Towing vehicle

On Friday, April 5, 2013 7:17:42 AM UTC-7, Colin Roney wrote:
Automatic or Manual. Which is the best?

When towing, I run my car with the automatic transmission in "O/D Off", which I believe is no different than 3rd gear. I have watched the tach - in normal 4th gear operation, the torque converter slips. In 3rd gear, it does not. Mileage with the trailer is similar whether in 3rd or 4th.

Lexus LS400, 22 years old, purchased well used to have a comfortable rear wheel drive V8 sedan tow vehicle. Going on 230,000 miles with much of that over the past 15 years towing the glider. No tranny or engine problems to date; I did replace the rear shocks at 200k.

Jetta TDI with a double clutch transmission should work well too - fast shifting transmission and lots of low end torque should be ideal for this purpose.

NOOOOOOOOOO !!! ;-) VW does not recommend any towing with vehicles using DSG transmissions. While I agree that the TDI equipped (Turbo Direct Injected Diesel engines) are ideal towing vehicles - I have one myself - I would always opt for the straight manual 6-speed transmission. BTW, in Germany, the Jetta TDI station wagon is certified for towing trailers around 1,700kg if they are equipped with a surge brake. That should take care of most glider/trailer combinations I know.
For the long hauls, I use a Passat SW (2L, 4-banger gasoline engine) which only comes with a 6-speed automatic (in the US). I went from SC to Parowan, UT twice now and had no issues. Of course on the steepest and longest climbs, one has to make an allowance for having only 4 cylinders on duty but so what.

Uli

On Friday, April 5, 2013 7:17:42 AM UTC-7, Colin Roney wrote:
Automatic or Manual. Which is the best?

1991 Toyota Previa Van Automatic 370,125 miles so far.
Maintenance: change oil, replace spark plug 3 times, brake pad a bunch of times.
Biggest problem name changed to deer killer at one contest.

Richard

On Friday, April 5, 2013 7:17:42 AM UTC-7, Colin Roney wrote:
Automatic or Manual. Which is the best?

IIRC, some of the car manufacturers give a tow rating only for the automatic transmission version and not to the manual transmission version(same model). Best to check the vehicle specs to clarify.

Richard,

Kill sticker for your tow rig.

http://www.zazzle.com/deer_hunting_r...20779415734136

Will see you in Nephi!

On Saturday, April 6, 2013 8:12:22 AM UTC-4, GM wrote:
Jetta TDI with a double clutch transmission should work well too - fast shifting transmission and lots of low end torque should be ideal for this purpose.

NOOOOOOOOOO !!! ;-) VW does not recommend any towing with vehicles using DSG transmissions.

Regarding DSG, there are numerous reports of people "chipping" their VWs to increase power output and then promptly toasting their DSG transmissions. Not exactly the same strain as towing, but instructive. The DSG have some reputation for self-immolation with normal driving and stock power output, so I tend to agree that towing with a DSG is penny-wise and pound-foolish. The DSG on the Golf TDI is otherwise a real pleasure to drive.

The towing recommendations of different brands cannot be compared because there is no cross manufacturer accepted SAE performance standard for towing. I believe that towing recommendations are largely influenced by marketing.. For pickup trucks and such, towing recommendations are clearly a liar's contest. There is a proposed SAE towing performance standard, but I believe that only Toyota has adopted it.

Curiously, the VW Golf is rated to tow 3000 lbs in Great Britain, but only 1000 lbs in the USA. That may be because towing is longer, steeper, and hotter in the USA or it may be that the Golf is marketed as a youthful and sporty car in the USA and VW does not like the marketing image of youth passing grandpa towing his trailer with Golf at 60 mph. The weight of the Jetta and Golf are nearly the same. The rear axle of the Jetta is farther in front of the tow ball and that would make it less stable for towing.

The VW Golf TDI won "tow car of the year" in GB. Go figure.

On Friday, April 5, 2013 7:17:42 AM UTC-7, Colin Roney wrote:
Automatic or Manual. Which is the best?

Years ago, I once towed my glider trailer with a VW Golf (manual) and it was only once - it scared me so much I bought a larger, heavier vehicle straight away.

There seems to be this strange contest, especially in Europe, to see how small a tow vehicle one can get away with. In my view, there is no substitute for power and mass. Power to get you out of trouble and climb those hills and mass to control the weight of the combination. Small vehicles just don't have enough braking power.

I have a rule of fives - a tow vehicle of at least 5,000 pounds mass with a 5 liter engine!

Mike

The only question to ask is can "The Crew" drive it.

So you've landed out in a field and you call to get someone to come get you and the reply on the other end of the phone is I don't know how to drive a stick. Few of the younger generation even know what a stick shift is.

The towing recommendations of different brands cannot be compared because there is no cross manufacturer accepted SAE performance standard for towing. I believe that towing recommendations are largely influenced by marketing.

Not so in Germany. There is a standardized method of determining the towing capacity for all manufacturers to get their vehicles certified. Braking power is one criteria but getting a load started on an incline is another one.

Uli

On Sunday, 7 April 2013 17:51:30 UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Saturday, April 6, 2013 8:12:22 AM UTC-4, GM wrote:

Jetta TDI with a double clutch transmission should work well too - fast shifting transmission and lots of low end torque should be ideal for this purpose.


NOOOOOOOOOO !!! ;-) VW does not recommend any towing with vehicles using DSG transmissions.

Check this: http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/go...ngines/towing/

Looks ok. Mine's 700kg total.

The German version has higher trailer weights shown, and shows larger engines, such as the 2500cc 5 cylinder gas. Google translate is BRUTAL on owner's manuals with tables. It would be very helpful if someone that speaks German could check this out. Perhaps I was reading out of context.

If mine blows, I'll post. :-)