Towing with a VW

On Dec 1, 6:33 pm, wrote:
Hello,

What are peoples opinions regarding towing a Russia AC4C with an
aluminum skinned trailer with a VW diesel beetle? The diesel engine
has plenty of torque. I have have towed my boat which is 1200 lbs
with the trailer and I have not had any problems. I would be towing
quite far on the highways.

Thanks

Hello gn,

I don't know about the New Beetle (my first car was a 1963 Beetle),
but I'll let you know an opinion.

I've found out the expensive way that no matter if the car has ample
towing power, it doesn't help if there's not enough steel in the rear
to attach the hitch to. What is the Beetle rated to tow? You say
you've towed your 1,200 lb boat/trailer. Do you know how much your
Russia and trailer weighs? I know how much my trailer/glider combo
weighs because I took it to a truck scale and weighed it. That
service cost only US $8.00. Turned out to be A LOT heavier than I
anticipated. How about 2,040 lbs? I was first guessing 1,200 lbs.
Then, maybe 1,700 lbs. But the scales showed 2,040 lbs! Holy Beer
Belly!

So, my suggestion:
1. Weigh your rig
2. Consult your car's info on towing capacity
3. Look at the hitch and how it attaches to the car. Does it attach
to some "substantial" steel? (That's hard to come by on some cars
these days...)
4. If it is automatic transmission, consider installing a
transmission oil cooler. If VW doesn't offer one, try going to a
local transmission shop and see if they can find something that will
work.
5. If the Beetle doesn't look like it's gonna work, then you might
have to do as I just did a couple of weeks ago: Buy a replacement
vehicle. I just got a Subaru Forester to replace the Honda Accord.
It's only a four cylinder of 165 h.p. vs. the 200 h.p. in the V6
Accord. But Subaru rates it to tow 2,400 lbs while the Honda is rated
to tow only 1,000 lbs. And there's really not a good way to attach a
hitch on the Accord to handle the 180 lbs of tongue weight and 2,040
lbs of trailer. The Honda is for sale...

On Dec 1, 8:04 pm, rlovinggood wrote:
On Dec 1, 6:33 pm, wrote:

Hello,

What are peoples opinions regarding towing a Russia AC4C with an
aluminum skinned trailer with a VW diesel beetle? The diesel engine
has plenty of torque. I have have towed my boat which is 1200 lbs
with the trailer and I have not had any problems. I would be towing
quite far on the highways.

Thanks

Hello gn,

I don't know about the New Beetle (my first car was a 1963 Beetle),
but I'll let you know an opinion.

I've found out the expensive way that no matter if the car has ample
towing power, it doesn't help if there's not enough steel in the rear
to attach the hitch to. What is the Beetle rated to tow? You say
you've towed your 1,200 lb boat/trailer. Do you know how much your
Russia and trailer weighs? I know how much my trailer/glider combo
weighs because I took it to a truck scale and weighed it. That
service cost only US $8.00. Turned out to be A LOT heavier than I
anticipated. How about 2,040 lbs? I was first guessing 1,200 lbs.
Then, maybe 1,700 lbs. But the scales showed 2,040 lbs! Holy Beer
Belly!

So, my suggestion:
1. Weigh your rig
2. Consult your car's info on towing capacity
3. Look at the hitch and how it attaches to the car. Does it attach
to some "substantial" steel? (That's hard to come by on some cars
these days...)
4. If it is automatic transmission, consider installing a
transmission oil cooler. If VW doesn't offer one, try going to a
local transmission shop and see if they can find something that will
work.
5. If the Beetle doesn't look like it's gonna work, then you might
have to do as I just did a couple of weeks ago: Buy a replacement
vehicle. I just got a Subaru Forester to replace the Honda Accord.
It's only a four cylinder of 165 h.p. vs. the 200 h.p. in the V6
Accord. But Subaru rates it to tow 2,400 lbs while the Honda is rated
to tow only 1,000 lbs. And there's really not a good way to attach a
hitch on the Accord to handle the 180 lbs of tongue weight and 2,040
lbs of trailer. The Honda is for sale...

Well, I know that the trailer built by the guy in Montana had No
problems from there to Calif with a 40 mph crosswind in Nevada and an
Explorer. The original trailer was very well balenced and towed very
well. Stable and no problem in crosswinds at all. VW might be case of
tail wagging dog though. YMMV

larry

Try a search. There's been a few hundred posts on this issue this
year, with some good info contained within.


Dan