97 Jetta TDI - How Much 2 Tow

Howdy,

I may be moving this summer and have found a Uhaul hitch for my '97 Jetta TDI, 148k hwy miles, original clutch in good shape. The class 1 hitch says it has a max weight of 2000 lbs and max tongue weight of 200 lbs.

Here are my 2 questions:

  1. What can I get away with? Have any of you filled a 5x8' Uhaul with furniture and dragged it ~300 miles with a TDI?

  1. I have my eye on some vintage cars. Suppose I am reeealllly careful and tow a 3000-3500 lb car on a trailer, during a cooler part of the year, keeping my speed ~50 mph in 4th gear on straight but lightly used 4 lane highways and avoid stop-and-go driving. Am I asking for trouble or have any of you got away with this?

Regards

Reply to
K. E. Loyd
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Want to tow, then buy or rent a truck! I towed a 3200lbs boat 600 miles from down south with my 4.3l S10 Blazer and if I ever do it again then I'm getting something with a V8. I would not tow over about 800lbs total with a gas engine VW.

Reply to
Woodchuck

I tow 3000lbs daily with a VW Touran 2.0TDI DSG. No problems at all so far. It's rated for 3500lbs over here, but I've towed 4400lbs a couple of times. Still no problems of any kind.

Reply to
Jens Kr. Kirkebø

If you're going to tow over 1500lbs, a trailer with its own braking system is recommended... We tow around 2000lbs with our Volvo (6 cylinder, 4 speed auto w/tranny cooler as standard equip) and going isn't the problem, it's that the brakes start to fade earlier, and longer stopping distances in general - tho it's been in a few panic stops and it handled it all quite well (actually the car brakes very flat... car must bias a little more rear brake pressure automatically).... The brakes on an A3 Jetta aren't as good tho, they might even use solid disks at the front on some models? - I wouldn't ever tow with our old A2 Golf... It had enough troulbe going and stopping with 5 people (burnt out the front brake pads once), but I think my A4 Golf TDI would tow a decent amount of weight.

I've seen an A2 Golf towing an average sized tent trailer (they are around

Reply to
Rob Guenther

You cannot be safe towing anything over an arbitrary number like 800 pounds without trailer brakes. Driving slow does not equate safe. I have had a scary incident driving 30 with a trailer that had one axle of brakes when it should have had 2 axles of brakes. The trailer is much nicer since I installed a new axle with brakes so now I have 4 tires with brakes. My theory is that a properly equiped trailer should not increase the braking load of the tow vehicle.

I would buy a friend and let them drive the TDI while I drive the v>Howdy,

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

WOOO it has been like 2 years since I could get on this newsgroup, and I appreciate the feedback so far, even though I have not yet managed a Woodchuck-seal-of-approval yet.

Here's the deal - the proposed gargantuan trailer has its own "Automatic hydraulic surge brake," so as long as I am on quiet rural roads for most of the 300 mile trip and take my time, stopping power should adequate if not good.

It will likely be a 5'x10' or 6'x12' Uhaul.

These have empty weights of 1250 or 1800 lbs, and I have heavy junk to fill them up good and proper.

My concerns are:

  1. Will the clutch burn out just from driving down the highway at 55 mph all day and less than 10 miles in town?

  1. Can this 1.9l TDI motor maintain temperature of its fluids under this load? I dont want to do without the a/c after loading that big arse trailer.

regards.

Reply to
K. E. Loyd

you load balanced over the axles so its the trailer taking the strain and not the car AND fit one of those after sales auxilary oil coolers there should be no problems. I regularly two heavy loads between Athens & Dover with my 21 year old Golf Gti without problems

Reply to
tonyelkins

Have you considered having the car transported by one of the car transporting companies? That way it would be delivered to you safely with no effort on your part, be insured, and the cost is quite reasonable. Check it out.

Reply to
Papa

Nothing on the face of the earth is going to change my mind about towing with Golf & Jetta VW's especially if you only got around 100hp! But I would like you to try and then post that experience back here.

Reply to
Woodchuck

I'm with you. Not only is it an accident waiting to happen, but it could result in a blown engine or ruined clutch in the towing vehicle.

Reply to
Papa

I agree with others that it isn't the best idea, but it can be done as long as you can balance trailer to get a manageable tongue weight, have some brakes on the trailer, and aren't going anyplace that has hills.

I pulled a loaded 5X8 U-Haul with a 48HP rabbit diesel and pulled a boat @ about 3400pounds with my 52 HP 91 Jetta diesel. On level ground they did fine, but the slightest incline produced a notable strain on engine and rise in temperature.

I'd think of it as something to do in a pinch and only if essential. If possible, rent a truck. If it is only a 300 mile trip, you could rent something local, drive the 300 miles there and 300 miles back in one day using a "local" rental, which are usually a lot cheaper then one way rentals. Around where I live you could rent a van or pickup for under a $100.

Good luck and be careful

Reply to
Tony Bad

I have towed Rabbits and Golf GTIs with my Jeep YJ which has a 4.0L straight six cylinder 180 HP. It also has a chain instead of a timing belt. Do you think it is wise to tow with a timing belt engine? They also legally smoke hash over in the Netherlands but do you think that is going to make you smarter?

Reply to
Peter Parker

I agree. Don't use a timing belt TDI to tow. Bad idea. Tow dollies /wo brakes are just fine if you are towing small cars like VWs. I have done it a few times already with my Jeep YJ and had no problems. See my other post.

Reply to
Peter Parker

The parameters of the woodchuck-seal-of-approval is this:

timing belt engine. NO TOW

timing chain engine. approved.

Don't take a chance on towing with a timing belt engine. You might get lucky one or even a few times but I have seen proof that the timing belt can shread or snap just because of the abuse.

It's all about the HP and having a timing chain. The next step is the clutch and transmission. I wouldn't tow with a VW tranny. That is just not smart. You might get away with it but you probably will take away 50,000 miles of life from that tranny and clutch.

That last and least variable is never tow heavy with a Uni-body designed non-SUV type vehicle. IOW, a regular Uni-body car. Full Straight axles are the best for towing. Example Trucks. Jeeps are okay with tow dollies but I wouldn't tow a trailer with a short wheel base like my YJ. That is best left for the trucks. The YJ has leaf springs so it works okay in a tow. You need a tow kit to keep the automatic tranny cool and an oil cooler. Coil springs are not the best in heavy towing. Ever notice the SUV trying to tow a huge boat? The ass end is down low and the front end up in the air.

That's my two cents. C>WOOO it has been like 2 years since I could get on this newsgroup, and I

Reply to
Peter Parker

What's the T-belt have to do if you tow or not? All the t-belt does is turn the injection pump, oil pump, and water pump on some cars.

Reply to
Woodchuck

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

Thjat is two things. First is ignoring the 10 percent tongue weight rule. Second is not leaf springs but spring rated for the weight. Ever towed with a Hummer that has coil springs? You can do it just fine.

I wouldn't drive a VW over 70 mph because Lord knows how much additional wear you cause. You might only get 400,000 miles out of the engine and 600,000 miles out of the transmission driving at those crazy fast speeds.

Now adays you can get Expediti>The parameters of the woodchuck-seal-of-approval is this:

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

I guess the cam shaft goes without saying.

Reply to
Tom's VR6

Towing doesn't increase strain on the timing belt... All it does is drive the cams, waterpump (maybe) and possibly some other little things on some other cars.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

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