AUDI Q5 for towing

oldbebo wrote:
I found the following on a Motor Trend Web site. can’t figure what they mean by including Dead wt. and Wt. Distributing figures?

Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. : lbs 4400
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. : lbs 440
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. : lbs 4400
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. : lbs 440
Maximum Trailering Capacity : lbs 4400

It looks like MotorTrend might have botched the data on your car.

"Dead Weight" means no weight distribution. Just trailer on a ball.

What they should have put in the Weight Distributing columns is "lbs. 0" because your car structurally can't use it. You can verify this is the trailer towing section of your owner's manual.

Many larger SUVs end up with two ratings, and usually using weight distributing ratings are higher. Especially with body-on-frame vehicles. Some cars and midsize SUVs are rated for the use of weight distribution, but may not be rated for towing more when using it (ford mid-size SUVs for example).

In your case, your tow rating is structurally limited by the hitch, and mainly the 440 pound tongue-weight rating. This is because nearly all RV trailers need 12-15% tongue weight to be stable. Boats, and some cargo trailers, can be stable with lower tongue weights. Boats can be as low a 7-8%. So it you were towing a boat, you would be limited by the total weight rating of 4,400 pounds and not the tongue weight. Because of the placement of the motor, boats have a much smaller Moment of Inertia, and this is the single most significant factor in how much tongue weight is required to make a stable trailer.

The reason for the 440 pound tongue weight limit appears to be structural. Not that is matters too much, because if it were higher, you'd bump into axle and GVWR limits. The same goes for the inability to use Weight Distribution. The hitch receiver bolts to the bumper-mounting brackets, and if you hooked up weight distribution, you'd likely pry apart those brackets. There's nothing available aftermarket to get around this, so likely there's some sort of mechanical component in the way of changing where the hitch bracket mount. Or, they may even be some other structural factor preventing the use of weight distribution, like possible crumple zones ahead of the bumper brackets.

BTW - this is a very good article describing why cars are rated to tow more in Europe. To some extent, especially with the US automakers, it may only be because they didn't want to pay the expenses of testing it. And there's speculation many cars are "downrated" to persuade shoppers to move up to a higher-margin SUV. But when it comes to "import" brands, the difference mostly comes down to trailer-vehicle-dynamics, due to the differences in our roads, speeds, and trailer designs.

Jalopnik - Why You Need A Big Truck To Tow Big Things In America