I am planning to tow a small travel trailer. I have a base Cayenne with stock suspension. Since I don't have the air suspension I would like to add a weight distribution hitch.

Will that cause any problems? I recall hearing something that with how the Porsche is designed the weight distribution will not work like on a vehicle with a standard frame.

Thanks for your help.

 

You don't need the weight distribution hitch and Porsche doesn't allow it. Just make sure your tongue weight is within limits.

 

Read...there will be a closed book test
http://www.sherline.com/lmbook.htm

Buy...
http://www.sherline.com/lm.htm

Trailer lights....
Don't ask

 

Thanks. What is the max tongue weight?

 

660 too 670 lbs maximum ...
Interestingly enough, it is usually 10% of towing capacity (which for the P!g is 7700#, so the tongue weight should have been 770#), but it isn't.

A very long long time ago when the P!g was first born , it was in fact listed as 770# tongue weight; but it was very quickly changed by Porsche to the current lower capacity.

 

I don't know what a "small travel trailer" is, but members of the P!g Pen have towed 20' enclosed car trailers and Aerostream trailers, which are in the 6000# + range.

Getting proper towing mirrors is quite difficult for the P!g, but it your search, you will find what has been tried.

 

Or you can use the bathroom scale method:

Bathroom Scale Method to Check Tongue Weight

 

The trailer I am looking at is 3000lbs. I am just worried the rear of the car will sag with 400 lbs of tongue weight

 

You should be fine.
Besides, your headlights are self leveling

 

Posed that issue to the Porsche AG folks at Parade and the had no answer but took my information and will get back to me.

I couched our conversation as such. Porsche states the towing capacity of the Cayenne as 7800 lbs. The accepted procedure is to have your tongue weight being 10-12% of the total towing weight. Assuming 10% ( and you were towing at suggested maximum that would be a maximum tongue weight of 780 lbs. Even if you also followed the accepted logic that you should never allow your total towing weight to be greater than 90% of the upper towing limit of your vehicle, that would mean 7020 lbs and as maximum tongue weight of 700 lbs. YET as stated in the owners manual the maximum recommended tongue weight is 616 lbs. As I said they ahd no answer but will find one.

Now, two years ago I towed over 2000 miles at highway speeds with my trailer plus cargo weighing some 5600 lbs and when I got home and bought a tongue weight scale I found my tongue weight was over 700 lbs and yet I had no issues on the trip. I now have re adjusted my normal load and have a tongue weight of 570 lbs for the same overall towing weight. I do not have air suspension on the "pig" but do have PASM.

Bottom line is to buy a tongue weight scale, they are not expensive and let's see what answer I get from Porsche

 

OT- but have those side mirror extensions you noted in another post worked out well for the enclosed Trailex?

 

I occasionally tow a 3 ton tractor on a 7500# (gross) trailer. This gives me the advantage of being able to control the tongue weight by varying the positioning the tractor on the trailer bed. With no trailer attached, I first measured the distance from the ball mount to the ground. Next I connected the empty trailer and measured again; a 1" drop. So when I loaded the tractor, I positioned it so there was no more than a second 1" drop. Then I chained the tractor in place. Marking the axle positions on the floorboards then eliminated the measuring step for future tows of that particular load. Don't know the exact tongue weight, but the combined 2" drop has proved sufficiently safe to keep the coupler from bouncing - yet makes a barely perceptible visual change when viewed from the side.

//greg//

 

Greg, I would encourage you to at least find out what weight it takes to drop the ball mount 1" to give you an idea what your tongue weights are. If I were towing a 6,000# load (not counting trailer itself) I would be getting the tongue weights as accurate as possible.

 

I find it kinda funny to use loose rules of thumb to criticize a manufacture for engineering a number that happens to be less.