Show what you tow!

[NarfBLAST]

1000 posts since August 2009! Great Thread!

 

[TDIJetta99]

see... Now I have to load mine with more stuff... I can't be outdone by 800lbs on a trailer like that hahaha...

My best pulling weight so far on the tow dolly was a 5400lb pickup... Best on the trailer was 48 sheets of 10' long 5/8" sheetrock.. Didn't weight that but it had to be close to the mulch..

this was towed with a curt hitch. 5 yds of mulch 2200 lb + 650 lb trailer =2850 lbs total load. load smart and drive with common sense and you will not pull the hitch from the pan

 

[Quattrojim]

I recently modified my hitch to accept a 2" receiver. I tow a 4' X 8' trailer and a bike rack.

 

[Purch]

I don't tow with my mk4, but I did do this a whole lot with my mk3. Yes, that's a Jetski.

 

[Masonjar]

1000 posts since August 2009! Great Thread!

That's a great pic!


Andrew

 

[kjclow]

I don't tow with my mk4, but I did do this a whole lot with my mk3. Yes, that's a Jetski.

I have to ask but not sure I really want to know... How do you get it in there?

 

[Quattrojim]

I have to ask but not sure I really want to know... How do you get it in there?

My question is how did you get it to stay in there? LOL!

 

[QuickWrite]

Imteresting, but hard to see what's going on here. I can see a 1-1/4" hitch under there but can't really tell how all this works. Can you maybe post a closeup pic of this rig and how it all hooks together?

Secondly (and I don't mean to offend): Why? What did you need to pull so badly with a 2" hitch that required this mod?

I recently modified my hitch to accept a 2" receiver. I tow a 4' X 8' trailer and a bike rack.

 

[Purch]

My question is how did you get it to stay in there? LOL!

Two strong guys and a bunch of ratchet straps. Drove 40+km round trip maybe 6-7 times like that. Needless to say, I fried my rear struts pretty quickly. I got pulled over once, the cop just laughed then talked to me for 20mins on the side of the road about the Jetski, he was an enthusiast and apparently those old Kawasaki Stand Ups are a bit of a collectors item.

 

[Quattrojim]

Imteresting, but hard to see what's going on here. I can see a 1-1/4" hitch under there but can't really tell how all this works. Can you maybe post a closeup pic of this rig and how it all hooks together?

Secondly (and I don't mean to offend): Why? What did you need to pull so badly with a 2" hitch that required this mod?

No offence taken. I'm not pulling anything that my 1-1/4" was already taking care of...its the Thule bike rack that I wanted. The 2" was needed so my girlfriend and I can share the bike rack between my TDI and her big Escalade. The adjustable hitch can also be shared between us so she can use my trailer when needed.

 

[skramer]

 

[NarfBLAST]

The 2" was needed so my girlfriend and I can share the bike rack between my TDI and her big Escalade. The adjustable hitch can also be shared between us so she can use my trailer when needed.

Slick solution!

 

[tomc585]

I'm guessing just hitting the throttle just right is the key.

 

[redcorradoguy]

Towed my boat last night:

 

[Quattrojim]

Towed my boat last night:

Awesome! I hope the ramp was dry when you pulled it out...oh yea, the tdi's work great in first gear at idle! LOL! Can someone tell us what idiot thought NOT to bring a TDI Golf 4 motion to the US? Nah....that would never sell in the states....

 

[79TA7.6]

How big is that boat? What does it weigh?

 

[LOUDERMAN]

Dang! That boat looks a touch big behind a Golf! How did it pull? I can't imagine it did near as good as a small truck might have. My father has a boat close to that size and I wouldn't dream of putting it behind my Golf!

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[hubberjub]

2002 MK4 TDI (automatic, ewww) with 200k. Took me from upstate NY to a gig in NC and back without a problem. Total combined weight is conservatively estimated to be around 1500 pounds. Hammond organs and Leslie speakers are not light.

 

[Judson]

Greetings all -

I will be moving across the country, either this Fall or next Spring,
about 1,700 miles in total, so I could use some advice!

I had filled up a 10 x 15 storage unit in my most recent move
(150 square feet) and I believe I could pare that down to about
a 8 x 10, or 75 square feet. I'm thinking total weight would be
close to 1,500 pounds.

So, the question is: do I rent a truck and tow my Jetta, or
do I mod my Jetta to tow a trailer?

The Jetta already has a hidden hitch, though I would need to
do the wiring. I would also need to change the rear springs
from my current H&R Sports to something more firmer and
higher to handle the weight.

The Jetta is a converted from auto manual transmission with
a G60/VR6 clutch/flywheel combo, rc3, .205s, and the stock
turbo and intercooler, and 130k on the odometer. The timing
belt was changed at 60k. It runs well, but it's an 11 year old car.

Renting a truck, plus gas and extras would run me about $3,000.
Renting a trailer, plus gas in the diesel and extras would be
about $1,100.

So, I figure I have two options: use the roughly $2,000 I'd
save on renting a truck and put that into the car. Primarily
I'm concerned about EGT temps, and an old turbo. Or just
bite the bullet, rent a truck with plenty of space, and tow
the car.

It would take me a whole extra day to drive the distance in
the truck: I'm going east to west, and considering how fast
I can drive, plus the mountains, plus into the wind generally,
I figure four long days of driving in the truck vs. three long
days in the car.

So, anybody else ever do this? What was your experience?

TIA! I'd really appreciate any advice you all can give.

 

[TornadoRed]

Greetings all -

I will be moving across the country, either this Fall or next Spring,
about 1,700 miles in total, so I could use some advice!

I had filled up a 10 x 15 storage unit in my most recent move
(150 square feet) and I believe I could pare that down to about
a 8 x 10, or 75 square feet. I'm thinking total weight would be
close to 1,500 pounds.

I was faced with a similar situation in the summer of 2008, when diesel was about $5/gallon. I couldn't afford to rent a truck and pay for fuel, yet I had a lot more stuff than you do.

I solved this problem by purchasing a 4'x8' flatbed utility trailer and selling or giving away everything that wouldn't fit. When I finished loading it, the leaf springs were flattened and the tires were rubbing on the fenders. So I had to take everything off, sort through my stuff again, and get rid of another 300 pounds or so of items that I really wanted to keep.

Then a tarp went over the entire load and I was off.... at about 53 mph. I suppose the load was not properly distributed, because if I drove faster then the trailer and the back of my car would start to sway back and forth. But since I'd already unloaded and reloaded once, I tried to fix things by just shifting some stuff around on top.

Eventually I drove about 1800 miles at about 53 mph, and got great fuel mileage, better than 40 mph. I did have to stop to get a wheel bearing replaced on the trailer, and to have the mechanic cut away part of the trailer fenders with a cutting torch so they would not rub grooves in the tires' sidewall.

I still have the trailer and it has been very useful on many occasions. A rented trailer would have been much heavier, so I would have been forced to leave many more items behind.

If you follow my example, unless you pay too much for a used trailer, you should be able to sell it for the same money after you reach your destination.

 

[Judson]

Well, it just occurred to me that 1,500 pounds is probably the TOTAL I can
haul safely cross the country, and I forgot to include the trailer. And
enclosed trailer from u-haul or whatever probably weighs 500 pounds.

So, maybe just getting a utility trailer and using a tarp is okay.

Hmmmm....

 

[TornadoRed]

Well, it just occurred to me that 1,500 pounds is probably the TOTAL I can
haul safely cross the country, and I forgot to include the trailer. And
enclosed trailer from u-haul or whatever probably weighs 500 pounds.

So, maybe just getting a utility trailer and using a tarp is okay.

Hmmmm....

I would not be surprised if a small U-Haul enclosed trailer actually weighs 700-800 pounds or more. And once it's full, you can't jam anything else inside... which you can do with a flatbed trailer.

I think my utility trailer weighs around 400 pounds. I think the total weight of my load was around 2000 pounds. I drove very carefully, downshifting going both uphill and downhill. I crossed three mountain passes, in California, Arizona and the New Mexico/Colorado border.

It took nearly three days to travel 1800 miles -- I never want to drive that far, that slowly, ever again.

If you are not moving for a few more months, you have plenty of time to sort through your stuff, to make good decisions about what to get rid of, and to get the best prices you can for the stuff you can sell.

 

[LOUDERMAN]

Haven't towed my trailer with the VW yet (its 2 weeks old) but I'd get something like mine. Its a light utility/work trailer, probably weighs around 350 lbs. Its built tough as nails but its light and easy to load. Ill scrounge up a picture.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kjclow]

I pulled a 5x8 uhaul and a friend's 6x12 trailers last year. From the way the empty trailer towed, I am guessing that the 6x12 trailer weighed about 30% of what the uhaul did. 6x12 was just too big for me to be comfortable towing anywhere but around town. Plus it would be too easy to overload for my JSW. Northern Tool has a 5x8 flatbed on sale for $500 (IIRC) for the next couple of days. They seemed to have pretty good prices on all thier trailers, but I have no where to store one.

 

[Judson]

Well, last night I took a look around the apartment, and of course yesterday I
went through a large number of the pages of this thread, and I think the
idea of buying a used trailer (or new, depending) is a great idea.

I don't have that much stuff anymore and can pare down even further.
Then, on the other end, once I settle in, I can use the trailer to buy
furniture and restock, so to speak. And at some point sell the trailer if I
so choose.

I also like the idea of towing something that doesn't block my view to the
rear, as a fully enclosed trailer would. I can get a trailer with hard sides to
keep everything in place, use a heavy tarp to hold everything down and hide
what is underneath when I'm sleeping over in hotels and such.

I only now need to research rear springs and electrics - i.e. how I plug into
the rear lights and such.

 

[coalminer16]

For what you are doing you may want rear airbags as it will be cheaper and work out better I think.

For the wiring you need a converter. There is two styles, powered/unpowered. Get the powered. You don't want to be half way across the US and have your cars electronics fry because a short to ground on the trailer right?

Your car can handle more the 1500 if you know how to tow safely. If you want a trailer that will never rust away and is light then look into an aluma trailer (father and I both have) they are very strong and there is plenty of options as to what you can buy and it is still cheaper then the truck. And 10 years from now it is still worth more then $200 and won't be rusted away.

May want to also look into a car top carrier as well. My Yakima Pro-21 gives me an additional 21 cubic feet. Good for storing cloths, shoes up there.

Use a lower gear and keep RPM's up above 2000 rpm as that will keep the EGT's lower. Use a lower gear going down hill when needed as well so you don't burn your brakes up.

Make sure the load is tied down good.

 

[Judson]

Interesting. Rear airbags? Who sells those? I've never looked into them before.
Also, do you know who sells a powered converter with the wiring?

I probably don't need to do the car top carrier. The aluma trailer looks interesting,
but the cost is way too high for my needs ($2,500). I just can't justify that
price right now.

Appreciate the advice!

 

[kjclow]

Remember that if it's not in an encolsed trailer, your load will get wet. Not all of it and maybe not real wet, but there is nothing you can do to keep it 100% dry. Put anything that you don't want wet in the car.

Of course even an enclosed trailer will not give you a complete waterproof enclosure in all circumstances, but at least it would offer a higher level of protection.

For the wiring, U-Haul or a local travel trailer place should have what you need. Or any of the on-line hitch places.

 

[Judson]

I was considering an enclosed trailer, but rearward visibility is nada, it's FAR heavier,
so I can carry that much less. One big advantage is that it can be locked. So,
plusses/minuses.

 

[pop-n-lock]

Just a small utility trailer with a lawn tiller being transported. I'm hoping to get a small pop up camper on of these days. Has anyone had any issues pulling a small pop up or has any one added any sway control to their setups. I only have a class 1 curt hitch and it seems like there isn't any type of sway control recommended for a class 1 hitch only class 2 and above.