docwyte

Thinking about picking up a '06 VW Touareg with the V10 TDI motor. A friend of mine is selling his 28' Haulmark enclosed trailer.

Can the Touareg pull a trailer of that size comfortably, or will the tail be wagging the dog?

E55AMG

I have a '12 TDI but i'm pulling a trailex open. I think your bigger issue will be the short wheel base.

brownan

I've got the same set-up as Chris. An '11 TDI with a Trailex 8045. The V10 is a remarkable engine and that car in general is wildly over-engineered. Only fear with the V10 would be service costs...make sure you get an extended bumber to bumper warranty.

docwyte

Definitely going to be getting a warranty with this thing. It's a one owner truck with all records and there's a huge stack of them. Course most were the previous owner complaining of dash rattles, but it did have the turbos replaced already...

So consensus is it'll tow an open trailer no sweat, but probably isn't stable enough to haul a big enclosed trailer?

stownsen914

A 28 footer sounds pretty big for a mid size SUV. Power isn't necessarily an issue since there are engine options. A Touareg might even tow steady at highway speed - that part I wouldn't be able to comment on. But making an evasive maneuver or stopping quickly in an emergency situation with a mid-size SUV towing a 28 foot trailer sounds like a potentially nasty situation to me ...

007DT

Grunt not a problem.. The wheel base and GVW is... At absolute Minimum I'd say weight dist. Hitch and sway bars are a must. But honestly 22' Aluminum enclosed is an absolute Max for that size SUV.

But a 28' Haulmark (Steel) is far too much.

crooster

Check out the Hensley Hitch - it's not cheap but it works as advertised. I used one to haul our 26ft travel trailer with a Ford Excursion and it pretty much eliminates all lateral forces on the tow vehicle.

docwyte

Yeah but a Ford Excursion is basically an enclosed F250. Not the same as a mid size Touareg. Looks like I'll pass on my friends trailer and pick up an aluminum open trailer instead.

Or if the sales guy doesn't call me today on the Touareg I'll look into a Crew Cab Duramax 2500 and get my friends trailer...

John H

Best idea...I tow a 20 foot enclosed with a Cayenne Turbo. It does okay but nothing beats a long wheelbase for a tow vehicle.

M758

Touareg + 28ft enclosed = seems really scarry to me. That is ALOT of trailer.

Just an example. I used 99 Dodge 2500 V10 to tow. I used to tow my 944 on an open trailer. The truck handled it with ease. I then found a smoking deal on a 24ft enclosed in San Antonio. Good enough that drove out there, paid cash and dragged it home 1000 miles. That was one scary tow. First I did not have wide mirror and coudl barely see. That problem was later solved with factory tow mirros. The other issue was the sway. The trailer was an empty box so probably around 3500lbs. So a breeze for the truck right? No! We had lots of cross winds and the sail area combined with passing semi trucks really yanked the empty trailer around alot.

So as I got home I invested in the right mirrors and weight distributing hitch with sway control. Now everything is solid.


Point is 28 feet is alot of trailer length and side area. I bet it will pull that touareg around all over the place. The touareg may have enough tow rating (7700lbs I think), but that is not really enough to properly control such a heavy and long trailer.

Here is 24feet of box and my 2500. I could not imagine another 4 feet with much smaller SUV.

crooster

^^^ This is why I suggest the Hensley Hitch ^^^

M758

The Hensley hitch still cannot defty physics. 28feet is long very long. Plus a 28ft steel trailer is 3800lbs at least so. That means with 2500lbs car and 500lbs of stuff you are at 6800lbs easy. Now since you have 28feet you will add stuff in there so you probalby will ahve 1000lbs of benches and other items because you have so much space. Now you are 7800lbs and proably 800lbs of tongue load so you will be right at the very max on weight ratings.

Personally I would not tow my 24ft trailer with touareg due to its size. I might try a stripped down 20 or 18ft enclose with a nice weight distributing hitch.

Look like other have said it is not power. My 8.0 V10 makes 300hp and 450ft-lbs of torque. There are diesels in ML350, X5, Touareg, Q7, GL that make these kind numbers, but I would not try to tow my trailer with them. Heck I would not even select normal half ton truck given what I like to haul in the bed while I tow.

Point is if you want a V10 Touareg stick with open trailer or very small enclosed. No more than 20 feet IMHO. If you want the 28footer get a 3/4 ton or 1 ton. Gas or diesel will work depending on what else you plan to do with the truck. My gas truck tow great, but just uses alot fuel both towing and driving empty so it cannot be dailer driver for me. However it was much cheaper than diesel and seems to do well with sitting for a long time.

Nordschleife

I wouldn't touch the V10 with a barge pole - the handling is sh1te - its a lovely engine but heavy heavy heavy.
So you really do so many miles that the TCO difference against a gasoline engined option is enough to make that kind of handling acceptable? I doubt it, and if by some quirk of fate it does, then you would be better off with a smaller engined torque monster - less cost all round.
To explain how horrible I found the car - I turned down a free long term loaner.

R+C

crooster

I fully agree that the Hensley cannot defy physics and that the OP was likely over tongue weight with that combo. The Hensley does eliminate sway effectively and would be my recommendation if the OP insisted on this combo. A lot of factors play into a comfortable towing experience - not just the mass of the tow vehicle: Minimizing rear overhang (distance between tow ball and rear axle - pickups suck in this regard), proper tongue weight, tire sidewall stiffness, good brake controller, proper tow mirrors, etc...

There is an RV dealer nearby that specializes in oddball (and controversial) tow combos - CanAM RV. 34' Airstreams towed by 300C's! Google "Andy Thompson" and you will find many who say he is right and just as many who think he is reckless...

docwyte

I actually found the handling and ride on the V10 Touareg to be markedly better than the new V6 TDI Touareg. We can't get the air suspension on the new V6 TDI Touaregs here.

If I end up with the Touareg I'll most likely tow an open, aluminum trailer with it. Doesn't sound like a good idea to get my friends trailer and tow it with the Touareg.

If the sales guy doesn't call me back today I'll look into picking up a '05 Duramax 2500 Crew Cab, that will tow my friends trailer I'm sure...