Van

My wife has expressed interest in the VW eurovan -- so I was looking up its specs. It has a towing capacity of 4400 lbs -- so a 3000 lb car and 700 lb trailex are under that. But, it is close to the limit. The engine in a eurovan ('01 to '03, I believe) is a 2.8 6-cylinder that makes 200 HP and 190 tq. Not a lot, so going up hills would be slow -- I'm OK with that, I just wouldn't want to break it.

So, has anyone towed with a eurovan? Is this a crazy idea to even pursue?

Bryan Watts

IMO, yes.

Professor Helmüt Tester

I have a friend who used to flat-tow a 356 Speedster race car with a VW Bus...and the stories of those tows are the most colorful 'towing terror' stories I've ever heard.

If you simply must do it, please spell it correctly on the "beneficiary" line of the life insurance application - It's "Professor", not "Perfessor". I don't want to have trouble collecting from your insurance company.

TR6

Yeah, it would tow it.... once. Seriously, I wouldn't want to tow with something that close to its limit. And keep in mind the bigger danger in towing isn't the pulling limit in terms of outright tow weight of the trailer, but the stability of the tow vehicle which is a combination of wheel base length and weight/stability of the tow vehicle. Many people have bought Ford Explorers, smaller SUV's, etc and the like because on paper, their towing capacity was well within spec, only to find that the tow vehicle would sway dangerously under certain conditions. Many bad accidents have happened when the trailer starts swaying violently until the point that it causes the tow vehicle to lose control and even roll over. A VW van has a short wheel base, high center of gravity, and not a lot of mass. A bad recipe for towing.

Bull

The engine only matters to those who must endure the slow ascents of every little hill you come across...and you will find hills where you never thought them to be! They will live through the boredom. The brakes, suspension and the rest of the chassis could well kill them though. Those are the things that control the "towing capacity".

Most manufacturers include in the fine print (for legal reasons) the fact that the industry standard for setting towing cpacity is based on a towing vehicle with one 150lb driver and NOthing else on board. Add your real weight, the weight of passengers, your luggage, then your track tools and "stuff". When you account for that number, you will have your real "towing capacity".

NNH

I've noticed that many cars that have tow ratings in other countries don't even have a rating in the USA, possibly for liability reasons?

BrandonH

I haved towed w/2 eurovans, a '99 and a '02. The '02-'04 are much better; they have the 30v engine and more importantly bigger brakes.

A guy named Cramer who races an "H" class 911 from CT also used the exact same EV/Trailex combination for a few years. He hangs out on the Pelican list.

Bottom line is it works just fine if you recognize it's limitations. It has an official load rating of 4400lbs, max tongue weight of 400lbs. With 2500 car, 1000lb of trailer and tools, I felt like that was a reasonable margin. I towed from NJ to Mid OH, Mosport, WG, VIR, LRP and it always performed flawlessly. Well the second one did; the first one scared me a little as the brakes started to go away once at the bottom of the hill entering the town of Watkins Glen... I would travel 75mph and get 15mpg. (now I tow a 12' single axle karting trailer ~2.5K lbs. and get 11mpg: that extra wind resistance is a killer)

The EV is a virtually unknown vehicle in the US; I think they sold >1000 each of the 5 yrs they sold it here. But in Europe it is a universal tradesman's workhorse and you see them towing all kinds of loads like cable spools, cement mixers etc. Of course in Europe they don't have the pickup truck culture we Americans cherish so they also tow track cars with station wagons, sorry estate cars. Of course so did Jim Hall in 1967...

Personally I think it is a fantastic vehicle; the whole family loves it. Ours now has 150K miles and I would long ago have bought a third one if they still made it. (but everything is working great, trans, eng etc, and it's towing days were in the first 50K miles of life...)

Everytime there is a tow vehicle thread you'll flush out a lot of strident opinions about safety, but like most of life, it is all relative. I have also had an enclosed Featherlite and crew-cab diesel powerstroke and yes it is certainly a more secure and worry-free towing experience. But as a multi-purpose vehicle, pressed into service for towing 3-4K miles/yr, the EV is very satisfactory: While it isn't a ladder frame solid axle truck neither is it a minivan in concept/execution. It has plenty of torque, the adaptive transmission quickly resets shift points, auto rear ride height adjustment, it sits very high for good visibility.

Keep the trailer brakes and bearings at peak performance, check tire pressures a lot, balance the load really well so both trailer tire pairs are equally loaded.

Oh and if you buy it used, make sure that any tire replacements have either been OEM or have the appropriate load rating. The original tires have a very high 'reinforced' load rating for their size that is uncommon.

cooleyjb

I tow my car with a minivan but the car and trailer total 2000 pounds, part of the reason I have a formula car instead of a 944.

I know a number of people who have trailed racecars with less than ideal tow vehicles.

There is one very outspoken guy on the subaru board who trails his 2500lb rally car and 1000 pound trailer with his 2000 pound rated subaru legacy.

All that being said. It SUCKS driving a vehcile that is at the upper end of it's limit. Considering how close you are you wouldn't have much capacity left over for spares and all the other stuff you take to a track.

Bottom line you could do it but I wouldn't do it over long distances.

Bull

I don't care if others consider their personal safety on a relative basis, or totally devalue it. It does bother me when they do so with the safety of the rest of us on the highways.

Van

Interesting comments everyone. For those interested, I currently tow with a Ford E350 van with the 7.3 non turbo diesel. It tows great, of course, but it's not very good as a regular vehicle... For the half a dozen times I tow a year (35 miles to Lime Rock and a few hundred to Watkins Glen, Pocono and Mosport) it seems like an overkill vehicle.

With a eurovan, I could see taking the growing family on camping trips and using it as a winter vehicle -- neither of which I'm likely to do with the current tow vehicle.

A930Rocket

Just let us when and where you are going so we can avoid you.

Antonio

As BrandonH said, Eurovans are workhorses all over Europe where speeds are higher and roads more challenging. They are the tow vehicle of choice for countless amateur racers out there. Personally, I think a well maintained Eurovan pulling a properly loaded Trailex is far safer than most GM/Ford/Chrysler SUV's pulling 10,000+ lbs enclosed trailers.

aaocinc

Cecil Ursprung, a cvr member , has been towing his US cup car on a trailex for a couple of years now with no trouble. Great fuel mileage also! He would be the best person to talk to about this.

Nordschleife

Team Joest uses Eurovans - to move the crew around. Seriously, if you have to have a van, they are great. However standard ones are a little short of headroom for some race teams, in Europe you can get versions with raised roofs, I have never seen one of those in the States, if height is an issue, most people revert to the Mercedes option.

I have found that using an Actros or Freightliner tractor as a shopping car to be inconvenient, and a friend's wife did get one stuck under the roof of the DIY centre car park.......

R+C

Larry Herman

THAT is the problem with the little vehicles. They can pull the trailers just fine. The problem is that they can't CONTROL them. I know a friend that had his Buick Envoy, trailer and 964 blown into a tankslapper by a sharp crosswind. It threw him off the road and down an embankment. The ONLY thing that emerged unscathed, fortunately, was him. Everything else was totalled.

You cannot control the wind. You cannot control the idiot who jumps into your braking zone. You cannot control that obstical in the road. If your tow vehicle cannot adequately control your trailer, then you are relying on pure luck to avoid these incedents.

Was I ranting?