Towing vehicle

I used to work for a car company in Europe, and the towing standard that we worked to was, IIRC, ability to start and maintain towing on a 12 percent slope. That resulted in the maximum towing weight in the European car handbook.

I was also given to understand that in the USA there are longer and higher mountains that may need to be climbed (this was in relation to breathing, carburetion, etc.) which led to different general requirements, and I could well understand that it might also lead to different criteria for towing. You also commonly have more extreme temperatures than we normally operate in..

It is common in Europe to tow 15m glider trailers with relatively small cars – in the 1970s, I used to tow with 1100cc small family cars. I only got stuck once on a 1 in 4 (25 percent) hill, when I could not take a run at it. Most people these days can run larger cars, but still much smaller engines than are common in the USA. FWIW, I always have auto these days, with a 2.0 litre engine, and that is fine for our conditions in the UK.

Somebody with more up to date car company exoerience may be able to throw a bit more light on it.

I did find mention of a proposed USA (SAE) standard which includes a 12 percent slope. See:

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/c...y/viewall.html



Chris N

Just as data-points: The last 5 years, I've towed over 2000 miles per
year (including 3500' to 5000' passes in the Cascade and Siskyou
mountains) with my DG-300 in a metal-top Cobra trailer. My tow
vehicles have been a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX and a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 -
both with manual transmissions. The WRX was slightly better (given the
all-wheel-drive and better rear-weight distribution), but the seats
aggravated some back/spine issues I have and it had to go. But even
with the Mazdaspeed 3, it hasn't been an issue: I had a trailer tire
blow-out on the way back from Utah (outside Twin Falls, Idaho at 2am)
and was able to ease the car over to the shoulder without a problem.

--Noel

Bought a Ford Kuga 2l diesel manual 4wd in 2011. I believe this is called
the Escape in US.

Have now towed asw27 (and a nimbus 4dt) a total of 8,000 miles since then
on fields, minor roads, motoways, and autobahns, in good and bad weather,
wet, dry, snow, and ice. Typically Ford (bits fall off) but otherwise I
can't fault it.

My only tip is to make sure the hitch load is heavy ~ 60kgs ~ then it will
go up to 80mph without snaking. This may also have something to do with the
hitch being very close to the rear axle.

Jim

If you're in the mood to be gobsmacked, take a gander at this VW TDI towing something a lot bigger than a glider trailer (in the USA)

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=333675

Look at the manufacturers recommendations. In most cases, the towing capacity of the vehicle is higher (in some cases much higher) when equipped with an automatic transmission rather than a manual transmission. The weak link in a manual transmission vehicle is the clutch, not the transmission. For example, I once bought a Mazda 2600 pick-up truck which came manual or auto and had a V6. With the manual (which I had) towing capacity was limited to 2000lbs, while the same vehicle equipped with an automatic (with no additional towing package) was rated for 3500lbs.

One thing overlooked in the discussion, is the effect of wheelbase. The longer your tow vehicle is the easy it will be to tow anything, and particularly a long glider trailer that can be affected by side winds. My current tow vehicle is a Toyota RAV4 and it is not as nice to tow with as either my previous Ford Freestyle or my Toyota Sienna, even though it has more power than either of those vehicles and is AWD. When you hear stories or go on youtube and see for yourself, tow
vehicles crashing, it is almost always the case that the tow vehicle is small (and has a short wheelbase.)

Another thing to consider is the brakes. When you tow with a vehicle that is loaded no where near its gross vehicle rating, then it will handle braking with a trailer without difficulty. If you are fully loaded and towing a trailer, you will start smelling your brakes with use!

If you use the rule of 5's in Europe you could expect to do $5000 in fuel!!


I tow my cobra trailer (ASW27) behind an Audi A6. When I was younger and
could not afford big cars, or more to the point insure big cars, I towed
happily with a Peugot 306. Just modify your speed for suitable to the size
of the tow car. I will tow at speeds in the A6 that I would never have
dream t of with the the 306!


Years ago, I once towed my glider trailer with a VW Golf (manual) and it
wa=
s only once - it scared me so much I bought a larger, heavier vehicle
strai=
ght away.

There seems to be this strange contest, especially in Europe, to see how
sm=
all a tow vehicle one can get away with. In my view, there is no
substitut=
e for power and mass. Power to get you out of trouble and climb those
hill=
s and mass to control the weight of the combination. Small vehicles just
d=
on't have enough braking power. =20

I have a rule of fives - a tow vehicle of at least 5,000 pounds mass with
a=
5 liter engine!

Mike

Justin Craig wrote:
If you use the rule of 5's in Europe you could expect to do $5000 in fuel!!


I tow my cobra trailer (ASW27) behind an Audi A6. When I was younger and
could not afford big cars, or more to the point insure big cars, I towed
happily with a Peugot 306. Just modify your speed for suitable to the size
of the tow car. I will tow at speeds in the A6 that I would never have
dream t of with the the 306!


I'm on my second Audi A4 - stick transmission. I don't do as many miles as
some on this thread. My first A4 had a nice speed control - the trailer
would start fish tailing at about 70. My new car has a trailer stability
control algorithm. I once noticed I was doing 80 as I was passing slower
traffic on a back road - hardly noticed the trailer was on the back. I'm
more careful now.

I've got the 2 liter turbo. I get nearly 27 mpg on the highway with the
trailer on the back.

A trailer hitch is a factory option in Europe. I had to go to the UK web
site to get trailer specs. There isn't any info in my US owner's manual.

Using a Nimbus 3 in a Pfeiffer trailer for reference, towed behind:
00 Subaru 2.5L Outback (stick)
96 Chevrolet Tahoe 5.7L (auto)
97 Holden Commodore 3.0L (auto)
Before the trailer had functioning brakes, the Subaru was useless to stop it, hence the Tahoe purchase.
After installing trailer brakes, got rid of the Tahoe. Most of the horsepower/fuel was used to lug its own weight around anyway.
The Holden did pretty well, but the best trailer handling of the N3 and also the heavy and long Cobra ASH26E trailer was behind the Outback. Even handled X-wind, passing large vehicles, everything but starting up a hill, better than the Tahoe. Handled towing in high temperatures better than the Holden. Probably due to the RPM the water pump was turning!
However... Eventually replaced the Subaru's clutch, then had to replace the viscous coupler in the AWD at about 120k miles. Both seem weak links. Note that newer Subarus with 3.0L automatic still have the same viscous coupler.
Currently towing with Toyota RAV4 3.0L (auto) FWD. It has plenty of power, and will pass other vehicles at a vast rate of knots even when towing a Cobra trailer with ASW27. A friend proved the 4-cylinder RAV4 is adequate. Front Wheel Drive seems pretty silly to me, it should have AWD.
Thinking if the Audi Allroad 2.0 TDI had a reasonable maintenance record, it would be a great tow and everything else vehicle. This year Audi put the 2.0TDI in the N. American A3 FWD. Be years before the A3 Quattro or Allroad get it.
Jim

Automatic or Manual?

To me, it doesn't matter, as long as the vehicle is rated to tow the weight of your loaded trailer. Some have mentioned power, some have mentioned brakes, but nobody has mentioned maximum tongue weight.

I had to sell my 2000 Accord V6 (automatic) because the Swan trailer, loaded, far exceeded the max tow capacity and max tongue weight capacity. Honda listed those as 1,000 lbs and 100 lbs, respectively. After the trailer had "almost" ripped two different designs of hitches from the rear of the Honda, I decided to weigh the trailer: 2,040 lbs with a tongue weight of 180 lbs. There's not much metal in the back of cars these days to attach a hitch to. It's all "crumple zone" stuff. Made to fold up in event of a crash.

I searched the interwebs for an affordable vehicle, in both purchase price and feeding price, to tow the trailer and came up with a Subaru Forester. Mine has an automatic because that's what I found on the dealer's lot of used cars. I wasn't going to be too picky. It's rated to tow 2,400 lbs with a max tongue weight of 200 lbs. I did have a transmission oil cooler installed. The car does have a "hot transmission oil" light, but I've never seen it come on, including some towing when the outside temperature was hitting 101F degrees.

Ray
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

I currently tow with a Ford Edge, 3.5 liter, automatic, and it does just
fine locally. I'll be making my first road trip with it in a couple of
weeks going to the dry lake in Nevada and, if there are any short comings,
I'll note them here.

We brought my glider (LAK-17a in a LAK-T5 trailer) back to Moriarty, NM from
Dallas, TX (about 600 miles) using my wife's Subaru Outback, 3.6 liter,
automatic. It's got plenty of power but the trailer wanted to sway a bit.
We also made the round trip to Nevada (1,200 miles round trip) with it last
October and, other than a little swaying at 80 mph, it was fine other than
the reduction in mileage. I suspect a bit more load in the front of the
trailer will take care of that.

Prior, I used a Ford 150 truck with 5 liter and automatic. It was bullet
proof! I changed the ATF every 105,000 miles whether it needed it or not.


"rlovinggood" wrote in message
...
Automatic or Manual?

To me, it doesn't matter, as long as the vehicle is rated to tow the weight
of your loaded trailer. Some have mentioned power, some have mentioned
brakes, but nobody has mentioned maximum tongue weight.

I had to sell my 2000 Accord V6 (automatic) because the Swan trailer,
loaded, far exceeded the max tow capacity and max tongue weight capacity.
Honda listed those as 1,000 lbs and 100 lbs, respectively. After the
trailer had "almost" ripped two different designs of hitches from the rear
of the Honda, I decided to weigh the trailer: 2,040 lbs with a tongue
weight of 180 lbs. There's not much metal in the back of cars these days to
attach a hitch to. It's all "crumple zone" stuff. Made to fold up in event
of a crash.

I searched the interwebs for an affordable vehicle, in both purchase price
and feeding price, to tow the trailer and came up with a Subaru Forester.
Mine has an automatic because that's what I found on the dealer's lot of
used cars. I wasn't going to be too picky. It's rated to tow 2,400 lbs
with a max tongue weight of 200 lbs. I did have a transmission oil cooler
installed. The car does have a "hot transmission oil" light, but I've never
seen it come on, including some towing when the outside temperature was
hitting 101F degrees.

Ray
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA