Show what you tow!

[nayr]

MK6 Golf 6MT, stock.. I get bout 40-42mpg doing same speeds without the trailer.

at interstate speeds it comes down to aerodynamics, get a low riding trailer that drafts behind you and its way to easy to forget its attached.

trailer makes you drive a bit slower, so you get back a little mpgs.. ie, doing 70mph vs 80mph

 

[redbarron55]

My Scamp knocks about 15 mpg off the 40 +- we get at 70 mph.
Most trailer tires are limited to 65 mpg so we never tow over that, probably ~62 mph.
trailer stability drops off on the square of the speed so a little faster makes a difference here as well.
Also having the weight balance correct helps the stability with ~ 10% close to optimum.
If you check with the "experts" you will find that if you tow with a TDI every lawyer in the country will be lined up to sue you in the case of any incident.

 

[SilverGhost]

Yup! I have an EggCamper and agree on all points just made. I got about 28-32 towing that with the Golf. Couple of the fiberglass forums were quick to point out horror stories of towing with under sized tow rigs. Several people (one has a G37? towing an Airstream) jump back in a point out that we used to tow with station wagons and NOT pickups.

Weird part was I had a 40"x48" Harbor Freight trailer with enclosed plywood box. On a couple occasions I checked mileage with and without the trailer on back to back tanks and lost at most 3mpg. Of course I never trusted those cheap wheel bearings or 12" wheels to much over 60mph (rated 45 mph)

I have an aluma trailer and they list an option for split folding tail gate. Makes sense to me that it costs more as you have make more cuts, weld in a hinge and structure so it will fold into a functional ramp. Also it doesn't stop vertical, but about a 60* angle. I drilled and installed studs in the bed rail so I can fold it flat forward OR backward. Very useful with brush or when something is just a little too long (dry wall). Won't hold weight but gets it out of the way.

Jason

 

[gots_a_sol]

Updated pic after lifting and adding larger tires. Some of the riding areas I go to don't have great parking lots which is why I lifted it. Plus it looks cool haha.

 

[soot1]

Although technically, I am not towing, I figured I'd still post these images here.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[sandmansans]

Although technically, I am not towing, I figured I'd still post these images here.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Lol neat set up...Where do the brackets for the mount go to?

 

[soot1]

Lol neat set up...Where do the brackets for the mount go to?

They both mount to a tow hitch, one goes in the hitch 1.25" receiver, the other one attaches to the side of the hitch with two 0.5" bolts. I used a 1.25" square solid bar made of 304 stainless steel to support the middle of the bike carrier. Since this is only Class 1 hitch, it would be too weak without the support on the passenger side. The first iteration of the design was with both the stainless steel bar and the side support running straight. It became clear very soon that the carrier was running too close to the ground, so I shortened the stainless bar and the side bar and made those two J-shaped supports that lifted the carrier by 6 inches.

[/IMG]

 

[sandmansans]

They both mount to a tow hitch, one goes in the hitch 1.25" receiver, the other one attaches to the side of the hitch with two 0.5" bolts. I used a 1.25" square solid bar made of 304 stainless steel to support the middle of the bike carrier. Since this is only Class 1 hitch, it would be too weak without the support on the passenger side. The first iteration of the design was with both the stainless steel bar and the side support running straight. It became clear very soon that the carrier was running too close to the ground, so I shortened the stainless bar and the side bar and made those two J-shaped supports that lifted the carrier by 6 inches.

[/IMG]

Very nice. Sounds like a solid set up.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[busa_chris]

 

[busa_chris]

This was after finishing up a side job. We were exhausted and it was late. Didn't feel like going back for this second trailer, so I hooked it up on the Jetta. Had to take a pic because nobody would have believed it.

 

[Geordi]

I always find it amusing that a vehicle can pull a trailer that said vehicle can also fit on / in.

That car hauler is probably every bit of 2000 lbs, not outside the range for a tow - at least empty. Using a Jetta to pull a tow dolly with another car on it is a little more unusual though... I don't think a Jetta would be able to handle that big boy with a car on it.

 

[busa_chris]

I wouldn't have done that anyway. It's not only stupid to tow something that outweighs the tow vehicle but unsafe. Surprisingly it pulled like it wasn't even there. At least if I had broken down, it would have been a lot easier to flag down a pickup truck and load the Jetta on the trailer!

 

[shift957]

Updated pic after lifting and adding larger tires. Some of the riding areas I got to don't have great parking lots which is why I lifted it. Plus it looks cool haha.

Hey, I know you! We went riding in Gore a few years ago. Saw your post on .net and no one else showed for the ride. I had the white KTM 250 2 stroke. I see you upgraded from the DRZ. Nice!


Here's mainly why I bought my Jetta TDI: to tow track bikes from mid Kentucky to VA, NC, NJ, etc., and coach motorcycle track days. I've put 20k on it since May. Much more economical than the E350 diesel ext van (17MPG avg) and 18 foot enclosed trailer (12MPG towing avg) set up I was using.

 

[Geordi]

I wouldn't have done that anyway. It's not only stupid to tow something that outweighs the tow vehicle but unsafe. Surprisingly it pulled like it wasn't even there. At least if I had broken down, it would have been a lot easier to flag down a pickup truck and load the Jetta on the trailer!

Towing over the base weight of the tow vehicle is not unsafe, tens of thousands of class 8 trucks do it every single day. It has nothing to do with the weight relationship, but everything to do with properly rigging the tow setup with controllable brakes to stop the loads safely, and then knowing your limitations and not driving like an idiot. A class 8 truck weighs around 12k just by itself, and somewhere around 20 with an empty trailer. The trailer then gets 45k of cargo stuffed in, so it is WAY more than the weight of the tow vehicle.

Making such a blanket statement as that, or "if you want to tow, buy a ($60k) truck" just continues the misunderstanding of towing that is so prevalent in the USA, where people in Europe actually know a lot more about the capabilities of their vehicles and how to load and tow safely.

 

[ALHGadget]

02 Golf ALH pulling 10x7 Tent Trailer

Well had to do a few mods to pull comfortably and safely.

Electric Brake Controller, Upgraded front Brakes, Bossio 1019 injectors, Tune I designed on edcsuite estimated from sotware 165hp 390ft/lbs Torque everything else is stock on the engine, Vr6 single mass Clutch Upgrade, turbo is set to 17 psi vnt-15, Rear Air Shock Upgrade with air compressor set up in the glove box

Heaviest load pulled in total weight between car and trailer 6860lbs, hooked up to car trailer axle weight 2680lbs.

Well fuel milleage are really good, best 700km on 50 litre, at 120 km/h against the wind average 500km on 50 litre of Diesel.

Absolutely no problem climbing any hill from Alberta to Ontario and back.

 

[jason_]

I wouldn't have done that anyway. It's not only stupid to tow something that outweighs the tow vehicle but unsafe. Surprisingly it pulled like it wasn't even there. At least if I had broken down, it would have been a lot easier to flag down a pickup truck and load the Jetta on the trailer!

Towing over the base weight of the tow vehicle is not unsafe, tens of thousands of class 8 trucks do it every single day. It has nothing to do with the weight relationship, but everything to do with properly rigging the tow setup with controllable brakes to stop the loads safely, and then knowing your limitations and not driving like an idiot. A class 8 truck weighs around 12k just by itself, and somewhere around 20 with an empty trailer. The trailer then gets 45k of cargo stuffed in, so it is WAY more than the weight of the tow vehicle.

Making such a blanket statement as that, or "if you want to tow, buy a ($60k) truck" just continues the misunderstanding of towing that is so prevalent in the USA, where people in Europe actually know a lot more about the capabilities of their vehicles and how to load and tow safely.

Yes.

Bumper pulling (even class 5 Reese) is kid play, has its limits, and actually is often done dangerously.

The big boys set several thousand #s on the tow vehicle directly, not 6 feet beyond the rear axle. In all honesty, you want as much tongue weight on the vehicle as possible. 2, 3 sometimes 4 40k# axles opens a lot more options .

And air brakes (new style that is) . You simply can't move until you fix the issue.



Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with cm11!

 

[Stealth TDI]

In keeping with my sharing of small loads:

I picked up some spare wheels today...

The cargo box was mostly to serve as a flat surface to hold the wheels in position...

Scott

 

[casioqv]

I tow a Montgomery 15 sailboat with my 2001 Golf TDI, 01m automatic. The transmission so far *knock on wood* seems to handle it just fine, temps are about 100C with the torque converter locked. I'm heading out for a 3,000 mile trip today. I just put in new ATE high boiling point brake fluid, Valvoline MaxLife synthetic transmission fluid, and raised the 01m line pressure 4 clicks. I drive with TorquePro set to alarm on anything unusual, especially transmission temps.

 

[ELM]

I tow a Montgomery 15 sailboat with my 2001 Golf TDI, 01m automatic. The transmission so far *knock on wood* seems to handle it just fine, temps are about 100C with the torque converter locked. I'm heading out for a 3,000 mile trip today. I just put in new ATE high boiling point brake fluid, Valvoline MaxLife synthetic transmission fluid, and raised the 01m line pressure 4 clicks. I drive with TorquePro set to alarm on anything unusual, especially transmission temps.

Nice boat. Do you have any idea what the boat and trailer weigh. Also it would nice to here what MPG you get while towing. Thanks

 

[casioqv]

Nice boat. Do you have any idea what the boat and trailer weigh. Also it would nice to here what MPG you get while towing. Thanks

The boat weighs only 750lbs, but with trailer, gear, tools, outboard motor, etc. possibly a lot more. I'll run across a scale, and take fuel economy data during this trip and post it in a week or so. The car doesn't feel like it's working hard at all to tow this, it feels similar to having no trailer and 3 passengers.

 

[ELM]

The boat weighs only 750lbs, but with trailer, gear, tools, outboard motor, etc. possibly a lot more. I'll run across a scale, and take fuel economy data during this trip and post it in a week or so. The car doesn't feel like it's working hard at all to tow this, it feels similar to having no trailer and 3 passengers.

Thanks the info. I'm building a teardrop camper and would like to tow it with my TDI 5 speed Beetle and I'm trying to keep it under 900 to 1000 lbs. Thanks and keep use updated.

 

[ATR]

I tow a Montgomery 15 sailboat with my 2001 Golf TDI, 01m automatic. The transmission so far *knock on wood* seems to handle it just fine, temps are about 100C with the torque converter locked. I'm heading out for a 3,000 mile trip today. I just put in new ATE high boiling point brake fluid, Valvoline MaxLife synthetic transmission fluid, and raised the 01m line pressure 4 clicks. I drive with TorquePro set to alarm on anything unusual, especially transmission temps.

http://i.imgur.com/trlz18j.jpg

I hear the most important thing about the infamous auto transmissions from that era is, even though vw says "lifetime fill", is to drain and refill the transmission fluid. These older autos seem to last much longer that way.

 

[casioqv]

I hear the most important thing about the infamous auto transmissions from that era is, even though vw says "lifetime fill", is to drain and refill the transmission fluid. These older autos seem to last much longer that way.

The 01m is a really nice behaving transmission for towing, it's hard to imagine it would be damaged from towing on the highway with the torque converter locked. I was towing all day long today at 70mph in 4th, and the transmission never got over 99C, including climbing the infamous grapevine mountain pass in Southern California at 60mph in 3rd.

 

[BigKevinW]

I had a scare tonight. A buddy offered me a free 1998 2.0 New Beetle that he wrecked (barely, but enough to put it out of commission). I have a tow dolly and a TDI (ALH) New Beetle with a hitch, so I thought "I'll risk it 20 miles home."

Bad idea!

I got home fine and, like an idiot, turned the car off without letting it cool down while I unloaded the other one off the dolly. When I cranked my car back up to move it, I heard it; eratic idle, spit, spit, buuuuu, POP, smoke, POP.
I knew immediately the turbo was just toast! I take off to get the oil pumping again, dolly still attached. Surge! Die! Surge! Die! At that point I was praying I would make it back. About a half mile from the house, all of a sudden it started running right. I drove it for about 15 more minutes, just to make sure. Nothing. Drove like a dream. Hopefully it'll crank right up in the morning.

Moral? Don't tow a 3,000 lb. car with your TDI!!!
If you do and I hear about it, I'll personally find you and punch you in the face!
I deserve to be punched in the face.

 

[nayr]

bah the load was just dustin out the old pipes, drove like a dream huh? should towed with it sooner..

TDi Beetle towing a TDI Beetle a mere 20miles, been done plenty of times without issue.. chill.

 

[BigKevinW]

Alabama hills, .216 nozzles, open exhaust, and a tune. I figure I filled the turbo full of soot and just had to blow it out. It's fine now, I just almost sh!t myself thinking I killed the turbo by cutting off the oil while that hot.

 

[BigKevinW]

And... I regularly tow an 1800 lb popup camper. That'll probably be my limit from here on out. The dolly pulled like a wet dishrag. I'll put it behind the truck next time.

 

[nayr]

You deleted your EGR yet? If not you might be due to clean out your intake manifold.. it going to be cram packed with carbon buildup.. its pretty horrible inside the intake of my ALH from 03 with 150k miles on it, going to be one nasty ass job cleaning that up.

 

[BigKevinW]

No EGR and disabled via flattening the EGR map.

 

[casioqv]

Nice boat. Do you have any idea what the boat and trailer weigh. Also it would nice to here what MPG you get while towing. Thanks

The average was 28.26mpg across five tanks of diesel. I wasn't able to use a scale, as the out-of-use public truck scales I found were either shut off or blocked off. I posted a detailed report on the trip here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4987841