Towing

prunotdi · Jun 27, 2008

Hey Gents,

The axle came apart while I was towing my 4950lbs tent trailer, the warranty covered the damages but it has put some doubts on the towing capacity of my ride.

I love this Touareg, I cannot wait for the V6 TDI version for Canada, but if I cannot tow my trailer, the TOUAREG will go!!!!

If anyone heard of anything like that happening to them or somebody else, please let me know.

Cheers

Jean

Yeti · Jun 27, 2008

Sounds like a freak thing to me. They are all rated to two 7700lbs reguardless of engine under the hood. I would get it fixed under warranty and not even worry about it.

nickm · Jun 27, 2008

I've towed some heavy weight over many miles and haven't had anything but good towing experiences....besides the touareg doesn't have an axle, all suspension is independent. Can you be more specific about what came apart?

prunotdi · Jun 27, 2008

I am looking at the invoice right now and it is called a prop shaft, does this mean anything to you? the only thing that I can tell you is that the whole center console was vibrating very hard at low speed 10-50 KM.

Yeti · Jun 27, 2008

prunotdi said:
I am looking at the invoice right now and it is called a prop shaft, does this mean anything to you? the only thing that I can tell you is that the whole center console was vibrating very hard at low speed 10-50 KM.

You sure it was not the drive shaft? That has been an issue in all years I believe. The bearings/bushings go bad after awhile.

prunotdi · Jun 27, 2008

I think you are wright, he mentionned something about the bearings. It is working fine now, I just hope that this does not happen often.....

nickm · Jun 27, 2008

I agree with Yeti, sounds like the drive shaft bearings.. its a common failure area, many members on here have had this issues and some of them have never towed anything.

Linder · Jun 30, 2008

Mine failed in my 04 when I wasn't even towing, I don't think it had anything to do with your trailer towing as it is a very common thing.

Linder

goudh · Jul 4, 2008

Linder said:
Mine failed in my 04 when I wasn't even towing, I don't think it had anything to do with your trailer towing as it is a very common thing.

Linder

I too have had nothing but positive towing experiences in the brief time I have had my Touareg. Towed my 20 foot Wellcraft without breaking a sweat. I was wondering about the drive shaft issue that I have seen on the Forum AND if there was any sort of PM that could be done on the shaft/bearings BEFORE they give up?

Yeti · Jul 4, 2008

goudh said:
I too have had nothing but positive towing experiences in the brief time I have had my Touareg. Towed my 20 foot Wellcraft without breaking a sweat. I was wondering about the drive shaft issue that I have seen on the Forum AND if there was any sort of PM that could be done on the shaft/bearings BEFORE they give up?

I don't think so since generally the whole shaft ends up getting replaced. I know Vegas Matt is going through this at the moment. They had to order the shaft since it was not in stock.

Vegas Matt · Jul 4, 2008

Yep, I'm waiting for a new driveshaft to come in, which should be early next week. I've also got a few other things on order, and things that still need addressing. I'll report back on that in another thread when all is complete.

For my driveshaft, I really don't have much in the way of a vibration, but mainly an on/off-throttle clunk and a wheel-bearing-type noise that changes pitch with vehicle speed. Since it seems the bearings and the driveshaft are replaced as a unit, I doubt there's much they can do as part of a PM. Maybe a redesigned bearing pack for future replacements?

In all honesty, more than anything I'm waiting with anticipation to see if this fixes the clunk. We'll see what happens.

Matt

knight1682 · Apr 28, 2010

Question, How is it that the Touareg can tow 7716 lbs with a class 3 (limited to 6000lbs) hitch and no sway bar?

mjw930 · Apr 29, 2010

knight1682 said:
Question, How is it that the Touareg can tow 7716 lbs with a class 3 (limited to 6000lbs) hitch and no sway bar?

Because those numbers are GUIDELINES, not specifications. On everything you will see "Consult your owners manual for your vehicles actual capacity". Treg tows 7700 lbs with a 770 lb tongue weight, weight bearing or weight distributing as per the manual and the official VW sticker on my hitch. That's all you need to be concerned with.

Oh, and don't let VW tell you that you need their $$$$ receiver and ball to get that rating, just make sure the rating on the one you buy at U-Haul is rated for Class IV and uses a 2 5/16" ball if you are going over (or getting close to) 6000 lbs.

knight1682 · Apr 29, 2010

Thanks for the response. So are you telling me that I can get a Hitch from e-trailer (class 3 limited to 6000 lbs) and still tow 7716 lbs?

der_geist · Apr 29, 2010

I'll throw in my '02 here. I just got back from a trip to AZ from OH. Drove out in Feb and back last week. I towed my Boxster there and back and other than the gas milage getting worse the farther west I got, everything went super smooth and there were no towing issues at all. In fact the only problem I had was that it was runnung like ther was nothing at all on the back. I kept looking back at night to make sure it was still on there.

Does anyone know why my milage would drop so severly as I drove west? I thought the computer would compensate for all that. I get 14.8 towing in OH but only 11.4 in AZ.

mjw930 · Apr 29, 2010

knight1682 said:
Thanks for the response. So are you telling me that I can get a Hitch from e-trailer (class 3 limited to 6000 lbs) and still tow 7716 lbs?

NO, the aftermarket hitch is only rated at 6000 lbs, to get the full capacity you need the Factory hitch. If you read some of the other posts and care about having the electronics integrated you'll find that with a street price if around $600 for the complete factory hitch kit it's really not that much more expensive than piecing together an aftermarket system that will NEVER correctly integrate into the electronics.

smyke · Apr 29, 2010

mjw930 said:
having the electronics integrated you'll find that with a street price if around $600 for the complete factory hitch kit it's really not that much more expensive than piecing together an aftermarket system that will NEVER correctly integrate into the electronics.

I can vouch for that. when looking around for an aftermarket hitch and harness with module I found it would have saved me $100 if that.

I got a VW hitch from one of the commercial members of this forum with all the goodies and few items needed to make a brake controller adapter for $650 shipped.

Goalie_Ken · Apr 30, 2010

der_geist said:
I'll throw in my '02 here.
Does anyone know why my milage would drop so severly as I drove west? I thought the computer would compensate for all that. I get 14.8 towing in OH but only 11.4 in AZ.

Could be a few things - the crappy 91 octane here in AZ as well as altitude. I get 8 MPH when towing my boat!

norsecarnut · Apr 30, 2010

prunotdi said:
I am looking at the invoice right now and it is called a prop shaft, does this mean anything to you? the only thing that I can tell you is that the whole center console was vibrating very hard at low speed 10-50 KM.

I recall seeing a photo of the drive shaft and it appears the Touareg uses a drive shaft coupler that looks identical to the ones on my Land Rover Discovery II It is basically a hard rubber disc to which both ends of the drive shaft bolt to via 3 offset bolts. It wears out after time and blows apart - of course you usually get some warning as it starts to crack or tear but at least it's cheap and easy to fix on your own.

All of you who go off road or tow a lot should have the part in your trunk. It's literally the size of a Bagel.

norsecarnut · Apr 30, 2010

photo of coupler:
Dive Line Repair - Club Touareg Photo Gallery

Towing

prunotdi

Yeti

nickm

prunotdi

Yeti

prunotdi

nickm

Linder

goudh

Yeti

Vegas Matt

knight1682

mjw930

knight1682

der_geist

mjw930

smyke

Goalie_Ken

norsecarnut

norsecarnut

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