Towing with a 3.0 L Touareg TDI diesel

NinerBikes wrote:
What are your thoughts on pulling 7000 pounds plus of travel trailer with 2014 VW Touareg TDI from Ohio to FLorida and back and getting 9.5 MPG's to 12 MPGs the whole trip, and what does that kind or MPGs with a small 3 liter motor do to the longevity of the whole VW drivetrain and engine? Driver is going through 20-24 gallons of diesel fuel in that small motor in 3 to 4 hours between fillups, trying to make time.


Thoughts? Overloaded? Enough motor to do the job, with that kind of poor MPGs? Stress on the drive train doing so?

At first I was surprised at the low mileage. I do the same trip and have been getting 10-11 mpgUS with the EcoB and an 8000# trailer with 64 sqft of frontal area.

But then I see this: "trying to make time".

So what speed was he going? 70? 75mph? I tow at 62mph. You drive under 60mph, but most drivers of German high tech don't.

As for stress on the engine, hard to say. Diesels are usually built to handle lots of stress. And VW's are pretty good. Our 2005 Passat TDI was put through the wringer towing a 2500# popup all over and is still going strong (after replacing the chain driven oil pump with a gear drive).

Like others, I would be more concerned about the tranny, especially in hill country.