Show what you tow!

[Lightflyer1]

I towed another car on a dolly with my 2003 Beetle tdi.

 

[3L3M3NT]

nice set up!
I tow my fourwheeler around to the trails here in MN. Haven't towed anything in the snow yet though.

anyone know if the wagon springs will fit in the beetle rear to beef the suspension up bit? are the sedan springs the same as the beetle ones? mine squats a bit with my trailer, and i'd like it not to so much unless I have a load. Had someone tell me the legal limit was 600LB towing capacity.... I was thinking well if it is ain't no body here listen to that. I pull a 1000lb load, and i've heard of 3500LB. so it's been proven otherwise.

I would think that the springs from a wagon would fit, since I believe all of the springs are interchangeable in the rear of MKIV vehicles, except the R32. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than myself will either confirm or deny my statement.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

ok, i know people have done it in the sedans, and i was pretty sure they would fit but don't know for sure. i just know that the wagon ones are stiffer, and so i'd like that more for towing.

 

[jmodge]

Wagon springs in my sedan, check part numbers for axle beam beetle to Jetta to see if those are the same

 

[NarfBLAST]

We have been pretty lucky here at the western tip of Lake Ontario this winter: the snow has been either light in volume or in weight.

Last night we got six to eight inches of really heavy stuff, so I loaded up the snow blower and took it to my parents house.



After I got back I unloaded the snow blower and used it to trim up the snow banks left by the tractor and blade at my place.



Finally I dug out some old snow tires to replace the summer slicks that were on the trailer.



Good times!

 

[kjclow]

I really don't miss those days! Growing up in Iowa and Nebraska, I've had enough snow for a lifetime. Living down here in North Carolina, we've been missed by most of it. So far, it's just been rain.

 

[Stealth TDI]

I finally finished the conversion of my tiny cargo trailer. I'll not bore you with the details, but you can see a video series HERE.

Here are some photos:

I love the sound of your exhaust on YouTube, how much did that cost if you don't mind me asking?

Sorry to have missed this. It was around $1600. It's a lot, but the axle-back is made from food grade stainless steel.

Take Care,

Scott

 

[romad]

Well, I see you got the cabinet installed, but what about the slid-out? Also will there be more videos covering the cabinet, exterior finish, and of course the slid-out?

BTW, I had planned to go to bed early tonight but that went out the window as I had to watch the conversion videos!

 

[oilhammer]

 

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

Well, I see you got the cabinet installed, but what about the slid-out? Also will there be more videos covering the cabinet, exterior finish, and of course the slid-out?

I was making good progress last fall. But my mother passed away, which drove a need to drive to CA to retrieve her cats and some of her effects. I have a road trip series that details the trip HERE. The aerodynamic disaster that I towed resulted in fuel economy that ranged from ~25 mpg all the way down to 19, depending on our speeds. HAHA! I'm about to make the trip again with this cargo trailer. I'm curious to see if it returns better fuel economy simply because of a smooth exterior.

Anyway, the weather changed about as much as our lives did. So, the trailer's exterior and slide-out had to wait. I just finished the exterior about two weeks ago. That video will be featured HERE on Thursday. With warmer weather coming soon, I'll get back to work and build the slide-out. It'll be just a 5-sided box with a teardrop door on one wall. It shouldn't take long to complete. The wrap-up video will probably post in about a month and will feature the slide-out and front cabinet.

BTW, I had planned to go to bed early tonight but that went out the window as I had to watch the conversion videos!

HAHA! Thanks for the views. I can relate to having the intention to go to bed early, but stay up late watching YouTube instead. Their algorithms love me!

 

[Stealth TDI]

I took my tiny cargo trailer conversion to a scale this morning.

What these weights show - The car with trailer coupled is 3760 lbs (1709 kg), the car and trailer combined is 4420 lbs (2009 kg), the car alone is 3660 lbs (1663 kg). Translation: The trailer weighs 760 lbs (345 kg), tongue weight is 100 lbs (45 kg), and the car would weigh around 3390 lbs (1540 kg) without me and the power tools that I have in the trunk. For those who don't know, I carry about 100 lbs of electronics in the trunk, 20 lbs of emergency supplies, and the hitch weighs another 40 lbs. So, removing that would put the car at around 3230 lbs (1467 kg), which is about where it's expected to be when new. Back to the trailer weight, it weighed 600 lbs (273 kg) when new. So, my conversion project added 160 lbs (73 kg), which includes the spare tire, a steel jack stand, galvanized steel E-tracks, and 15 lbs of E-track accessories. That's not bad at all!

 

[J.P.]

Oilhammer, when you towed your camper trailer with the golf, did you track fuel economy? I'm curious what the windage did to fuel economy, and if you had to tow in 4th gear.

JP

 

[[486]]

Oilhammer, when you towed your camper trailer with the golf, did you track fuel economy? I'm curious what the windage did to fuel economy, and if you had to tow in 4th gear.
JP

I know when I've got particularly ridiculous junk behind and/or strapped atop my car it gets about 20 mpg
just guessing on that number, as a couple 70mi trips is enough to make me get 400ish mi out of a tank rather than the usual 600ish

never had a need to tow a parachute for a full tank, so no precise numbers

 

[oilhammer]

I've not pulled the camper yet far enough to really get any data. When I pulled that A2 Jetta home, I got the worst tank ever: 39mpg. But my average for the whole trip from here to DC and back, dolly empty on the way there, was still 42mpg. I was doing 65 or so most of the time, 4th only used through the mountains (and I was actually passing people).

The camper will certainly have more wind drag. Keep in mind, that Golf has a MAF-delete tune with "stock" power (450 mg fixed MAF value) and an 11mm pump, no EGR. It is extremely frugal but not any more powerful as a stock BEW really. It fuels so low it doesn't even soot up the oil. The oil looks "clean" after 5000 miles still (I do 20k intervals). My other all stock ALH save for an 11mm pump cannot get that good the way I drive it. Although it may come close after swapping in a gearbox from a BEW car (slightly taller). But the RC0 MAF delete tune in the Indigo Golf is absolutely amazing for fuel economy.

 

[J.P.]

But the RC0 MAF delete tune in the Indigo Golf is absolutely amazing for fuel economy.

HA! I've never heard of an RCO tune! That is mighty impressive. RCO would probably be good for me, as is too much fun to accelerate with the tunes on my cars.

My fuel economy numbers confirm that windage is more significant than weight. Towing a utility trailer with my ALH, economy went from 42mpg normally w/o trailer down to 32-35mpg with stuff sticking out everywhere in the trailer. I towed a 3500lb horse trailer with my b5.5 and went from 40-42mpg car only to 26mpg with trailer driving 60-65 in 4th gear (6spd manual). The b5.5 pulled it fantastically, better than our small block v8 van. However it concerned me a bit because I could smell the trans oil at the end of the 100 mile trip. I need to find a pic and post it here.

 

[Mozambiquer]

I've kinda thought about towing a small trailer with my b5.5. but it's still automatic. It has a hitch, which appears to be some kind of hideaway euro hitch, but I don't have the ball, and don't know what to look for. Maybe I'll have to take a photo of it and see if any of you guys have seen one of them...

 

[oilhammer]

Bosal, Oris, Westfalia, and maybe Webasto all make hitches for them. Look for a tag.

The transmission will do fine towing with anything the chassis can handle. They put the same ZF 5HP19 units behind twin-turbo V6s in bigger cars!

 

[Mozambiquer]

Bosal, Oris, Westfalia, and maybe Webasto all make hitches for them. Look for a tag.

The transmission will do fine towing with anything the chassis can handle. They put the same ZF 5HP19 units behind twin-turbo V6s in bigger cars!

I'll get under it and look for a tag. I've got a picture of it somewhere... Let me see if I can find it.

 

[Mozambiquer]

IMG_20201121_121740.jpg

• Mozambiquer
• Nov 21, 2020

There's the hitch. I didn't find any that were like it.

 

[SilverGhost]

If it's any help I got 30-31mpg towing a tall fiberglass camper with a BEW Golf. Can't be too far off what Oilhammer could get

Jason

 

[romad]

IMG_20201121_121740.jpg

• Mozambiquer
• Nov 21, 2020

There's the hitch. I didn't find any that were like it.

I did a search at the PF Jones site in the UK. Check out what they have for VW Passat Sedan (Saloon) models. If you have a wagon, use the "Estate" model link.

You are being redirected...

You are being redirected...

If you can ID the hitch you have from the PF Jones site, then you can search for the proper ball unit.

 

[Mozambiquer]

I did a search at the PF Jones site in the UK. Check out what they have for VW Passat Sedan (Saloon) models. If you have a wagon, use the "Estate" model link.

You are being redirected...

You are being redirected...

If you can ID the hitch you have from the PF Jones site, then you can search for the proper ball unit.

Thanks so much! Looks like it's a Westfalia swan neck.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

I have a question for you all. What are you using for a trailer light system? I have seen a couple different ones on E trailer, but i want to know that i get a good one that won't break after 6mo of use. This will be going in a beetle btw. Thank you!

 

[[486]]

I've got two of them, both just generic "universal" ones that you wire in yourself
in the golf I've got one that takes a separate power feed, plumbed into the wire to the cigarette lighter back there
in the jetta I've got the one that just ties into the light wires alone

Get the one that has a separate power feed. The one in the jetta will only run LED lights, hook up to anything with incandescent bulbs and none of the lights work.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

I've got two of them, both just generic "universal" ones that you wire in yourself
in the golf I've got one that takes a separate power feed, plumbed into the wire to the cigarette lighter back there
in the jetta I've got the one that just ties into the light wires alone

Get the one that has a separate power feed. The one in the jetta will only run LED lights, hook up to anything with incandescent bulbs and none of the lights work.

ok, to make sure i understand correctly the one in the golf plugs into the taillight wires and the cigarette lighter?
that sounds nice.
The two I am looking at are this one or this one, but a cigarette lighter one sounds nice (if my understanding was correct).

 

[[486]]

well now I need to clear my cookies to ever use etrailer again after clicking those links
usually websites will allow you to remove the "fits this vehicle" bullshit, but they seem to have jumped on the terrible webdesign bandwagon

https://www.curtmfg.com/part/56146
something like that
just go to whatever parts store suits you and grab one off the shelf that's a generic 5-wire converter with a power supply wire

 

[romad]

ok, to make sure i understand correctly the one in the golf plugs into the taillight wires and the cigarette lighter?
that sounds nice.
The two I am looking at are this one or this one, but a cigarette lighter one sounds nice (if my understanding was correct).

I used this Curt Powered Convertor:

Then used these repair wires and connectors to connect to the Jetta's rear lights:

Last I bought this connector at my FLAPS to connect to power:

You might want to see if you can do something similar to connect to your Beetle's rear lights.

 

[[486]]

just scotchlock it into the wires, kit even comes with enough to do the job
they're interior to the car so it isn't like scotchlocks are going to fail like they do when used in the wet

you and the guy pulling the spare tire out before it hits the crusher are the only people that'll ever know you did such a "terrible hack job"

 

[GlowBugTDI]

well now I need to clear my cookies to ever use etrailer again after clicking those links
usually websites will allow you to remove the "fits this vehicle" bullshit, but they seem to have jumped on the terrible webdesign bandwagon

https://www.curtmfg.com/part/56146
something like that
just go to whatever parts store suits you and grab one off the shelf that's a generic 5-wire converter with a power supply wire

oops, sorry bout that.
ok sounds good. I will probably go see what i can find. i had looked at Walmart, but they didn't have one.

I used this Curt Powered Convertor:

Then used these repair wires and connectors to connect to the Jetta's rear lights:

Last I bought this connector at my FLAPS to connect to power:

You might want to see if you can do something similar to connect to your Beetle's rear lights.

ok, thanks. looks like a pretty typical set up, ill look around.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

just scotchlock it into the wires, kit even comes with enough to do the job
they're interior to the car so it isn't like scotchlocks are going to fail like they do when used in the wet

you and the guy pulling the spare tire out before it hits the crusher are the only people that'll ever know you did such a "terrible hack job"

ok, lol. I'm kind of a hack at times to begin with so this should be easy .