UPDATE - Towing with a '97 Jetta TDI is *just* possible

Howdy,

About a month ago I posted a few questions on the subject of what I could get away with towing all my worldly possessions in a Uhaul trailer behind my '97 Jetta TDI with ~150k mostly highway miles.

Here is what I did:

I towed 600 miles round trip with ~2500 lbs of junk on I 35 ~50 mph in 4th gear when full, 70 mph when returning empty.

*The trailer was a 5X8 Uhaul (one size above what the website allows) full to the top with furniture + the inside of the car full of junk.

*Uhaul sells a nice discrete hitch, class 1, so the above trailer is the largest you can use. The limiting factor is tongue weight and the suspension.

The Good News:

Once full, the car was sagging pretty badly, but still had play left in the rear springs. You could push with your foot on the trailer and it would bounce quite a bit. It did not bottom out.

The original clutch never had any problems.

The motor never got warmer than usual. The coolant temp guage seemed glued to its usual location.

Even with the hitch installation, this was cheaper than renting a truck for the distance covered.

I was expecting the headlights to point up in the air. They were different but still adequate.

The Bad News:

The brakes were hella-weak.

You have to be really careful choosing parking lots or driveways. Any small incline caused the back hitch to hit the ground. Even after towing, 5 boxes of books or a dead body in the trunk will require that you exersize discretion with driveways to not hit bottom with that hitch.

I tried cruise control @ 70 with the car empty returning an empty trailer. Top speed with a slight hill and headwind is less than 70. This may be why I burned so much oil...

I burned about a quart of oil in 600 miles, that is about 5 times the usual rate. It has since returned to normal.

With hindsight, I can recommend that the rest of you tow with your own tdi's as long as it is only very occasional and you are confident of your ability to drive without 3/4 of typical acceleration or braking.

Reply to
Keith Loyd
Loading thread data ...

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.