep the revs up say above 3000 and use less throtle than to use a lower gear and have to run full throttle (and full boost= higher egt) to keep the speed up.
By doing this you keep the engine in its more ifficient rev range closer to max power.
It will run cooler TDIFanatic1.9's way and keep the oil pressure up where it should be. Good advise.

Olddiesel, you still have not told us what type camper you are pulling. I suggest a boost gauge and pyrometer. That way you can keep track of what you need to. Remember, pulling that kind of weight, you need to have your brakes and suspension in tip top shape. Brakes on the trailer would be a good idea. Maybe some re-enforcement of the hitch mount. Some have worked loose and some have even messed up the shape of the trunks. A euro spec hitch would be ideal.
 

oldiesel

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Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Location
Ortona Florida
TDI
Looking for one
Trailer is 13ft fibreglass Scamp. As far as i know all 98 jettas in NA are 5 speed. original post says Have EGT. manifold pressure,Oil temp & oil pressure guages. Thanks Don
 

Bob Bruns

New member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Location
Dalton MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
oldiesel said:
Trailer is 13ft fibreglass Scamp. As far as i know all 98 jettas in NA are 5 speed. original post says Have EGT. manifold pressure,Oil temp & oil pressure guages. Thanks Don
Hi I,am new and brought my 06 jetta last spring, love it I pulled a popup camp from dalton MN to Barum MN about 250 mi got 35 mpg I thought it should have done a little bit better. I did run in 5th gear. this year i will do it again and this time I will run in 4th Shure would like to pickup a little Scamp. Bob
 

SilverGhost

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Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
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'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
Bob Bruns said:
Hi I,am new and brought my 06 jetta last spring, love it I pulled a popup camp from dalton MN to Barum MN about 250 mi got 35 mpg I thought it should have done a little bit better. I did run in 5th gear. this year i will do it again and this time I will run in 4th Shure would like to pickup a little Scamp. Bob
That's better mpg than my Golf gets pulling a trailer. I drop from 44-47 down to 28-31, even keeping it to 55-60mph.

Happy camping!

Jason
 

DIESELprogrammer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Location
NorEastern, Washington, USA
TDI
Golf GLS, 2003, Silver/Gray
You should have no worries pulling that kind of load to upwards of 80mph sustained on the flats. As stated earlier, just use RPMs, not throttle to pull hills. I have been back and forth across the Canadian and Montana Rockies, all around Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, and north to Alaska with the trailer below and a similar load 13-1500lbs with no problems. Over 10% of the miles on the Golf have been while pulling it - 12k out of 110k, with another 1k pulling other trailers.

Brakes are not an issue either. The Golf with trailer@1500lbs (no trailer brakes) stops faster than the F350 with camper and boat (surge brakes). Common sense that you are towing is what keeps you and others on the road safe.

Your oil consumption is about 10 times what mine is, so you may want to keep a close eye on that while towing.

 

Long_Range

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Location
Arthur, IL , USA
TDI
Jetta Sedan GL 2004
How is the fuel millage on that rig?

Been looking at tear drop trailers and wondering if they actually provide any aerodynamic advantage or it's just an illusion.

Found myself unemployed again so am contemplating building a camper.

As far as brakes go. My money would go into a trailer brake before I'd worry about an EGT gage. Using the money on fuel to get on down the road would be another option.

From all accounts a stock engine is fairly immune to overload. As mentioned above, just keep the RPMs up.
 

wny_pat

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Location
Western New York State
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI
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bobpaul

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Location
North Dakota, USA
TDI
sold :'( (formerly 2002 jetta tdi)
Excuse my ignorance

TDIFanatic1.9 said:
What I do suggest is to rather stay in a higher gear to keep the revs up say above 3000 and use less throtle than to use a lower gear and have to run full throttle (and full boost= higher egt) to keep the speed up.
This still confuses me, though I'm probably just putting too much importance on a couple of words. If you shift to a higher gear you won't keep the revs up, you'll lower them down.

Are you just saying "cruise in 4th with a higher RPM. Don't cruise in 3rd, that's too much rpm (and boost)"? This seems intuitive, just like taking a manual* out of Over Drive when towing and keeping it in Drive.

Your uphill recommendation also gets me a little, though. I would want to upshift to lower the rpm as I hit the hill? Won't I loose power if I do this? I've occasionally had to down shift and slow down when towing big loads before up steep hills, but you're saying upshift? Really?

*Edit Oops. I meant to say automatic!
 
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SilverGhost

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Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
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'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
bobpaul said:
This still confuses me, though I'm probably just putting too much importance on a couple of words. If you shift to a higher gear you won't keep the revs up, you'll lower them down.

Are you just saying "cruise in 4th with a higher RPM. Don't cruise in 3rd, that's too much rpm (and boost)"? This seems intuitive, just like taking a manual out of Over Drive when towing and keeping it in Drive.

Your uphill recommendation also gets me a little, though. I would want to upshift to lower the rpm as I hit the hill? Won't I loose power if I do this? I've occasionally had to down shift and slow down when towing big loads before up steep hills, but you're saying upshift? Really?
He probably just means don't lugg the engine too much. Shift into a higher numerical ratio gear to keep the rpms from dropping too far.

Jason
 

wny_pat

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Location
Western New York State
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI
SilverGhost said:
He probably just means don't lugg the engine too much. Shift into a higher numerical ratio gear to keep the rpms from dropping too far.

Jason
Drop from 4th gear into 3rd gear, so that way you are keeping the rpms higher and the engine does not have to work so hard to maintain power is one way of saying it. Same for 5th gear, drop into 4th gear. If you cannot maintain or increase your rpm, you are in to high of a gear.
 

bobpaul

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Location
North Dakota, USA
TDI
sold :'( (formerly 2002 jetta tdi)
wny_pat said:
Drop from 4th gear into 3rd gear, so that way you are keeping the rpms higher and the engine does not have to work so hard to maintain power is one way of saying it.
Alright, that sounds exactly like I expected. It's really just like towing with any other car than.

Thanks Silverghost. "Ratio" was the key word I was missing.
 
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