Nick,

Your towing impressions are a match of mine. I do tow my boat very often – I love fishing and there are 14,000 lakes in the State of Minnesota (officially they round it up to "the State of 10,000 lakes").

The unibody knocking sounds can be reduced dramatically by using this:
Amazon.com: Softride 26039 QuietRide 2" Drop Aluminum Ball Mount: Automotive (I installed it as 2” raise – i.e. upside down)

I’ve paired it with this 2” hitch hardball:
Rapid Hitch 3662 Greaseless Hardball : Amazon.com : Automotive so no ugly lubricants needed.

If you don’t care about being spec-precise with the towing hitch ball mount setup this is the best combination I was able to find. This set, while being of a much better quality, is cheaper than the OEM VW ball mount. I am towing with this for almost 2 years and very pleased with results.

 

It is so good to know that you flipped your ball mount up to get a 2" rise as I know that I had used a 2" rise on my truck and as the T3 hitch starts lower than my truck was, I know I'll need to use the rise for my boat trailer.

 

Nick. Try fitting the OEM aspherical mirrors to your T3, I find they make quite a difference.

 

I have a similar experience with yours Nick. UPS says my aspherical mirrors show up today, so I will eliminate that issue.

For the tow hitch noise, I used some duct tape and wrapped just enough to let me wiggle the ball in. Result, no noise whatsoever.

 

Milenco tow mirrors. It's what I use with my travel trailer.

http://www.milenco.com/products/mirrors/milenco-aero-2-xxl-mirror/

 

CC - thank you for the link to those items..I am not at all following (and never have followed) VW specs for the ball mount. I'm a strong believer in matching ball mount to specific trailer.

roalco, chrisw - the aspherical mirrors typically mean you lose the auto dimming function. I don't think I've owned a vehicle without auto dimming in the past decade, so its a critical function to me. Do you know if the T3 aspherical mirrors keep the dimming function or not?

Niner - thanks for link...maybe I'm just grumpy that the mirrors on the T3 are too small in general ?

 

I'm grumpy about the mirrors too, they are just a little bit too small, I'd like more mirror going further away from the centerline of the vehicle on both mirrors, and a pinch more mirror on the lower left outer corners to see a bit more of the ground instead of the skyline. Bit of an unnecessary blind spot there.

 

NickM, you can get the asphericals either heated, or heated with anti dim. I have to say that mine are just heated, but even so, the curve and grind of he aspherical mirrors pretty much negates any rear glare. I find I prefer them, even on busy freeways at night, to the "anti dim" liquid crystal tint. Better overall view and the AS mirror form reduces headlights to tight pinpoints of light, very visible but not distracting or irritating.

 

+1 for the Milencos.

With the Milenco mirrors I can see vehicles travelling behind my van that can't be seen at all in the asphericals.

 

I replaced my T3 driver's side mirror with the Euro spec aspherical mirror, heated and with auto dim. Zero regrets and I got it for under $200 off a well known site.

 

what's the site?

 

we don't care about listing other sites here...its all good if its not for self promotion!

I'll check out ebay.

 

Post the link or part number of correct item when you find it, if you don't mind.
Thanks.

 

There is a good thread in the Exterior Mods section of the forum. It sounds like a very worthwhile modification. The part numbers etc are listed in the later pages.

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f64/t3-aspherical-blindspot-mirror-installation-79106.html

 

Nice link thanks. Its worth it to get rid of the wording on the passenger side mirror if nothing else. Can't help but run the Meat Loaf song through my head every time my eye catches the wording.

 

The asphericals are great for covering the blind spot beside the car but extension mirrors give you the extra view that you need when towing.

 

"Now you see it ... now you don't!"

That's a great picture showing the clear advantage of the extended mirror.

 

c4ar - I have the Grand Aero tow mirrors as well and they are fantastic but they vibrate like crazy. I thought it might have been the tiny bit of play in the Touareg's folding mirrors but its mirrors are rock solid. So after many thousand KMs towing and some attempts to dampen I have had to revert back to a set of rubber strap hobbies, they don't fit well but don't vibrate.

I am waiting for a set of the teardrop Aero replacement heads to see if they are indeed more aero.

What is your experience?

 

Hi Reger,
Yes I've also noticed that the Grand Aeros vibrate a bit but they are much more stable than the strap-on mirrors I had on my previous vehicle.
I haven't felt any need to change but would be interested to hear how you go with the Aero replacement heads.
Then there's another option...

 

Hi Reger,

Then there's another option...
View attachment 22645

CRACKER!!

 

Two totally fab pics in a row c4ar, especially love the Milenco pic - I have the same mirrors and I find them to be very good but must admit that I was thinking I didn't need them and could see enough from the standard mirrors until I saw your pic...

 

oem plus has the aspherical mirrors on sale

 

Old thread... but since Ben added to it today I am going to do the same... Nick... what's your take on not having adaptive air (self leveling) suspension? I just can't justify a new Egg without the air suspension since it makes my boat towing (23' Malibu) so freaking easy. I've towed with steel suspension in the past and the back en always sags and the front lifts which really impacts how the rig handles... are you saying you didn't see much difference?

 

Try using a weight distributing hitch, it eliminates the sag caused by heavy tongue weight. My trailer has 600 Lbs tongue weight. I've been using an X5 with steel suspension and it works great. I'd imagine it would be the same for a T3.

 

Hey greg, good to see you back again...I did not miss or feel the need for air suspension in this case. There was no rear end sag, no imbalance in the vehicle - it felt exactly how it should feel. The longer wheelbase of the T3 definitely helps. My only serious complaint remains the mirrors, they are car mirrors not SUV mirrors. You'll know exactly what I mean coming out of your T2 and you'd notice it immediately.

If you have heavy tongue weight trailer then air suspension would IMO be a massive loss. This would be the case with travel trailers or an enclosed car carrier, but I don't suspect this would be the case with your Malibu.

As for V10 w/ 6 sp vs new V6 with 8 sp, you'll be shocked at how close they are in acceleration. V10 has a lot more punch past the 75MPH mark, but around town the trade off of perfect smoothness in the V6 IMO outweights the slight acceleration advantage of the V10.

 

Your V-10 was chipped, was it not? If so, then it's not a fair comparison past 75mph when your TDI V6 is stock. Just want to keep it apples to apples here.

BTW, I was looking at MB Sprinters yesterday and Class C motor homes based on the chassis, and MB does not pump up their 3.0 liter V6 to anywhere near the torque or HP figures that VW does in the T3 Touareg. Much more conservative, I think, because MB wants you to get 300k miles out of the motor, in commercial use.

188HP and 325 ft lbs of torque, from 1400-3400 rpm. It's rather telling how far VW has pushed the tune in the Touareg at 240 HP and 406 ft lbs. My thoughts are you can't make that kind of torque and HP for free, it cuts into the longevity of the motor if you're using it all the time. The VW motor will not be a 300k mile motor. The MB is an aluminum block, but I am wondering if it is steel sleeved?

 

Weight distribution hitches and boat trailers are NOT compatible due to the surge braking system and many other considerations.

Boat trailers tend to run a very different weight bias vs travel trailers....towing a boat is not at all comparable to towing other trailer types.

 

I disagree nickm, I've got well over 300k miles towing boats and campers across Canada and the USA and I'ver never had an issue with weight distributing hitches. For the most part I prefer electric brakes on all trailer wheels. All trailers are designed to have approx 10% of total trailer weight as tongue weight. Whether they are for boats or campers. All trailers are specifically built that way so they don't fishtail down the highway. I also know others who use weight distrib hitches with their surge brakes and it works fine. Perhaps your thinking of something else.

 

That is a beast - I'd have liked to see the engines though!

 

Great review nickm. I think when I had read your review back in October sometime, it helped me to cement that I was going to get a T3 TDI to replace both a car and a truck based on how well the T3 tows. I am so looking forward to this spring and the first time I hook my boat up and tow it down the road and on the highway as my boat will go 6,000-6,500 as well.

I have gotten a QuietHitch and it is a revelation in being able to secure the ball mount to the receiver so that there is no sound between them and the hitch pin.

 

Nice boat! It's not about not believing you but there are thousands of boat owners who tow with surge brakes and weight dist hitches. I've seen it for years. I travel the continent with my boat and we attend race events (sailboat races) where lots of similar owners show ups with similar equipment. Some Pics attached







The boat I tow, 28.5 ft but she weighs 4250+ 1350 for the trailer + equipment

 

Nice boat! It's not about not believing you but there are thousands of boat owners who tow with surge brakes and weight dist hitches. I've seen it for years. I travel the continent with my boat and we attend race events (sailboat races) where lots of similar owners show ups with similar equipment. Some Pics attached
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The boat I tow, 28.5 ft but she weighs 4250+ 1350 for the trailer + equipment

Ahhh ok, NOW it makes sense. As you mention a sail boat has very different weight than a power boat. I guess it re-enforces the point around having the correct setup for each specific towing need!

 

Properly built trailers are designed to give you 10% of the total weight as tongue weight, this is the standard for any trailer, regardless of what it is. They position the axles in relation to the centre of balance of the load so you get the correct tongue weight.

For example, on your trailer you can see the axles are pretty far back on the trailer, taking into account the balance of your boat with your engines in the stern of the boat. Hence your trailer is designed for your boat. This doesn't change how you tow it or your brake type or whether you use a weight distributing hitch or not.

BTW, weight distributing hitches are connected to the trailer at 3 points.... I've had the tongue fail on a trailer but the weight distributing bars held it all together until I could find a spot to park it. It also holds the tongue down tightly on the ball. All very nice safety features. Lots to be said for these hitch types.

 

I'm very familiar with WDH and proper trailer loading, just never have used one on a powerboat or seen one used. I can see it in a sailboat application...in my case measured tongue weight is 600lbs on a 12,000lb load, so its designed at 5%...I typically run 12%-15% measured tongue weight on travel trailers or similar.

 

its sterndrives hooked up to twin Mercury supercharged 8.2L engines pushing 600hp each

Wow !!! How many galons of gaz per miles ?

 

Not so good...about $800 to fill up and it might last 1 weekend. Sounds amazing and feels great when you are running though! Good thing summer is short around here