When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm playing with the idea of buying an airstream trailer (16 or 25 foot not sure) and driving to Alaska from California to go on a 1-2 month adventure. I think it could be epic to bring the 958 CTT for the trip, but everyone tells me I need to buy or rent a pickup truck instead. What do you think? Here is what I heard AGAINST bringing the porsche to Alaska:
1) The 958 CTT can technically tow a ton of weight, but it's not really designed for it, and not for long distances... towing something for 8k miles really isn't a good idea.
2) Mechanically it's unlikely to drive 8000 miles without any kind of issue, and when there is an issue you'll be far from the right kind of help / parts / etc.
3) The roads in Alaska and on the Can/Alaska highway have gravel sections and the car will get destroyed (either by itself or by rocks thrown up by passing vehicles)
4) It will attract far too much attention in small towns and it won't be a smart thing to do.
I thought the Can/Alaska highway was paved the entire length now?
As for towing for 8K, I can't imagine it wouldn't handle it well. Obviously make sure you have a full check up and any service work done before undertaking the trip.
Range might be an issue, though. I don't know what kind of mileage you'd get towing an airstream and the CTT's not known for it's delicate fuel sipping to begin with, so you may want to figure how far between fill ups you can go and then check the distance between fuel stations along the route.
Your "everyone" that you consult with sounds like a fun bunch of folks that have no place being consulted regarding an "adventure". An adventure implies uncertainty... your consultants sound like a bunch of boat cruise line fans!
Your/their concerns don't make much sense:
1: A Cayenne is designed to tow 7700 lbs yet it's "not really designed" to tow?
2: A Cayenne can't make it 8000 miles without leaving one stranded? Yikes! Mine has gone 98,000 miles with no stranding episodes.
4: Drawing attention in an SUV isn't smart - A cayenne is not a GT3RS... though maybe your Cayenne is Peridot Green?
RE mileage: A V8 gasser pickup towing something will get worse gas mileage than a 958 CTT - I've run the same trailer config and the CTT gets far better mileage and handles WAY better as well.
I'm actually doing the Cayenne Diesel with the intent of towing a 25' airstream. You will probably be very close to the limits on tongue weight even with a weight distributing hitch. While I'm sure the CTT would do fine I would probably agree that ideally you would want a diesel pickup for that trip for the following:
1. Longer wheelbase will be more stable
2. Ability to haul more crap, I'm assuming you will be dry camping at least a portion of the time. This means you will be hauling more water and supplies. A truck will give you more options for carrying that stuff and more of it.
3. Pulling/descending steep and or long grades. I'm sure the CTT will do this but, a diesel pickup will probably do it better with more stability.
Your "everyone" that you consult with sounds like a fun bunch of folks that have no place being consulted regarding an "adventure". An adventure implies uncertainty... your consultants sound like a bunch of boat cruise line fans!
Your/their concerns don't make much sense: 1: A Cayenne is designed to tow 7700 lbs yet it's "not really designed" to tow?
2: A Cayenne can't make it 8000 miles without leaving one stranded? Yikes! Mine has gone 98,000 miles with no stranding episodes.
4: Drawing attention in an SUV isn't smart - A cayenne is not a GT3RS... though maybe your Cayenne is Peridot Green?
RE mileage: A V8 gasser pickup towing something will get worse gas mileage than a 958 CTT - I've run the same trailer config and the CTT gets far better mileage and handles WAY better as well.
The Cayenne wasn't designed to tow anything. Not even the diesel. It is, however, capable of towing up to 7700#. There is a difference.
Yes, a V8 gasser MAY have lower mileage than a CTT while towing (I'm skeptical about that, though), but the pickup will have a much bigger fuel tank, thus longer leg capability between fuel ups. The mileage would depend on the truck and the engine.
Puling an airstream up and down the alaskan highway for 2 months? I'd probably not want to put my Cayenne TT through that. I don't think you'd break down, but if ya did, it's gonna be a lot easier getting parts for a domestic vehicle.
Separate and aside from using a Cayenne for towing - issues all vehicles face in the north country:
From our trip up north the issue we saw was not the ability of getting parts, even for vehicles not commonly found there - a SAAB 900 was able to get parts and places for repairs several times. The issue is more that population centers are spread out with not much between them. A newer Jeep Rubicon grenaded their transmission, believed it cost more to tow it than the Jeep was worth. Note it was not Mel Wade's nor ACP's Rubicon that had issues. We took a cache of Cayenne spares with us as we had the additional challenge of doing our trip in the winter with -36F temps. Lucky for us that we did not need to use any of our spares - just had one flat tire. The air suspension was not happy as the moisture in the system froze due to the low temps. We were not towing anything on this 5,500 mile trip. Advice, though may not be an issue in the summer - never pass an opportunity to refuel!
Our P!g is at 4:08 in the video - we were not running Nitto tires.
___________________________ https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...meet-otis.html
.
-
Do it! I've driven the lower 48 and most of Canada multiple times over when I was young & single, and when my wife and I were first married. All together we put about 300K miles on an assortment of cars, none of them as cool as a Cayenne. We never got around to checking Alaska, Yukon, NWT off the list, and now with the demands of family, work, etc. there is no time to do it. If you can swing it, do it! There are no guarantees you'll be able to undertake such an adventure later on...T
Do it! I've driven the lower 48 and most of Canada multiple times over when I was young & single, and when my wife and I were first married. All together we put about 300K miles on an assortment of cars, none of them as cool as a Cayenne. We never got around to checking Alaska, Yukon, NWT off the list, and now with the demands of family, work, etc. there is no time to do it. If you can swing it, do it! There are no guarantees you'll be able to undertake such an adventure later on...T
Agree, we made it thru the Yukon, NWT, and Alaska as far north as Coldfoot. Could not go further than Coldfoot with our diesel as there is a 4x8 foot sign stating "No ULSD North of here"
The above Nitto video sums up the rally we competed in well. The summer version of this rally starts 20-August with the next winter run in 2020.
The Cayenne is an awesome tow rig and was absolutely designed to be one.
Porsche is a business. Half the reason the Cayenne exists is because every enthusiast Porsche being towed to a race track was being towed by another brand vehicle. This was a huge opportunity for Porsche to sell tow rigs to its enthusiast customers and capture more of their money.
Porsche did many official towing demos to prove this point. Including the “ Airstream Performace” demos by Airstream using Cayennes as the tow vehicles of choice.
A pickup truck that is less stable than a Cayenne and handles worse won’t be more “more stable” with a trailer just because it’s longer. All the physics that make the Cayenne handle like a sports car also give it all the stability to control a trailer better. The center of gravity is lower than a pickup, the hitch location closer to the rear axle centerline which is a more stable towing configuration, the handling and grip far exceed that of a pickup, massive brakes, auto load leveling of the trailer, etc. There are several systems in the Cayenne that prove the Cayenne is intended as a tow rig.
Porsche has also made several official statements about why the Cayenne doesn’t get PDK. The #1 reason is that a traditional torque converter automatic is a much better transmission for towing.
I’ve owned several big pickup tow rigs and 2 Cayenne Turbos. The Cayenne is a far better tow rig within its weight rating than anything else.
I’ve towed thousands and thousands or miles with a Cayenne loaded up to about 7500lbs and it works awesome.
Designed for passenger comfort, utility, sportiness, hauling kids to soccer games, showing off, having fun:
Porsche Cayenne. And pretty much anything else NOT an OTR tractor.
Again, design vs capable. The Cayenne is absolutely capable of towing, but was not DESIGNED as a tow vehicle. There would be many performance compromises if it were a purpose designed tow vehicle, but the capability to tow up to 7700# and do it was was certainly baked into the vehicle's overall design.
As for pulling the plane, I'm pretty sure I could hook up my diesel ram ('03) and pull it, too. It's a great marketing video, but shows capability... not design purpose.
06-13-2018, 01:42 AM
Roadtrip! Would you do this to your Cayenne?
