Show what you tow!

jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
I’ve towed cars and trucks long distance with enclosed trailer, flatbed, and dolly’s. My favorite is acme dolly by eze-tow with surge brakes. You need to pull driveshaft on suv’s But no big deal. These are so easy to tow you forget it’s there. Lots of RV’s use these for their toads.
Jeff
Do the new suvs xfer case not have neutral?

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nayr

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Location
Colorado
TDI
2014 Audi Q7
Question before I try this- Has anyone been denied warranty coverage for having a hitch on a DSG equiped TDI?
Never heard anything about anyone getting denied warranty coverage for having a hitch out the back.. that would have to be specifically outlined (Towing voids) in the warranty.. and its not..

Besides, how they gonna prove you been towing a few tons across the country and not a few bikes on a rack?

Infact once when my TDI went in for service they commented on my nice eurohitch and said, 'we dont see those around here often'.. I replied back something like 'Who needs a truck when you have a diesel Golf and a flatbed trailer"
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
There ARE towing voids specifically laid out in the warranty for a DSG based TDI vehicle in North America.
 

nayr

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Location
Colorado
TDI
2014 Audi Q7
source? I'm not finding anything like that.. other than roadside assistance towing and towing the vehicle its self with front wheels on the road.
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
Easy for you to say when you're doing the backseat driving :D
It only took me once of losing brakes with a 7500 lb load to realize the importance of working trailer brakes.
And don't forget the weight of the trailer. I've loaded my 1200lb Kawasaki Mule onto my 5x8 trailer which weighs almost 800 lbs which I pulled once 20 miles with my Jetta because my Excursion was waiting for a new transmission. Can it do it? Sure. But on a 5x8 trailer, it's super top heavy and will tip easily. And I would not want to rely on the puny Jetta brakes stop me in an emergency braking situation going down 55mph+ on a significant grade. Not to mention it crawled going up a slight grade.
Speak for yourself.. I regularly tow more weight with my ALH than 90% of the people on this forum will ever dream of towing.

and speaking of "puny" brakes, stock MK4 brakes are larger and more capable than a lot of the small pickups.. look at the 90's S-10's, Rangers and Dakotas.. All of their brakes are similar size and the trucks are significantly heavier in 4wd/V6 form..
 
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kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
Queue Rob Lowe "Literally" in the manual



Note: "Towing a trailer of any kind with a diesel engine and DSG automatic transmission will cause overheating and expensive engine as well as other damage to your vehicle that will not be covered by any Volkswagen Limited Warranty. Never install a trailer hitch on one of these vehicles"



I'm not saying its not doable, I'm just replying to the warranty question.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Asked over at TDI 101 but didn't get many answers, thought I should ask here. Got a 2015 Golf TDI with DSG tranny and need to get a motorcycle and sidecar from Illinois to Florida, weight with trailer would be 1100-1200 pounds. Thinking of using easily removable wiring and a bike rack gives an alibi for the hitch in case I have to get any warranty repairs.

Question before I try this- Has anyone been denied warranty coverage for having a hitch on a DSG equiped TDI?
I've had the trailer hitch on my JSW since I first bought it and no one has ever commented on it. However, the 10 with DSG was rated at 1500 pounds.
 

nayr

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Location
Colorado
TDI
2014 Audi Q7
Thanks for that..

Well then I guess you put on a receiver, and say its not a trailer hitch.. its a bike carrier and never had a hitch installed... the wiring is erm, for brake lights on the bike carrier, yeah thats it :p

Suppose this means if you wanna tow with a MK7, you get a 6MT and dont worry about it..
 
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jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
Honestly I think a dsg can take a lot of input torque..

But trying to cool gearbox oil with 200*F coolant seems pointless....

If it had an isolated cooler, I'd run that ***** balls to the walls.

As long as the oil is kept reasonable, any clutch slip the ecm should back off juice and boost

I think it's some math with crank shaft, input shaft, and output shaft sensors?

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PB_NB

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
TDI
1999 New Beetle
The DSG is very interesting for towing. You can get a tuner to push the torque limits and shifting behaviour and even get an upgraded clutch.

It would be a lot smoother starting off from a stop with a DSG than a manual, especially on a grade.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Thanks for that..

Well then I guess you put on a receiver, and say its not a trailer hitch.. its a bike carrier and never had a hitch installed... the wiring is erm, for brake lights on the bike carrier, yeah thats it :p

Suppose this means if you wanna tow with a MK7, you get a 6MT and dont worry about it..
I've actually been looking at light kits for my bike rack. I've got a lot of money sitting on that rack and would really like others to notice it before running up on it. Especially when hauling my bikes over 1500 miles before trying to ride for a 500 miles in a week.
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
oh like this?


oh like this?

The 1 1/4" receiver was bending horribly, never got a chance to drive it that way again. Show up like this with the bike attached when you need warranty work.
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
Buy the Bosal or Westfalia hitch, when they attach far deep inside the bumper bracket cavity instead of just on the rear, the amount of flex from the bouncing weight on the tongue will be thoroughly reduced.

It's not just about receiver size (although most good bike racks are made for a 2", don't use an adapter it just multiplies the flex)
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Buy the Bosal or Westfalia hitch, when they attach far deep inside the bumper bracket cavity instead of just on the rear, the amount of flex from the bouncing weight on the tongue will be thoroughly reduced.

It's not just about receiver size (although most good bike racks are made for a 2", don't use an adapter it just multiplies the flex)
Too bad that e-trailer stopped selling the 2" receiver that worked with the Bosal/Westphalia hitches.
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
oh duh my mistake, I totally forgot about it being a gooseneck.

I retract my recommendation for use with the bike rack.

(haven't had the JSW for 1 month and I have already forgotten)
 

Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
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Jedadiah

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Central Kentucky
TDI
Former: '15 Passat TDI SE 6M, '15 Golf S 6M and '10 JSW
I have a Thule express two bike rack like in the link above that will be for sale soon. It’s really fast to set up, and super stable, but has one small. problem: You can’t tilt it, so you can’t open your hatch when it’s attached. It’d be fantastic on a Jetta.
 

dremd

Veteran Member
Joined
May 31, 2007
Location
South Louisiana
TDI
06 sprinter. 03 jetta wagon premium with 6 speed ALH swap, 14 JSW
BTW, has anyone actually managed to break a DSG?
In between my decision to do a buyback and turning it in I sure did try. Never an issue. Only hiccup was pushing a Subaru parked in my way of leaving/ opening trailer door, it would shove for about 10 seconds then give an error and let you shove some more.
 

gearheadgrrrl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2002
Location
Buffalo Ridge (southwest Minnesota)
TDI
'15 Golf DSG, '13 JSW DSG surrendered to VW, '03 Golf 2 door manual
Might help if you released the parking brake and took it out gear...

That's what I suspect would happen if you asked too much of a DSG... It would slow or shut down to protect itself. Sounds like the major weakness of the DSG is the clutch, don't slip it excessively by giving it too much throttle with too much load starting up a too steep hill and it'll do fine. Route from my place to Florida is pretty flat...
 

jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
I'm sure hydraulic pressure is designed with fuel mileage in mind.

Hmmmm.....

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turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
Found a Mk4 hitch at the junkyard for cheap so I put it on my 99.5 and been towing around this 5x8 trailer. Sure is nice to have the low trailer to load stuff into rather than lift it up into a pickup.

Pulls pretty good, just have to watch EGTs. I hit 1450 going up a mountain doing around 70MPH and let off from there. The DLC1019s are not exactly helping. Also the trailer bounces around pretty bad so stuff has to be strapped in good or you are going to loose it.

 

Oo-v-oO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
Live Free or Die, USA
TDI
98 Jetta Expired... Now 2000 Golf & 2002 Golf
Did three full dump runs today, then used it to bring two 100# propane tanks to be filled. Yesterday I picked up a well pump and pressure tank down in Manchester with it. This 5x8 trailer complements the Golf nicely.
 
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