I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a new TDI but am concerned about it's towing abilities. I'm pulling a 20'box trailer with race car, tools, pit bike,,etc. Haven't scaled it but I'm thinking it's around6k - 7k lbs. fully loaded. The Touregs torque & 7700 lb rating seems ok but I've read somewhere in the forum that the max hitch weight is 308lbs. If I use the 10-15% rule of thumb for distribution, it seems the Toureg will not work. Also, a buddy of mine who has a Cayenne, said he can't use a weight distribution hitch due to suspension & on-board computer. Would this apply to the VW? I want the car but may have to go with my original choice being the Gas Tundra or F250 diesel. Thanks in advance.:dunno
Towing with 2011 Touareg TDI??
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Actually I believe the max tongue weight is something like 620. It does say in the manual not to use a weight distribution hitch. I've asked my dealer about this...and how one should expect to abate sag at the rear wheels but have not heard back. Previous versions of the touareg had air suspension which took car of weight distribution.
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I just uploaded this picture for you 
It's a sticker on the 2010 trailer receiver. The 2011 figures are the same.
Yes, there was a wrong figure in the 2011 FAQ article which had some early Euro information in it, it's now been corrected, thank you both for pointing this out.
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It's a sticker on the 2010 trailer receiver. The 2011 figures are the same. Yes, there was a wrong figure in the 2011 FAQ article which had some early Euro information in it, it's now been corrected, thank you both for pointing this out.
Does the current manual say no WD hitches? There are lots of conflicting opinion on this; I'm coming around to the opinion that it was not OK to use a WD hitch on air, but OK on steel. Google weight distribution hitch touareg or some combination of same to expand the search outside Touareg or VW forums. I found some posts that indicated the manual for Touaregs with air state not to use WD hitches, but that it's not a restriction on Touaregs with steel suspension. Over on some of the Airstream forums and even on a Range Rover forum there are posts from Touareg owners that pull 22-25' Airstreams with no problems using WD hitches.
I'm trying to get details on the weight distribution hitch as well. Unfortunately...googling hasn't helped much because any information I've found is based on experiences with the previous years touareg, and it was re-designed for 2011. I have scanned the blurb about wd hitches from my 2011 tdi manual. It's enough to make me paranoid until I can get some semi official answer from VW.
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Any update from your dealer yet? It seems like the 7700 tow rating is probably not realistic if the tongue weight is only 616. Maybe for boat towing, but you'd be hard pressed to find an RV/trailer that weighs near 7700 but has a loaded tongue wight of only 616 or less. Realistically this thing can probably only tow a 5000 lb trailer without exceeding the tongue weight once you load up the trailer with all your stuff. This seems like the case on most vehicles in this class that advertise towing capability above 5000 lbs. You think "this may work for me and I don't have to get some honkin' truck with poor fuel economy" then you find out the high tow rating comes with a laughable tongue weight. I'd like to hear what your dealer says.
By all means weigh both the trailer and get an accurate tongue weight. To get the tongue weight, you'll have to weigh the rear axle of the vehicle with and without the loaded trailer attached. Tongue/trailer weights tend to be heavier than either you expect or the dealer/manufacturer will admit to. I've met exactly one trailer salesperson who was upfront about weights. She didn't have to lie to sell things to guys.
I can't recall exactly what the weight of my aluminum 20 foot gooseneck stock trailer is, but believe it's between 4400 and 5000 lbs empty. That may be somewhat heavier than a bumper pull rated for toting a car. Let's assume 4000 empty for arguments sake. Now add weight of race car, tools, tires etc and I'd bet you're over 8k on trailer weight.
I can't recall exactly what the weight of my aluminum 20 foot gooseneck stock trailer is, but believe it's between 4400 and 5000 lbs empty. That may be somewhat heavier than a bumper pull rated for toting a car. Let's assume 4000 empty for arguments sake. Now add weight of race car, tools, tires etc and I'd bet you're over 8k on trailer weight.
I think that you can disable the air suspension in the computer, can't you? I don't see why a WD hitch would be a problem as it is designed to put weight back on your steer tires. The air system would just "think" you have a greater load in the car. I drove an Audi Q7 with air suspension and I think I saw a setting for towing, but I could be wrong. My Q7 doesn't have air suspension, but then I tow our large travel trailer with a GMC with a Duramax diesel.
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Don't send a Boy out to do a Mans job. Get a truck with at least a V8 or inline 6 diesel of 6 liter capacity for towing that kind of weight.
Towing -final answer
Ok, I bought a 2010 TDI with air suspension. With the trailer fully loaded with car,pit bike,tools, fuel, etc. the trailer was scaled @ 6,455lbs. Tongue weight, which I weighed myself with racing scale, was between 600lbs - 775lbs depending on ride height. With the trailer & car relatively level, t/w is near the lower end of that range. The OEM hitch specs from VW (manufact by Westfalia) has a max t/w distributing & carrying capacity of 770lbs which makes sense given the 7700lb max trailer weight for the Touareg. The sticker on this hitch shows 616lbs max t/w which the dealer(s) could not explain. The part number for the OEM VW hitch is #7L0 092 105 UA . I will defer to the factory specs.
The Touareg has exceeded my expectations & is considerably better than the Landcruiser/Lexus 4.7litre V8 with regard to towing. Torque & towing is more similar to the Dodge 5.7 hemi but easier due to the load leveling which I didn't have with the Dodge. I'm not sure how performance would be w/o the air suspension & load leveling. For wiring, I bought a combo 7 pin & 4 pin from U-haul. The 4 pin harness was plug & play while the dealer wired ($165 @dealer) the 7 pin for my Prodigy brake controller. Regardless what I've heard on the Prodigy controller on other forums, I've had no issue. Overall very happy.
Ok, I bought a 2010 TDI with air suspension. With the trailer fully loaded with car,pit bike,tools, fuel, etc. the trailer was scaled @ 6,455lbs. Tongue weight, which I weighed myself with racing scale, was between 600lbs - 775lbs depending on ride height. With the trailer & car relatively level, t/w is near the lower end of that range. The OEM hitch specs from VW (manufact by Westfalia) has a max t/w distributing & carrying capacity of 770lbs which makes sense given the 7700lb max trailer weight for the Touareg. The sticker on this hitch shows 616lbs max t/w which the dealer(s) could not explain. The part number for the OEM VW hitch is #7L0 092 105 UA . I will defer to the factory specs.
The Touareg has exceeded my expectations & is considerably better than the Landcruiser/Lexus 4.7litre V8 with regard to towing. Torque & towing is more similar to the Dodge 5.7 hemi but easier due to the load leveling which I didn't have with the Dodge. I'm not sure how performance would be w/o the air suspension & load leveling. For wiring, I bought a combo 7 pin & 4 pin from U-haul. The 4 pin harness was plug & play while the dealer wired ($165 @dealer) the 7 pin for my Prodigy brake controller. Regardless what I've heard on the Prodigy controller on other forums, I've had no issue. Overall very happy.
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Thanks, I've been waiting to see how it sits and it looks perfect! :thumbsup
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My 2011 has the trailer hitch option ($500) and a factory-wired 7-pin (another $140). But I couldn't find any obvious location in the cabin to plug in a brake controller like I would on a pickup truck. So I went back into the Touareg manual, and found wording to suggest there is some kind of native brake controller. The instructions suggest a (non-emergency) procedure that starts with a gentle application of the brake pedal to prevent trailer brake lockup, followed immediately by a normal application of the brake pedal.
Or do you think I'm misinterpreting something?
//greg//
Thats for stability control, not regular trailer brake use. See here:
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f66/2011-tdi-electric-brake-controller-48912.html
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If you are wondering.....
I have a 2011 Q7 prestige TDI and I roll down the highway all day long at 26MPG pulling my 911 TT... So far the truck exceeds my expectations on towing. Used to have a 3500 Dodge about 5 years ago pulling some heavy equipment. This truck pulls great. Some drama sorting out the electric brake controller!
I have a 2011 Q7 prestige TDI and I roll down the highway all day long at 26MPG pulling my 911 TT... So far the truck exceeds my expectations on towing. Used to have a 3500 Dodge about 5 years ago pulling some heavy equipment. This truck pulls great. Some drama sorting out the electric brake controller!
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I forget if the Q7 still has air suspension option for 2011, is that standard suspension? Can I add that pic to the buying guide? I think it could be useful. Trailer and tongue weight? What was the problem w/brake controller?
Hitch Drawbar??
My 2012 Touareg Highline (Canada) arrived this week about a month earlier than expected - nice surprise!
I'm going to pull a 6,000lb wakeboard boat and need to purchase the appropriate hitch ball receiver with the correct drop (or rise) to keep the boat trailer level. I figure a standard 2" drop receiver like the one shown below should be fine.
However, the owners manual has some specifics on the dimensions related to the position of the hitch ball.
The hitch I purchased (shown above) would yield an "A" dimension of a 0.75" rise (not drop as suggested) and a "B" of 10.25". The "B" is easy enough to accommodate by shortening the bar and drilling a new hole. If I drop the "A" dimension (purchase a longer drop model) the hitch will be lower than I'd like it for the trailer.
Should I be concerned about this??
My 2012 Touareg Highline (Canada) arrived this week about a month earlier than expected - nice surprise!
I'm going to pull a 6,000lb wakeboard boat and need to purchase the appropriate hitch ball receiver with the correct drop (or rise) to keep the boat trailer level. I figure a standard 2" drop receiver like the one shown below should be fine.
However, the owners manual has some specifics on the dimensions related to the position of the hitch ball.
The hitch I purchased (shown above) would yield an "A" dimension of a 0.75" rise (not drop as suggested) and a "B" of 10.25". The "B" is easy enough to accommodate by shortening the bar and drilling a new hole. If I drop the "A" dimension (purchase a longer drop model) the hitch will be lower than I'd like it for the trailer.
Should I be concerned about this??
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I'm not an expert on towing but if it were only a 1" drop instead of min 1.25" drop I wouldn't worry about it, since you're getting a large rise and the boat and trailer weight will be significant, I would stick to their recommendations. If anyone knows towing feel free to chime in!
Towing with 2011 Touareg TDI
Having purchased a 2011 Touareg TDI in July, I learned today that yes, although the max towing capacity of the Touareg is 7700lbs, the max ball size Volkswagen allows is 2". The max tongue weight on the touareg is 616lbs. The 2" ball size didn't seem to make much sense given that most if not all trailers today use a 2-5/16" ball even if the trailer(Airstream) is only 4500lbs with a tongue weight well under what Volkswagen allows. This is very frustrating. When Volkswagen's Toureg Team was pressed for an explanation they could only say that a ball in excess of 2" normally indicates a towed vehicle in excess of their 7700 lb allowance, which we all know is not necessarily the case. Wish we had known this before shelling out nearly $50K.
Having purchased a 2011 Touareg TDI in July, I learned today that yes, although the max towing capacity of the Touareg is 7700lbs, the max ball size Volkswagen allows is 2". The max tongue weight on the touareg is 616lbs. The 2" ball size didn't seem to make much sense given that most if not all trailers today use a 2-5/16" ball even if the trailer(Airstream) is only 4500lbs with a tongue weight well under what Volkswagen allows. This is very frustrating. When Volkswagen's Toureg Team was pressed for an explanation they could only say that a ball in excess of 2" normally indicates a towed vehicle in excess of their 7700 lb allowance, which we all know is not necessarily the case. Wish we had known this before shelling out nearly $50K.
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