Towing glider trailers with a VW Jetta Wagon?

I have one and I'm seriously thinking about putting a hitch on it to
(among other things) tow glider trailers with.

Anyone out there doing it?

What hitch do you have?

Which engine? I have the 1.9 TDI, which I think has plenty of power
for it...

-Allan

Allan wrote:
I have one and I'm seriously thinking about putting a hitch on it to
(among other things) tow glider trailers with.

Anyone out there doing it?

What hitch do you have?

Which engine? I have the 1.9 TDI, which I think has plenty of power
for it...


Well, Canada has some impressive topography, Allan, so it might depend
on where you are towing. I like my '99 5.0L V8 Ford Explorer for the
eastern part of the USA. My Cobra trailer has a 2200 Max Gross Weight
which is WELL within the Ex's capabilities, but I prefer not being
reminded constantly that I am moving something extra down the highway.
And, don't forget, there certainly are heavier combinations than my
DG-303/Cobra.

If you like the idea of operating under a significant power limitation
_and_ you never leave the the table-flat areas of Canada, then you may
be satisfied. You may find more apropos responses from people who deal
with European autos and road conditions on an everyday basis, but then
expectations in North America can be very different. Not the least of
those is that you will be expected to keep up with the rest of us who
ARE driving the 5.0 L models and who are relatively unperturbed by
either stop-and-go traffic or rising terrain.


Jack

Well, no doubt a V8 is going to get you there easier and faster, but
I'll still make better time 'cause I'll only be stopping 1/8 as many
times for fuel

Seriously though, I have no doubt I can drag the weight behind the
Jetta, but what I'm really in need of is some advice from someone who
has a wagon with a hitch. I've done some poking around and there
aren't many options for hitches for the wagon for some reason...

-Allan

On Aug 21, 8:06 pm, Allan wrote:
Well, no doubt a V8 is going to get you there easier and faster, but
I'll still make better time 'cause I'll only be stopping 1/8 as many
times for fuel

Seriously though, I have no doubt I can drag the weight behind the
Jetta, but what I'm really in need of is some advice from someone who
has a wagon with a hitch. I've done some poking around and there
aren't many options for hitches for the wagon for some reason...

-Allan

Allan,

what model year do you have?
I don't have a Jetta Wagon but a TDI Sedan. Mine is a '06 model with
100HP, manual transmission and I put a hitch on it. The Jetta will
tow my Aluminum Schreder type trailer with a Libelle H301 in it just
fine. Granted, I live in South Carolina and I do not have to negotiate
steep grades.

Uli Neumann

On Aug 21, 5:06 pm, Allan wrote:
Well, no doubt a V8 is going to get you there easier and faster, but
I'll still make better time 'cause I'll only be stopping 1/8 as many
times for fuel

Seriously though, I have no doubt I can drag the weight behind the
Jetta, but what I'm really in need of is some advice from someone who
has a wagon with a hitch. I've done some poking around and there
aren't many options for hitches for the wagon for some reason...

-Allan

Allan, I've got a similar car and the same airplane and trailer.
After worrying about it for months I put a hitch on my 2000 Volvo V40
wagon. Rated to tow 2,000 lbs and max weight on the bar 200 lbs. I
towed my DG303 and Cobra from Arlington WA (AWO) over the fairly easy
mountain pass (I90, 3,400') to eastern WA (EPH). I've got a 1.9 turbo,
all stock. Towed great, but did tend to sway above 55 mph. I'm
wondering about one of those anti-sway hitches. I did 55 mph or better
in all situations including going over the pass and got just under 23
mpg. Normally the temp gauge needle is dead horizontal and I noticed
that the mountain driving kicked it up a tiny amount. Going down the
other side was a total non-event, hardly ever touched the brakes. I
Love That Car. I swear if the car quit tomorrow I'd buy an '04 (last
year made).

Brian

Allan,

Go ahead and put your hitch on and start towing, there is no problem.
I drove the exact combination in Germany a few years ago after the
worlds in Bayreuth. My cousin leant me his VW Golf Combi TDI which is
essentially the same model as your Jetta. I was so impressed when I
returned to Toronto I was determined to buy one. As it turned out I
was a few years too early the Jetta station wagon TDI in North America
was still a thing of the future. In Germany I carried 5 passengers
towing a glider trailer and was only slowed down on the steepest
hills, even then it just kept pulling, just a little slower. Best part
of the story is that this was a driving school car complete with dual
controls and 280,000 km on the odometer.

Go for it!

J a c k wrote:
Allan wrote:
Not the least of
those is that you will be expected to keep up with the rest of us who
ARE driving the 5.0 L models and who are relatively unperturbed by
either stop-and-go traffic or rising terrain.

I don't think that's really an issue, as there are plenty of trucks that
will be much slower off the mark or up the hill. Not to mention people
like me, with a motorhome and a heavier trailer, that have even less
power compared to the weight. If it's a four lane highway, the faster
vehicles can pass; if it's a two lane road where it's hard to pass, pull
over when you've collected a few cars behind you so they can get on
their way.

The real concern is the stability of the car and trailer at the speeds
you will tow. Probably talking to other people already doing it the best
way to learn about that.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

As ever Eric has it right.

I live at 5000" MSL and spent years happily towing with a 1600cc hatchback.

Recently went over to the dark side and got a Volvo XC70. Towing the same rig
(single axle trailer with a single seater inside)The XC was purchased for it's
comfort, ability to swallow growing family and to be able to confidently visit
wilder parts of the country. (to say nothing of the hatch's 12 years and 250K km)

My observations for towing glider trailer.
You don't need more power. The 1.9TDi will tow it very well, and particularly so
at altitude where the turbocharger will compensate for much of the altitude
effect. (and yes I have driven long distance in the states)
The extra power from the 2.5l turbo on the Volvo is really nice in that it
reduces driver effort. With an auto gearbox and that much power available it is
effortless towing the 600kg glider combination. But you only win a few less gear
changes.

The big difference is in safe towing speed. The hatchback weighed ~1240kg the
XC70 weighs 1780Kg. Wheelbase on the XC70 is a good 500mm longer. 4 wheel drive
increases stability further, as do all the electronic aids. As long as the
trailers aerodynamics, and tyres and brakes are up to it...
A wayward swaying trailer and car indicates bad aerodynamics and balance more
than weight of combination.

End result - With the hatchback I was able to tow at 120km/h in still
conditions, but any wind or traffic and I had to slow to 100-110 to prevent
getting pushed around by the trailer. Every so often you would get trapped
behind slow moving traffic in the mountains, without the power to pass safely.
The heavier longer car is unperturbed by most disturbances on the trailer.

Fuel consumption - Same trip - primarily freeway, with some substantial mountain
passes included.
1600cc Hatchback - 9.5l/100km. Average speed ~95km/h
2500cc Turbo wagon - 11.5l/100km Average speed 116km/h

The main advantage the bigger car has is in acceleration, particularly for
overtaking. The places where the smaller car would have had difficulty going
faster tend to have lower speed limits so the performance difference is somewhat
neutralised.
Conversely the smaller car is much easier to manoeuvre and cheaper to run and
live with day to day.

The jetta will have advantages in the twisty bits over the SUVs - physics are
against something that weighs that much with a high centre of gravity and all
the design compromises. Tried it once, never again.

If you drive within the capabilities of your combination you will enjoy the
trip, and it does make a big difference to your average speed having to stop to
feed the beast. The TDi will really test your endurance if you want it to.



Eric Greenwell wrote:
J a c k wrote:
Allan wrote:
Not the least of
those is that you will be expected to keep up with the rest of us who
ARE driving the 5.0 L models and who are relatively unperturbed by
either stop-and-go traffic or rising terrain.

I don't think that's really an issue, as there are plenty of trucks that
will be much slower off the mark or up the hill. Not to mention people
like me, with a motorhome and a heavier trailer, that have even less
power compared to the weight. If it's a four lane highway, the faster
vehicles can pass; if it's a two lane road where it's hard to pass, pull
over when you've collected a few cars behind you so they can get on
their way.

The real concern is the stability of the car and trailer at the speeds
you will tow. Probably talking to other people already doing it the best
way to learn about that.

On Aug 22, 4:51 am, Eric Greenwell wrote:
The real concern is the stability of the car and trailer at the speeds
you will tow. Probably talking to other people already doing it the best
way to learn about that.

Trailer stability is all about weight and distribution, and there's
several key things which you should do. If done, it will be very
unlikely that you need a stabiliser, and prevention is better than
cure!

*Make sure that the laden mass of the trailer does not exceed 85% of
the laden mass of the tow car, and preferably less.

*Have 7% of the trailer's actual mass on the hitch. Measure with some
bathroom scales and a length of wood cut to the correct height to fit
between hitch and the scales. It's important to get this number right
- no more, no less. If the 7% value is more than the car's noseweight
limit, you'll just have to keep within that limit and accept a less
than optimum noseweight.

*Carry heavy items in the car, not the trailer, but make sure you
don't exceed the maximum axle load (or end up with your car dragging
it's arse along the road - keep it level). I often put the heaviest
items in the passenger footwell if I'm travelling alone.

*Look after your tyres on both car and trailer. Blow-outs can really
ruin your trip (and your glider!). Trailer tyres should be replaced
every five years and definitely every seven - rubber ages naturally,
whether you use them or not. In winter ideally take the wheels off and
store them level in a cool dry place wrapped in hessian (not plastic),
or at least wrap the tyres in hessian on the trailer to keep the UV
off.

*Make sure you run the correct tyre pressures all round. Check before
you set off on every trip. A tyre with low pressure will run hot and
could blow.

BTW You'll have no trouble towing with a turbo diesel. Being force-
charged they have no altitude issues, unlike normall-aspirated engines
that lose power with height, and with the lighter overall trainweight
will leave trucks and SUVs standing (as has been said, it's power to
weight that matters, not absolute power).


Dan

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Now I just have to find a place to install a hitch at a decent price!

-Allan