My current tow vehicle is a Suburban. I now have to replace my car with a small SUV. Getting one with a higher towing capacity (relative to other small SUVs) would enable me to get rid of my Suburban. However, I'm concerned about towing at near the stated capacity. How do the Touareg and/or Cayenne (stated capacity 7716 lbs) do towing 7000 pounds? How about up and down hills (i.e. - Sacramento to Tahoe)?

i think you need to look at tongue capacity AND payload amount, not just how much it's rated to tow.there's way more to consider, than just towing capacity, especially with a short wheelbase SUV.

I think the Touareg will handle just about anything...

I would agree with bikendan with regards to the short wheelbase. Short SUVs and long TTs don't mix particularly well. Short wheelbased vehicles can not handle the sway of a longer heavier trailer. If you don't already have a very good sway control system I would suggest that be your number one priority if you do make the switch to an SUV. Maybe something like the Husky Centerline system that does not need adjustment.

Power shouldn't be a problem. The 3.0 TDI used in the Toureg has nearly identical specs to the VM Motori used in the new Ram which has a higher tow rating.

I'm going suggest that it's not a great idea, but opinions vary and some people tow trailers like you have with one. I tow with a 2012 3.0 TDI, but at a much lighter 4,500 lbs fully loaded. The problem is not power, but tongue weight capacity. I don't see how you would even stay under the rated 770 lbs tongue weight with a 7,000 lb trailer (is that dry or loaded?). I'm way under that at about 550 lbs and I wouldn't want to go any higher than that. We use a WD hitch with 600 lb bars pretty much maxed out. This is a unibody vehicle with the bumper bolted to the unibody, so beefier WD bars are not something I would feel comfortable with, although opinions vary here. Sway is not an issue. Although it is a short vehicle, it actually has a decent wheelbase at 114". That's only 2" less than a 2014 Chevy Tahoe.Look at the offroad and towing section of the Club Touareg forums for more opinions and info.We love the Touareg, and it's perfect for our situation right now, but if I were you I would keep the suburban and use it just for towing, or get a truck.

Towing with Touareg or Cayenne | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

Wes_Tausend
Explorer
Dec 07, 2013
Lowsuv wrote:
because on most boats the engine is at the stern and that is where the weight is ..
because of this boat trailer axles are always further back than any other type of trailer .
the longer distance from hitch to boat trailer axle inherently gives more controlled weight....

Absolutely true. The long tongue of the boat trailer allows much greater leverage to the TV to keep the trailer tracking straight.

Any trailer, including RVs, would benefit, in the towing department, from adding an extended tongue to provide greater vehicle leverage to the tow vehicle. As a side benefit, this "added leverage" would also reduce the effective bumper weight of the tongue without penalty.

Well almost without penalty. For one thing, the huge tongue would protrude well ahead of the cabin, barking any shins that got close. For another, the overall length of the rig would take up more room on the highway.

The Hensley hitch actually does this somewhat. It's about a foot longer than other hitches and the slight added length helps deliver some minor part of the stability it is known for.

Didn't Archimedes once say something like, "Give me a lever long enough, a place to stand and I will move the earth with all the campers on it..."? :B

Wes
...
Lowsuv
Explorer
Dec 06, 2013
because on most boats the engine is at the stern and that is where the weight is ..
because of this boat trailer axles are always further back than any other type of trailer .
the longer distance from hitch to boat trailer axle inherently gives more controlled weight .
I tow my boat and 3 other tournament boats because I have the best tow rig .
My 3 other buddies all have newer tournament boats but have wimpy tow vehicles ( compared to my duramax ) . Durango , 1500 suburban and cadillac suv .
I do most of the boat towing ( 46 miles one way to lake billy chinook ) and we load my pickup with 6 people and we put the extra skis , wet towels , wetsuits , extra cooler under my snugtop canopy which we can lock .
I drop the boat in the water with all the passengers already in the boat . i park the trailer and off we go .
we have a ski club dock where the course is and we take the extra essentials and put them on the dock .
many of the tournement boat owners own a blinged out suv and not a real tow vehicle . hence the need for light tongue weights .
On my boat trailer i moved the axle back about a foot .
this increases my tongue weight and also the controlled weight .
i sometimes tow very long distances and i can tell you that the modification to longer wheelbase ( and a size larger + load range tire ) makes for a very good handling combo for long distance towing .
Me_Again
Explorer III
Dec 05, 2013
nevadanick wrote:
The sway issue isnt near the problem with boats. Years ago i worked building boat trailers and the tournament ski boat guys all wanted low toungue weights. I have no idea why, we just figured the speedo crowd were just a little wimpy. We built some with some really light tongue weights, like close to 100lbs

You are correct, it just flips the boat off the trailer and you go merrily on down the road!

Chris
nevadanick
Explorer
Dec 05, 2013
The sway issue isnt near the problem with boats. Years ago i worked building boat trailers and the tournament ski boat guys all wanted low toungue weights. I have no idea why, we just figured the speedo crowd were just a little wimpy. We built some with some really light tongue weights, like close to 100lbs
Me_Again
Explorer III
Dec 05, 2013
carringb wrote:
I agree^

TT = not a good match. But a boat should work out great!

Even if you had to move the bow-stand back on the trailer to reduce tongue weight, it will still pull well because the center of mass will still be over the axles.

Reducing tongue is not a good idea! Low tongue weight causes sway issues. Chris
sky_free
Explorer
Dec 05, 2013
bikendan wrote:

i think they were recommending the v-8 4Runner, not the v-6 one.
the v-8 version has a much higher towing capacity than the 4700lbs.

True, but last available in 2009. 2010-2014 is the V6 only with the lower tow rating.
8_1_Van
Explorer
Dec 04, 2013
BigBaron wrote:
I think the Touareg will handle just about anything...

Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon-based 850 6.0 with 1,069 lb-ft of torque
bikendan
Explorer
Dec 04, 2013
sky_free wrote:
Redsky wrote:
If you want a very reliable SUV with more towing power I would look at the Toyota 4Runner and the Toyota Sequoia. The Touareg would not even be on my list with its reliability problems and repair history.

The 4Runner has 3,000 lbs. LESS towing capacity than the Touareg, the Sequoia 300 less. The 4Runner would be way over it's tow rating of 4,700 lbs. with that boat. Both have less torque than the Touareg, but more horsepower. Not sure what reliability and repair history problems you are referring to, but it has been reliable for us with 53K miles on the clock.

i think they were recommending the v-8 4Runner, not the v-6 one.
the v-8 version has a much higher towing capacity than the 4700lbs.
sky_free
Explorer
Dec 04, 2013
Redsky wrote:
If you want a very reliable SUV with more towing power I would look at the Toyota 4Runner and the Toyota Sequoia. The Touareg would not even be on my list with its reliability problems and repair history.

The 4Runner has 3,000 lbs. LESS towing capacity than the Touareg, the Sequoia 300 less. The 4Runner would be way over it's tow rating of 4,700 lbs. with that boat. Both have less torque than the Touareg, but more horsepower. Not sure what reliability and repair history problems you are referring to, but it has been reliable for us with 53K miles on the clock.
Bob_Vaughn
Explorer
Dec 03, 2013
There was a Tourage towing a 24-26 foot Airstream camped next to us last week at a state park.....The Airstream was an older model so I have no idea how much it weighed.....