brulaz wrote:
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.
I drive the speed I do when trailering, because my 14" tires and rims are rated at not over 55 MPH. Lots of people that trailer fast end up on the side of the road with shredded tires on their trailer, and they wonder why. I see it happen all over NV and UT, people hauling ass out of and down the mountains doing 80 MPH, then they wonder why their tires shred, fail and depart the rims they were on, damaging the whole fender area.
I've owned German diesel since 1981, when I bought a 2 door Jetta Coupe diesel. VW diesels for cars are built for light diesel duty. Even the very specific C3 VW 507.00 Low SAPS motor oil specifies light duty diesel in the specifications, in European parlance. The E series of motor oils are heavy duty diesel motor oils, like our CJ-4 spec US diesel motor oils.
How can the exact same motor in an Audi Q5 be rated to only pull 4400 pounds?
It's because the Germans don't rate their MOTORS and drive trains for towing. They rate the unibody's and braking capabilities, the vehicles are not built on frames, like good old American trucks, stuff designed for heavy duty towing.
These are Volkswagen Audi Group light passenger vehicle diesel motors. You can't expect to get much heavy work, or wind fighting trailer work out of a 3 liter diesel motor, and expect any kind of longevity out of the drive train. Think about how many gallons of diesel is consumed, and the calories of heat dissipated doing a 6 or 7 gallon an hour burn rate with diesel fuel, from a tiny 3.0L motor, not a 6.7 or 7.3 liter motor from a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.
