[wensteph]

I hope this answers some of the questions of how does the non air suspension Touareg tows. My answer is certainly as well as my Yukon, but with more efficiency, which was my expectation. That's as good as you're going to get short of the big pick-up specialized tow vehicles.

Particulars are ground to center of receiver unloaded 16". Ground to center of receiver with boat 14 3/4". A 1 1/4" spring sag is negligible.

Boat weight 2900 lbs. Trailer weight 824. Motor 591. Fuel weight 400 lbs, which on my boat is carried forward of midships. Boat is 23'. I have no idea what my tongue weight is.

I tow one 2,000 mile trip each year and today was just a short trip to see how the truck did. I'm very pleased.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Wow, excellent picture. I will add this and the other Touareg w/air suspension to the buying guide. I'm sure this is a very common question and you've been very helpful!

 

[rickb]

Thanks for the pics. I just googled the Yukon's specs, it weighs 5,814 lbs. and has a tow capacity of 5,800 or 8,200 lbs with the trailer pack. But it only has 335 lb-ft of torque out of the V8 engine! What's not to love about the TDI engine?

 

[wensteph]

Thanks for the pics. I just googled the Yukon's specs, it weighs 5,814 lbs. and has a tow capacity of 5,800 or 8,200 lbs with the trailer pack. But it only has 335 lb-ft of torque out of the V8 engine! What's not to love about the TDI engine?

And the 335 is up around 5,000 rpm. That's why I changed.

I am very impressed with the Touareg and TDI engine.

 

[STR3T]

Great stuff, Wensteph.

 

[stroud2010]

impressive
who needs a pick-up anyway lol
:thumbsup

 

[shiskowd]

I posted the following in the intro thread (first post). Considering purchasing a 2012 tdi t-Reg.

One concern I have is with the single speed transfer case in the 2011+ models. I have a 6,000 lb wakeboard boat that I'm sure the t-Reg will have no issues on roadways etc. I'm concerned about pulling the boat out of a steep loading ramp. The low range on other four wheel drives I have owned takes the strain out of the torque converter for those big tugs up the ramp.

Does the eight speed tranny provide a sufficiently low first gear? Is my concern valid?

 

[grohgreg]

Does the eight speed tranny provide a sufficiently low first gear?

In my opinion, yes. Plus you have the on road/off road select switch at your fingertips. I occasionally tow a tractor that weighs about the same as your boat. I figure that - considering tractor plus trailer - I'm pretty close to the VW recommended max tow and tongue weight. And I start the tow uphill on pasture grass on the OE Goodyear Eagle LS tires. So unless you change to some tire that doesn't have a good wet surface rating, I doubt you'll encounter any difficulties walking that boat out on wet concrete. Just make sure to keep the front tires dry. If/when the rears slip, the computer will shift power to the fronts.

//greg//

 

[shiskowd]

Thanks Greg - if you can pull around a 7,700 lb trailer in a pasture I don't think I'll have any issues!

 

[wensteph]

I've only launched on one ramp that wasn't noteworthy and had no problem. I used the same ramp with the Yukon and the boat came out much better with the Touareg. There wasn't any drama with either vehicle, but you could tell the AWD and torque made a difference.

I've pulled this boat from Savannah to eastern Long Island, 2,000 miles round trip, without any issues and it was a much more enjoyable tow with the Touareg. I stayed off I 95 used the hilly route through VA and PA on I 81 and I 78. I towed 65-75 mph and had no trouble with the long grades in the Lehigh valley in PA. The TDI is the way to do this. The drag from my T top kills milage, but I still got 13-15 vs the mid single digits I got with the Yukon.

On a related note, the ATF is not "lifetime" and I plan on changing it out around 36K.

 

[emboysos]

2012 T-reg 'prep' For towing?

When I purchased my 12 t-reg TDI, I was told that it was tow ready with a 7-point trailer electrical connection. I just discovered that the electrical connection is NOT COMPLETE. Shouldn't there be a COMPLETE connection there and where can I get the parts to make it complete?

 

[emboysos]

One other question I have is about trailer brake control. Is there any sort of trailer brake control built into the 12 t-reg TDI?

 

[grohgreg]

No native brake controller, and finding the OE pigtail to plug in your own controller has confounded quite a few owners. I dispensed with that aggravation and went wireless.

Check your invoice to see what you paid for. If it was truly ready to tow, there's be a $500 tow bar option and a $140 trailer wiring option. If they're they're on paper but not on the car, make the dealer fix it. If they're not on paper, it's your move. Either pay the dealer to do it, or buy an aftermarket connector and install it yourself. If you do it yourself, you're lookin' at less than $10 for the receptacle and pigtail, and 15 minutes to install. But some folks have still had to take the car back to the dealer for programming (to tell the car it's now got trailer wiring).

//greg//