I recently towed my M15 to the Wrinkleboat Ran-Tan with my diesel VW Golf, and posted a detailed review of my experience on the TDI Club forum (see link below). I got a lot of comments that the car looked undersized for the boat, however the car seems to barely notice the load even up and down steep grades- the factory rated tow capacity of the Golf is 3086 lbs. Average fuel economy for the trip was 28 mpg at a cruising speed of 70mph. http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4987841#post4987841 Sincerely, Tyler Davis, CA M15 #157 "Defiant"
Love those high torque diesels. With the turbo, your 90hp is going to drive like a lot more when towing a moderate load. And with a nearly 3000 lb. car, towing 1000 lb. or so is not going to yank you around much. The tow rating you quote for your car must have come from EU or Australian specs...? VW says not recommended for towing and doesn't give a weight rating, in the USA. Buy a Touareg, dude! Rated 7700 lbs! Which is nuts, the car only weighs about 2/3 of that. But in the EU and down under everything has a reasonable towing rating. My car is rated about 30% higher there than here. But also a driver's license in the EU or Australia or NZ is not something you get in a crackerjack box, and in some cases you actually have to do some training in how to drive safely with a tow. cheers, John S. On 01/24/2016 11:02 AM, Tyler Backman wrote:
I recently towed my M15 to the Wrinkleboat Ran-Tan with my diesel VW Golf, and posted a detailed review of my experience on the TDI Club forum (see link below). I got a lot of comments that the car looked undersized for the boat, however the car seems to barely notice the load even up and down steep grades- the factory rated tow capacity of the Golf is 3086 lbs. Average fuel economy for the trip was 28 mpg at a cruising speed of 70mph.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4987841#post4987841
Sincerely, Tyler Davis, CA M15 #157 "Defiant"
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com
You're right, I was thinking of the European specification, which I actually misquoted. For the automatic TDI Golf it is apparently 1600kg or 3527lbs. Tyler
On Jan 24, 2016, at 11:47 AM, John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
Love those high torque diesels. With the turbo, your 90hp is going to drive like a lot more when towing a moderate load. And with a nearly 3000 lb. car, towing 1000 lb. or so is not going to yank you around much. The tow rating you quote for your car must have come from EU or Australian specs...? VW says not recommended for towing and doesn't give a weight rating, in the USA. Buy a Touareg, dude! Rated 7700 lbs! Which is nuts, the car only weighs about 2/3 of that. But in the EU and down under everything has a reasonable towing rating. My car is rated about 30% higher there than here. But also a driver's license in the EU or Australia or NZ is not something you get in a crackerjack box, and in some cases you actually have to do some training in how to drive safely with a tow.
cheers, John S.
Well...I pulled my M-15 from Tennessee to Las Vegas with my Saturn Sky...C. Hill -----Original Message----- From: Tyler Backman <casioqv@usermail.com> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Sun, Jan 24, 2016 6:01 pm Subject: Re: M_Boats: M15 VW Golf Tow Vehicle Review You're right, I was thinking of the European specification, which I actually misquoted. For the automatic TDI Golf it is apparently 1600kg or 3527lbs. Tyler
On Jan 24, 2016, at 11:47 AM, John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
Love those high torque diesels. With the turbo, your 90hp is going to drive like a lot more when towing a moderate load. And with a nearly 3000 lb. car, towing 1000 lb. or so is not going to yank you around much. The tow rating you quote for your car must have come from EU or Australian specs...? VW says not recommended for towing and doesn't give a weight rating, in the USA. Buy a Touareg, dude! Rated 7700 lbs! Which is nuts, the car only weighs about 2/3 of that. But in the EU and down under everything has a reasonable towing rating. My car is rated about 30% higher there than here. But also a driver's license in the EU or Australia or NZ is not something you get in a crackerjack box, and in some cases you actually have to do some training in how to drive safely with a tow.
cheers, John S.
On 1/24/2016 1:47 PM, John Schinnerer wrote: Hi John, I hauled my first trailerable sailboat from Bay City, MI to Clearwater, FL with a 4 cylinder V-GOLF (gasoline engine). It had a humongous trailer. When I bought the boat I was too stupid to know what sort of trailer questions to ask. When we picked up the boat; ...it was on a trailer... I had to drive I-75 through Tennessee and climb the mountains in the Appalachians. When I got to Clearwater, and finally saw what real boats trailers looked like, I measured all the structural elements of the trailer frame; got the weights oper foot of the materials, and calculated the trailer weight. The trailer, empty, weighed about 2200 lbs. Add the boat / motor and my poor GOLF was towing 3200 lbs. We made it, and also made it back from Clearwater to Connecticut, bt as soon as we were home, I found and bought a new boat trailer that weighed about 250 lbs. Then boat and trailer made a great setup. VW USA wouldn't tell me what I could tow with the GOLF. Their lawyers are probably scared to death with all the Legal Hyenas and Vultures waiting to sue everyone with money in their pockets. So, I went back to my friends in Munich, and asked them to get the data from VW for me. Their answer was, a GOLF is allowed to tow 1200 lbs in Germany. Subsequently I towed the GOLF rig with the new boat trailer / then a ComPac 16 / and finally my M-15 from Maine to Florida and never had a problem. Cruising speed on the Interstate was 70 MPH to windward, and you never even felt the M-15 behind you. Ciao, Connie
Love those high torque diesels. With the turbo, your 90hp is going to drive like a lot more when towing a moderate load. And with a nearly 3000 lb. car, towing 1000 lb. or so is not going to yank you around much. The tow rating you quote for your car must have come from EU or Australian specs...? VW says not recommended for towing and doesn't give a weight rating, in the USA. Buy a Touareg, dude! Rated 7700 lbs! Which is nuts, the car only weighs about 2/3 of that. But in the EU and down under everything has a reasonable towing rating. My car is rated about 30% higher there than here. But also a driver's license in the EU or Australia or NZ is not something you get in a crackerjack box, and in some cases you actually have to do some training in how to drive safely with a tow.
cheers, John S.
On 01/24/2016 11:02 AM, Tyler Backman wrote:
I recently towed my M15 to the Wrinkleboat Ran-Tan with my diesel VW Golf, and posted a detailed review of my experience on the TDI Club forum (see link below). I got a lot of comments that the car looked undersized for the boat, however the car seems to barely notice the load even up and down steep grades- the factory rated tow capacity of the Golf is 3086 lbs. Average fuel economy for the trip was 28 mpg at a cruising speed of 70mph.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4987841#post4987841
Sincerely, Tyler Davis, CA M15 #157 "Defiant"
Not an issue for the M15 but, for larger boats, if you rely on the European spec, you may need a European hitch. The hitches commonly available in North America for small and midsize VWs and Audis are only Class 1. If you nicht verstehen Deutsch, there are vendors in Great Britain who are easy to deal with. The main brand is Westfalia, but there may be others. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Conbert Benneck" <chbenneck@gmail.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2016 11:28:24 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: M15 VW Golf Tow Vehicle Review On 1/24/2016 1:47 PM, John Schinnerer wrote: Hi John, I hauled my first trailerable sailboat from Bay City, MI to Clearwater, FL with a 4 cylinder V-GOLF (gasoline engine). It had a humongous trailer. When I bought the boat I was too stupid to know what sort of trailer questions to ask. When we picked up the boat; ...it was on a trailer... I had to drive I-75 through Tennessee and climb the mountains in the Appalachians. When I got to Clearwater, and finally saw what real boats trailers looked like, I measured all the structural elements of the trailer frame; got the weights oper foot of the materials, and calculated the trailer weight. The trailer, empty, weighed about 2200 lbs. Add the boat / motor and my poor GOLF was towing 3200 lbs. We made it, and also made it back from Clearwater to Connecticut, bt as soon as we were home, I found and bought a new boat trailer that weighed about 250 lbs. Then boat and trailer made a great setup. VW USA wouldn't tell me what I could tow with the GOLF. Their lawyers are probably scared to death with all the Legal Hyenas and Vultures waiting to sue everyone with money in their pockets. So, I went back to my friends in Munich, and asked them to get the data from VW for me. Their answer was, a GOLF is allowed to tow 1200 lbs in Germany. Subsequently I towed the GOLF rig with the new boat trailer / then a ComPac 16 / and finally my M-15 from Maine to Florida and never had a problem. Cruising speed on the Interstate was 70 MPH to windward, and you never even felt the M-15 behind you. Ciao, Connie
Love those high torque diesels. With the turbo, your 90hp is going to drive like a lot more when towing a moderate load. And with a nearly 3000 lb. car, towing 1000 lb. or so is not going to yank you around much. The tow rating you quote for your car must have come from EU or Australian specs...? VW says not recommended for towing and doesn't give a weight rating, in the USA. Buy a Touareg, dude! Rated 7700 lbs! Which is nuts, the car only weighs about 2/3 of that. But in the EU and down under everything has a reasonable towing rating. My car is rated about 30% higher there than here. But also a driver's license in the EU or Australia or NZ is not something you get in a crackerjack box, and in some cases you actually have to do some training in how to drive safely with a tow.
cheers, John S.
On 01/24/2016 11:02 AM, Tyler Backman wrote:
I recently towed my M15 to the Wrinkleboat Ran-Tan with my diesel VW Golf, and posted a detailed review of my experience on the TDI Club forum (see link below). I got a lot of comments that the car looked undersized for the boat, however the car seems to barely notice the load even up and down steep grades- the factory rated tow capacity of the Golf is 3086 lbs. Average fuel economy for the trip was 28 mpg at a cruising speed of 70mph.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4987841#post4987841
Sincerely, Tyler Davis, CA M15 #157 "Defiant"
For something that is truly "midsize" rated in USA, you may well be able to find a Class II hitch. My 2001 Subaru for example is considered a "midsize" wagon, and the hitches available in USA are all Class II. That means 3500 lbs. towing weight max and 350 lbs tongue weight max, plenty for towing an M-17 and well above what the vehicle itself is rated for. I got mine from http://www.etrailer.com cheers, John S. On 01/25/2016 11:04 AM, swwheatley@comcast.net wrote:
Not an issue for the M15 but, for larger boats, if you rely on the European spec, you may need a European hitch. The hitches commonly available in North America for small and midsize VWs and Audis are only Class 1. If you nicht verstehen Deutsch, there are vendors in Great Britain who are easy to deal with. The main brand is Westfalia, but there may be others.
----- Original Message -----
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com
Yep, as John stated. Have a Sage 17 owner that is German, living in US, and when he was visiting Germany he bought a hitch so he could tow the boat with his Audi. :: Dave Scobie On Jan 25, 2016 1:31 PM, "John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
For something that is truly "midsize" rated in USA, you may well be able to find a Class II hitch. My 2001 Subaru for example is considered a "midsize" wagon, and the hitches available in USA are all Class II. That means 3500 lbs. towing weight max and 350 lbs tongue weight max, plenty for towing an M-17 and well above what the vehicle itself is rated for.
I got mine from http://www.etrailer.com
cheers, John S.
On 01/25/2016 11:04 AM, swwheatley@comcast.net wrote:
Not an issue for the M15 but, for larger boats, if you rely on the European spec, you may need a European hitch. The hitches commonly available in North America for small and midsize VWs and Audis are only Class 1. If you nicht verstehen Deutsch, there are vendors in Great Britain who are easy to deal with. The main brand is Westfalia, but there may be others.
----- Original Message -----
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com
participants (6)
-
chsail36＠aol.com -
Conbert Benneck -
Dave Scobie -
John Schinnerer -
swwheatley＠comcast.net -
Tyler Backman